Chapter 33 - Holly #2
I crouched slightly beside him, careful not to crowd. “You were incredible out there,” I said. “Absolutely insane saves. You—” I stopped myself. Complimenting him felt almost trivial in the face of the loss, and yet, I meant every word.
He gave a short laugh, humorless. “Yeah. Incredible. Lost anyway.” The edge of frustration in his voice was sharp, but there was no heat toward me. It was aimed inward, at the ice, at the game, at every split-second misstep that had kept victory from them.
“I know,” I said. “But you kept them alive. You held the Surge in it longer than anyone could have expected. That counts for something.”
He finally looked at me, and the weight behind that gaze made my chest ache.
There was disappointment, yes, but also something else—pride, relief that I was here, that this wasn’t his to go through alone.
He shifted just slightly, giving me the small space to approach, and I pressed closer, leaning into him.
The guys were still moving around, some trading light teasing, some quietly shaking off their gear. Tucker muttered something about triple overtime being cruel, and Mason laughed, saying, “You’re still alive, that’s all that matters.”
Grayson, already unbuckling his skates, gave a small nod in Hunter’s direction. “We fought as hard as we could. At the end of the day, that’s the best game anyone could want.”
I reached up, brushing a stray lock of damp hair from Hunter’s forehead. He leaned into it, letting me, his tension melting fraction by fraction. “I don’t know how you do it,” I murmured. “You keep all of this inside, and somehow you make it look easy when it’s killing you.”
“I’m terrible at pretending,” he said softly, almost under his breath. And I knew him well enough to hear the truth in that. His jaw tightened, his fingers pressed lightly against the bench, the tension coiling just beneath the surface.
I pressed my hand to his shoulder, feeling the residual heat through his pads. “You don’t have to pretend for me,” I said. “You can be… just you. Right here. With me.”
He finally exhaled, the sound long and shuddering, as if he’d been holding it in for hours… or years. He turned slightly toward me, catching my gaze, and I could see the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
From the bench behind us, Mason called out with a grin. “Hey, you two finally sharing your secret now that the season’s over?”
Grayson snorted, elbowing Hunter lightly. “Yeah, you’ve been holding out on us, man. Keeping all the fun under wraps.”
Hunter shot both of them a sideways glare that was half embarrassment, half sheepish pride. “I… look, I should’ve told you sooner. I just… I wanted to get through the season without a distraction.”
Mason leaned forward, a sly glint in his eye. “Distract you? Bro, you’re like a billboard. Anyone could see the distraction.”
Hunter’s mouth twitched, the beginnings of a grin breaking through. “I wasn’t trying to hide it from you guys. I’m sorry for–”
Grayson laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, we knew, Callahan. Always knew…”
Hunter blinked at him, then looked at me.
I stifled a laugh, shifting closer, resting my head lightly against his shoulder.
His eyes met mine, dark and incredulous, and there was that flicker of disbelief I’d learned to read: he couldn’t quite believe we hadn’t been caught—or that they’d been onto us all along.
“You knew?” Hunter asked, voice low, a mixture of awe and mock indignation.
“Of course we did,” Mason said. “You’ve been subtle as a freight train. Seriously, man, we’ve been watching you tiptoe around her for weeks.”
“Plus, you’re a terrible liar,” Theo said, swatting him with a towel damp with sweat.
Hunter’s lips pressed into a line, the faintest twitch of a smirk forming. “Tiptoe, huh? That sounds… accurate.”
I laughed softly, moving my hand to rest over his.
The warmth of our touch grounded the tension, threading something steady through the chaos of the room.
Hunter’s fingers tightened around mine for a moment, and I felt that low hum of shared satisfaction, the relief of finally being recognized, not just by each other, but by those who mattered around us.
“I can’t believe you knew and didn’t say anything,” he said to Theo.
“You were like a kid sneaking cookies,” Mason laughed, and the others joined in.
Hunter leaned back slightly, still holding my hand, letting the room’s teasing wash over him without dampening the closeness we’d fought so long to claim.
“I owe you guys an apology,” he said quietly, turning fully toward Grayson and Mason.
“For keeping my mouth shut about us. I… I should’ve told you. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Grayson shrugged, tossing his towel onto the bench. “You thought wrong. But honestly, it’s not a big deal. You’re still the same guy, and now we get to rag you even more.”
Mason laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Yeah, the big secret’s out. Don’t worry about it. We’ve seen the two of you together long enough to know it’s solid. No surprises there.”
Hunter’s eyes found mine again, and I leaned a little closer, pressing my forehead against his shoulder.
I could feel the way his body finally eased just a fraction, the tension in his jaw softening.
I traced lazy circles with my thumb over the back of his hand, letting the warmth of that small touch stretch between us.
“You know,” I murmured, voice low enough that only he could hear, “I kind of liked being your secret.”
His head tilted toward mine, a playful spark lighting his gaze. “It had its perks. But this is kinda cool too.”
We lingered like that for a long moment, letting the teasing from the guys fade into the background.
The room wasn’t silent, but it felt like it was ours, the rest of the world muted by the proximity of each other, by the quiet understanding we had built across countless challenges, conflicts, and stolen moments.
Hunter tilted his head down toward me, lips brushing my temple in a soft, featherlight kiss that sent a shiver down my spine. I leaned into him, sighing softly. “Don’t get too comfortable,” I whispered, lips barely moving. “We still have to survive off-season before next year’s chaos begins.”
“I can survive anything with you around,” he murmured back, voice low and warm, curling around me like a protective blanket.
I snuggled closer, feeling the steady beat of his chest beneath my cheek. There was no grand declaration, no dramatic flare. Just the quiet, unshakable rhythm of us, of all the work and risk and risked hearts finally settling into something tangible.
Hunter’s hand found the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair. “I… I don’t know why I worried so much about telling anyone. Seems obvious now.”
I leaned up, brushing my lips against his, soft and lingering. “Obvious to us, yes. But the rest of the world…” My words trailed, caught up in the comfort of being this close, being held.
Across the room, Mason called out with that lazy grin of his. “Hey, Holly! You still okay being seen with someone who’s such a terrible liar?”
The room erupted with laughter. Grayson tossing a towel at him, someone banging a stick against a locker for effect. Hunter groaned under his breath, but I could see the faint pink creeping up his neck, and it made me smile.
I slid my arms around his waist, nestling closer until my head rested against his chest. “Works perfectly for me,” I murmured.