Chapter One
SOPHIE
Gliding across the ice, my heart pounds in my ears as I approach the goal.
Two seconds left, I take my shot, and the blare of the buzzer rings in my ears as the puck hits the back of the net.
My teammates rush together in celebration of our close-call victory, but I’m already skating off the ice, ripping my helmet off as I approach Abbie, who is waiting for me outside the rink.
“Girl, that is some serious helmet hair.” Abbie’s freckled nose wrinkles at me as I run past her, her shoulder-length brown hair swaying as I shove my helmet into her arms. Without slowing down, I turn slightly, giving her a good view of my middle finger.
She laughs and follows me as I rush to the locker room that’s situated between the two ice rinks of the rec center.
I’m lucky to have a friend like her, someone who does whatever it takes to help me not tragically miss the most important game of my boyfriend's life, even if that means managing my heavy-ass duffel bag.
Ripping the hair tie out of my ponytail, I quickly run my fingers through my auburn hair, braiding it back.
Luckily, the locker rooms are right in the middle of the two ice rinks, so all we have to do is go through the door on the opposite side of the locker room to get to Carter’s game.
The sound of the loud crowd greets me as I push the doors open, Abbie and I making our way to the front of the stands.
I quickly scan the ice, trying to find Carter.
Our schools’ team, the Wolverines, are playing their long-standing rivals, the Sharks.
The game is in a time-out, and I spot Carter in the huddle by the number on his jersey - 10, which gives me time to find our seats without missing any gameplay.
The scoreboard shows a tie, 3-3, with five minutes left in the game.
Gwen said she would save us seats, so I focus on finding the head of wild blonde curls that act as a beacon.
A couple of juniors on the JV hockey team wave to me as we move along the aisle, and I absentmindedly wave back, looking for Gwen.
Her mane sticks out in the crowd, and we make a beeline towards her and the two empty spots she was saving for us.
“Gwen!” Despite the chatter of the crowd, she hears me, and her gaze flies to us as we sidle past some sophomores to get to her. “You’re a lifesaver, Gwen. Thanks for the seats.”
Spotting Carter’s parents a couple of rows up, I wave at them. Mrs. Williams smiles warmly while Mr. Williams is so focused on the game, he doesn’t even notice me.
As we settle, Gwen smiles widely at us, but a scowl quickly crosses her adorable face as she looks at something behind me, making her look like an angry kitten.
Pulling me close, she attempts to shout-whisper into my ear, “Careful of those bitches,” as her hazel eyes dart towards the sophomores further down the bench.
“I heard them talking about how sexy Carter is and how they could ‘fulfill his needs’ better than you can.”
A laugh bursts out of me, causing Gwen to furrow her brows and Abbie to roll her eyes. This isn’t the first time some lower classmen have made ridiculous comments about my boyfriend, and it certainly won’t be the last.
“Thanks for looking out for me, Gwennie.” I press a quick kiss to her cheek. “But, Carter’s been mine for the last three years,” I make my voice loud enough for the sophomores next to us to hear. “It’ll take more than some second rank skanks to drag him away from me.”
Their sounds of indignation are like music to my ears and both Abbie and Gwen giggle as the aforementioned skanks scoot further down the bench from us, crossing their arms in anger.
Good. They should know that Carter wouldn’t give them the time of day.
In Ivy Glen, a small town where ice hockey reigns supreme, Carter is the town's golden boy. It’s only natural that everyone else wants a piece of him, no matter how many times he’s made it abundantly clear that I’m the only girl for him.
Popular, charismatic, and gorgeous, he’s friends with everyone. Even, unfortunately, girls who think they can swipe him out from under me. My heart warms at the fact that I know he only has eyes for me.
We’ve been inseparable since first grade. He claims he fell in love with the moment he saw me. But every time I bring up that it took him until the end of our freshman year of highschool to ask me out, he says that his “immature boy brain” didn’t realize his feelings until then.
In my opinion, when we both started playing ice hockey in middle school at the Ivy Glen Rec Center, it bridged the gap that had been caused by emerging hormones and awkward phases. Allowing us to grow closer when other boys and girls would have grown apart.
The sound of a whistle blowing as the referee calls the end of the timeout has me snapping my attention back to the ice, waiting with bated breath as I see Carter getting ready to hop back into the rink.
The assistant coach, who also happens to be my brother, Tom, must have spotted me because he claps him on the shoulder and says something close to his ear.
Carter’s gaze immediately finds me, his black hair peeking out from under his helmet, and an unrestrained grin breaks out on his face when he sees me, and mouths, “You win?”
Biting my lip, I nod my head once, and he winks at me before launching himself into the rink, causing my stomach to flip. Turning his attention to the game, he lines up for the face-off.
The Wolverines get possession of the puck and everyone’s moving towards the goal. He glides along the ice like a fucking predator, beautiful and deadly. What does it say about me that my thighs clench together when he checks the other team's defenseman into the boards?
The whistle blows again, causing the surrounding crowd to groan in frustration. The ref is calling offsides, and at the faceoff, the other team gets possession of the puck.
Two minutes left. Shit.
The Shark’s left winger has the puck and is gunning it for our net. A Wolverines defenseman rushes him, forcing the winger to pass the puck to their center forward. The crowd explodes as Carter swoops in, intercepting the pass.
We’re all on our feet screaming as Carter rushes for the goal.
One minute.
Crying out with the rest of the crowd as Carter weaves in and out of the other team's players, sending the puck to one of his teammates, Jake.
An almost imperceptible nod passes between the two of them as Carter skates to the right side of the goal while Jake approaches the goal from the left with the puck.
Jake fakes the shot, causing the goalie to shuffle, but instead, passes it to Carter. Before the goalie can correct his mistake, Carter takes his shot, and the puck hits the back of the net.
The buzzer beeps just as the scoreboard changes, leaving the score, 4-3, Ivy Glen Wolverines winning the championship.
The cheers are almost deafening, but it’s nothing compared to the way my heart pounds in my ears at the sight of Carter ripping his helmet off, his black hair flopping into his piercing blue eyes as his teammates rush the ice, crowding him and lifting their hockey sticks in celebration.
His eyes light up, laughing at his team's antics before Carter’s gaze finds mine, and the weight of his stare has me licking my lips. His eyes dart down to my mouth, and fire pools low in my belly.
Fuck it. Tonight’s the night.
I had planned on waiting to lose my virginity until after graduation. There was this idea in my head that I would somehow be more responsible if I waited until I was out of highschool, but this can’t wait any longer. Tonight, I’ll make Carter mine in every conceivable way.
Carter keeps my gaze as he shoves his way through his teammates, skating off the ice to the player bench area.
They bristle at being pushed away at first, but get huge grins when they see that he’s looking at me.
Standing, I rush down the aisle towards the rink.
We meet in the middle, him exiting the players' bench area and staring at me like he wants to devour me. I throw my arms around his neck as he captures my lips in a searing kiss. Whistles and whooping break out behind us as his arms snakes around my back, his tongue finding its way into my mouth. He’s lifting me with one arm as he kisses me, and I don’t care that we have an audience.
A little moan escapes me as he crushes me to his chest.
I’d let him take me right here and now if it weren’t for the crowd.
A throat clearing behind him has us breaking apart, breathing heavily, and I sheepishly meet the eyes of my brother, who is standing in the box with half the team.
If it wasn’t for the fact we both inherited Mom’s auburn hair, no one would ever know we were siblings.
While the color might be the same, his hair is short and curly, while mine is long and wavy.
To top it off, Tom got Mom’s blue eyes, while I got Dad’s honey brown.
Everyone says that besides the eye color, I look just like Mom did when she was my age.
“Putting on a show?” He raises his eyebrow at me, but I don’t miss the way the corner of his mouth tilts up. Even though Tom is the assistant coach, he was Carter’s friend first.
“Fuck off, Tom.” Carter winks at him before separating from me, leaving me to try to uselessly smooth out my Ivy Glen Thorns burgundy jersey.
Tom only rolls his eyes. “Big man now, huh?”
Carter laughs, playfully pushing him in the shoulder. They’ve been buddies since Carter made the hockey team freshman year, when Tom was a senior.
“Meet you after we get cleaned up?” I ask, and Carter nods.