Chapter 4
LIVELY
"I can never get used to watching you blush like a goddamn schoolboy." Dylan said and his words snapped me out of my trance.
I turned my head again to look at him and that was when I realized how hot my face had gotten. No doubt about it, I was definitely red all the way up to my ears. Just because Hailey Baleman was watching me.
"Don't watch me then," I said and he clucked his tongue, his eyes narrowed at my sheer unrepentant attitude.
"You think I do it because I fucking want to?" He griped back at me, his lips pulled back in a playful sneer. "You're our Captain. I have no choice . Shit, who'd have known being your Vice Captain would mean I'd have to watch this shit first hand all the time?"
And although Dylan's complaints were coming from a place of legitimate exasperation, I found that I couldn't give a shit right then. Because I could still feel the cold heat of Hailey's gaze on me, and it was ridiculous .
I was standing in the middle of the damn rink, surrounded by my team, my best friend talking shit in my ear, but none of it registered.
Not really. Because every single cell in my body was locked onto her.
It's always been this way from the first time I'd laid my eyes on her back at my dad's hospital.
She wasn’t even doing anything—just standing there, arms crossed, watching me with that frosty, deadly look on her face.
But it didn’t matter. It never mattered.
Hailey Baleman could probably just exist in the same building as me, and my body would react like this—like she had me on a leash I'd never willingly want to get out of.
I sucked in a shallow breath, pulse thundering.
Heat coiled low in my stomach, winding tight like a goddamn spring.
Every part of me felt too aware—like my skin wasn’t my own, like I was standing under a spotlight that only she controlled.
I could feel the weight of her eyes like a touch, trailing over my face, my shoulders, the place where Dylan’s hand still sat heavy on my shoulder.
And it was driving me insane . Because I wanted to know what she was thinking. I mean, not like I couldn't quite tell with the way her cold eyes continued to sear holes in my head, but I wanted to know the specifics of it.
What was running through that sharp, ice-cold mind of hers as she stood there, staring me down like I was something she wanted to tear apart with her bare hands?
Or maybe—just maybe—like I was something she wanted to tear apart in a completely... different way.
Hell .
I sucked in a breath through my nose, fighting the way my stomach clenched at the thought. Because I knew it was definitely wishful thinking. Knew that if Hailey Baleman wanted to put her hands on me, it sure as hell wouldn’t be in the way my deranged brain was hoping for.
But that didn’t stop me from imagining it. Didn’t stop me from feeling that all-too-familiar burn of wanting— needing —her to close the distance, to reach for me, to do something—
"Jesus Christ, Summers. Rein it in before you start poking outta your damn pants, man. Shit." Dylan’s voice crashed through the noise in my head, and I jerked and finally tore my eyes away from Hailey’s to glare at him.
"What the fuck do you want, Langley?" I grouched, sufficiently grumpy.
Dylan just raised an unimpressed brow, and he looked way too entertained for my liking. "Oh, not much, man. Just trying to make sure our Captain at least retains some of his dignity, you know? Or are you gonna keep making heart eyes at her in front of everyone?"
My stomach twisted. " Heart eyes ?"
Dylan’s lips twitched. "Yeah. Heart eyes. Puppy eyes. Fucking take-me-now eyes." He tilted his head mockingly. "Pretty sure everyone can see it, dude. I mean, we are used to it, but I don't think the girls are gonna appreciate a real life unsolicited boner."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Fuck off."
He held up his hands, grinning like the asshole he was. "Hey, I’m just saying. If you’re gonna pine, maybe don’t do it in the middle of the damn rink where literally everyone can watch you drool all over yourself? Shit, you're embarrassing us, man."
I wanted to deck him. Mostly because he was right.
But I just rolled my shoulders back and forced my expression into something relaxed—something that didn’t scream “I was just fantasizing about letting Hailey Baleman ruin me!”
But it didn't work very well because I could still feel her gaze on me. Oh God, was she trying to make me melt into literal putty on the floor right now? Because I was already halfway there.
"Shit, she's still watching me, isn't she?" I could barely keep the blush from riding high on my cheeks now. Fuck it. "Hey, do I look cool right now?"
Dylan's complaints cut off at once, and he gave me his flattest and most disgusted stare all rolled into one. "Ugh, what a loser." He groaned and chucked his glove at me.
I swatted it away. "Hey, I'm being serious right now. Do I look cool?"
"Damn it, you fucker, yeah sure."
But his lackluster reply did little to dampen my high and I couldn't resist peeking at her again out of the corners of my eyes only to find her still staring at me. Shit, she was going to make me pass away if she didn't quit that.
"Shit, she's still staring."
"Don't need the play-by-play," Dylan drawled, "But if you're going to subject me to this shit anyway, then I have to point out the fact that she's actually glaring at you right now."
I shrugged, "Same difference." What mattered was that I was currently the focus of her attention. "I'll take every look I can get."
Dylan scoffed at me. "Man, you're a real freak, aren't you?" He shook his head. "She's going to have a lot of fun wiping the floor with you."
"Funny you think she 's the only one who'd be having fun in that scenario." I winked at him in response, and he flipped me off almost immediately.
"Ugh, I need to get a new friend, damn it." He griped but I knew for a fact that he was just bullshitting.
"You done analyzing my love life, Vice Captain?"
Dylan snorted. "Oh, ‘love life’. Right. Is that what we’re calling it now?"
Before I could respond to that, Coach Gunner’s voice rang out from the other side of the rink, and both teams turned in complete synchronicity to find both our Coaches marching towards us like they had daggers behind their backs, and they were all ready to stab us with it.
Just the vibe alone piqued my interest at once.
"Alright, listen up!"
The room immediately fell into a tense silence.
“We know this is probably going to be a tough month for all of us,” Hawkins began, her voice ringing out across the rink and commanding all of our attention. “So we’re going to need both Captains to work closely together to see that nothing goes wrong.”
That tense silence? Yeah, it grew heavy, and it was under that weight that Coach Hawkins’ words sank in. Huh? What, were they…pairing me up with Hailey Baleman right now? Best. News. Ever !
"Coach—" Hailey's voice shattered that silence as she tried to speak up but Coach Hawkins speared her with a sharp glare.
"If it's a complaint that's about to come out of your mouth, then we don't want to hear it." She said and Hailey's jaw clenched.
Ugh. Looked like Dylan had been right about one thing: I was going to have to rein it in before I really poked a tent in my pants right now.
Without an ounce of hesitation, Coach Hawkins turned her head and pinned me with a sharp look that could flay a man alive.
"Summers," she said. "You’re with her."
For a second, the rink was dead silent. Then—
"I’m sorry, what?" Hailey demanded, taking a step forward like she’d somehow misheard. "Coach, you can’t be serious —"
"As a heart attack," Hawkins deadpanned. "Any other complaints?"
"Yeah," Hailey snapped, her jaw clenched so tight I thought her teeth might crack. "You’re pairing me up with him ?" She didn’t even look at me when she said it—like acknowledging my existence for too long might physically hurt her.
I held a hand to my chest in mock offense. "Ouch."
She ignored me completely, her glare still locked onto her coach. "This isn’t fair."
Hawkins sighed. "Knock it off, Baleman."
"But—"
"Not another word, unless you’re about to thank me for not putting your ass on the bench for arguing with me."
That shut her up real fast.
I, on the other hand, was thrilled . Not like I hadn't expected the pairing—it was only logical that the captains of the two teams were paired up together, after all. But it still sent a jolt of electricity through me hearing Coach Hawkins say that.
But the coaches looked like they were on a mission, because they powered on, not even giving me the opportunity to bask in that revelation.
"We're going to draw up practice schedules for both teams moving forward.” Coach Gunner said, and folded his arms across his chest in that ‘ And that's final ’ manner all Rink Runners knew.
My euphoria dimmed down just a little bit then, and I straightened up, my gaze flicking towards the girl's team.
The practice schedules were going to be a touchy subject for everybody involved, but it would be even more so for the Blizzard Belles.
They already felt as if we were invading their turf and if the coaches made any wrong move that made it seem as if we were going to get some special treatment, I knew for a fact that they wouldn't take it lying down.
Hell, Hailey already looked ticked off and set to blow.
"Since we're sharing facilities for the foreseeable future, we'll need to accommodate both teams fairly.” Coach Hawkins chimed in, tapping her clipboard against her hip, her lips set in a no-nonsense line as she stared us all down.