Chapter 26
HAILEY
The morning air bit at my skin as I trudged through the dew-soaked grass toward the high-ropes course.
Six o'clock in the goddamn morning, and my brain was still trying to claw its way back to consciousness.
Behind me, my teammates stumbled along the forest path like half-drunk zombies, their eyelids heavy with sleep.
“This is inhumane,” Zoe muttered, rubbing at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I'm pretty sure this counts as torture under the Geneva Convention. Waking us before the sun is even properly awake should be illegal.”
“Pretty sure the Geneva Convention doesn't cover hockey camp wake-up calls,” Gina replied, but there was no bite to it. Her usual razor-sharp edges were dulled by exhaustion. “Though I wouldn't be surprised if Gunner has a direct line to hell's alarm system.”
The sun hadn't even properly risen yet, just a weak glow filtering through the trees that did nothing to warm the morning chill. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, fingers fumbling with the zipper.
"Listen," Zoe announced, suddenly perking up.
Her voice carried through the morning stillness, slicing through the fog of fatigue hanging over us all.
“I don't care if Matt makes me carry him up that entire course piggyback style while reciting the Canadian national anthem.
I'm still going to destroy everyone here.”
“God, your competitive streak is terrifying before coffee,” Sarah mumbled, stumbling over a tree root.
Rina snorted, her breath forming a small cloud in the cool air. “Uh, don't think that's how it works. You know this is supposed to be a partner exercise, right? As in, you actually have to work together ?”
“Watch me,” Zoe retorted, her chin jutting out with defiance.
“Come on,” I said, looking over my shoulder at them. “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can rest ahead of our next activities.”
“That's our captain,” Rachel grinned, trudging up to sling an arm around my shoulders. “Always focusing on the important things.”
If only she knew how hard I was trying to focus on anything but Lively Summers, but I just let the conversation wash over me, grateful for the distraction.
But then we reached the course, and there he was: standing with the Rink Runners, his hair catching the first hints of sunlight like spun gold.
He was laughing at something Dylan had said, leaning against a tree with an easy grace that roused my annoyance.
Why did he get to be all unbothered, while everything he did now bothered me ?
“Hey, what’s your angle?”
I couldn’t help but obsess over his recent efforts to get under my skin even more than he usually did. How could I not? Because it looked like I was beginning to let myself relax around him now, and I didn’t know if that was the smart thing to do.
What was his fucking angle, seriously?
That was the moment that his eyes met mine, and I realized that I was staring again.
Fuck. This wasn't happening. There was just no way . Could any god who was listening just make this shit stop ?
“Looks like your partner's waiting for you,” Gina whispered, nudging me with her elbow. “Try not to kill each other up there, okay?”
I rolled my eyes, shoving her away. “Worry about your own partner, why don't you.” I said and she made an exasperated face at me before moving away.
Taking in a deep breath, I approached him, deliberately ignoring the way his blue eyes tracked me until I was standing in front of him.
“I’m guessing the third time’s the charm, huh, Hailstorm?” He said as soon as I got close enough to him. Somehow, his teammates had dispersed like mist, leaving me to be the sole focus of those mischievous eyes.
My brows slashed down over my eyes at the sound of his asshole voice. And what the hell did he keep talking about? “What?”
His lips curved, like I was some kind of novel circus show he was absolutely enjoying. “You ran away. That's the third time now.” He said it like it was some kind of prize or something, with his eyes twinkling.
“You are literally delusional,” I replied, folding my arms, “If you think I ever did that. You’re the one who keeps overstepping—” My words caught in my throat when he leaned down, and into my space.
What the hell? I couldn’t help my flinch, and of course he caught it.
“Do I make you uncomfortable, Hailey?” Lively asked, his tone low and way too intimate for this setting.
And, for some reason, my lower belly tightened at the way my actual name rolled off of his tongue, and the sensation sent a jolt up and down my spine, shocking me out of the spell he was weaving between us.
“Hey. Back up already.” I hissed at him, my tone icing over with how flustered that'd made me. “And why the hell are you asking me that now? Like you don't know how uncomfortable you've been making me for the last two years?”
His grin didn't falter, but something in his expression shifted. I couldn't place it, even though he didn’t look away, didn’t back down. But the shift in his expression was there, and it felt like a challenge I wasn’t sure how to answer.
Before I could say anything else, Coach Gunner’s voice boomed across the clearing. “Alright, teams! You’ve been paired up. You know your partners, so get harnessed up! You have one hour!”
I let out a breath, turning away before Lively could push any more of my buttons. “Come on,” I grunted. “Let’s just get this over with.”
For once, he didn’t respond with a teasing remark. Instead, he simply followed. Silent.
And I pretended as if I didn't notice it.
His silence, I mean. He was supposed to be the irritating, smug and obnoxious attention seeker.
And yet, as we walked side by side toward the equipment table, I found myself too aware of the lack of his usual banter.
But I didn't look at him. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing whether I noticed. Whether it bothered me.
Because it didn't .
The obstacle course stretched between towering trees, with suspended bridges, wooden planks, and tightropes swaying ominously in the breeze.
Despite the early morning hour, now everyone was buzzing with energy. Zoe and Matt were locked in a fierce debate with Gina and Evan over who would complete the course the fastest. I was pretty sure Dylan, and the rest of the Rink Runners were placing bets the way they were huddled up together.
“I swear, if I don’t win this, it’s because someone cheated,” Zoe said, stretching her arms.
Across from them, Dylan, Gina's partner, smirked at her declaration. “Or maybe you’re just slow?”
She shot him a glare. “Oh, I’ll show your sorry ass.”
Meanwhile, the rest of the camp staff were finishing the safety checks, making sure our harnesses and cables were secure.
I focused on my harness instead, tugging at the straps, testing its weight, before glancing toward Lively, who was a few feet away, adjusting his own harness with practiced ease, his movements calm and methodical. Too calm. And still silent.
His arms flexed slightly as he tightened the straps, and I caught myself staring a few seconds too late.
Get it together, Hailey. Did I need to get a brain scan or something?
By the time we were all geared up and moving toward the starting platforms, my focus had shifted entirely to the challenge ahead.
Coach Hawkins clapped her hands. “Alright, listen up! You and your partners will move through the course together. Communication is key. Trust your partner. And most importantly, don’t fall!”
“The first pair to clear the course will also get two days’ worth of gourmet meals!” Coach Gunner added, and a ripple of excited chatter ran through the glade.
That was all it took to get everyone moving.
The course loomed above us, a web of ropes and wooden planks swaying gently in the evening breeze.
“Ladies first?” Lively offered, gesturing to the ladder with that infuriating half-smile of his.
It looked like his silence from before was nothing to bother about, after all.
I rolled my eyes, grabbing the first rung. “Just don't slow me down, Summers.” The familiar anger was comfortable, safe. Better than whatever this other feeling was, the one that made my skin prickle when he stood too close.
The climb up was easy enough, but as I reached the first platform, the true height hit me. Thirty feet up, the ground seemed impossibly far away, the faces of our teammates small and distant. Lively joined me moments later, his presence solid and warm behind me – too warm, too solid, too real.
“The first obstacle's the Burma bridge," he said, nodding toward the rope bridge ahead. Two parallel cables ran between the platforms, with hanging ropes providing unstable support. “We move together?”
“Like we have a choice,” I muttered, but my usual bite was missing.
Something about being up here, suspended between earth and sky, made our usual antagonism feel.
.. smaller. And that terrified me, because I needed that antagonism.
I needed to remember him as the arrogant jerk who'd made my life hell, not.
.. whatever the hell this version of him was.
Around us, I could hear the others starting their climbs, their voices carrying through the evening air.
“Left foot, right foot—no, your other right, you idiot!” That was definitely Zoe berating Matt.
“I know my left from my right!”
“Really? Because that's the third time you've—”
“Focus on your own partner!” Coach Hawkins called out, and Zoe groaned.
“I am !” She grumbled, making me struggle to repress a grin despite the turmoil currently happening inside me.
I pushed those thoughts and feelings aside and focused on the obstacle course in front of me, instead. I couldn't afford any distractions now—not even when my partner himself was the distraction.
We started across, finding our rhythm surprisingly quickly. One step, then another. The bridge swayed with our movement, but Lively matched my pace perfectly. Too perfectly.