Chapter 14
KAI
Diana Huang is making me lose my shit.
She comes storming into my workout, expecting me to help her with Mellonbaum’s project after snapping at me at that partnership dinner. Then, when I finally have the guts to stand up to her, she has me weak for her all over again.
Skating onto the ice, I try to give in to the familiar pressure of the blades grazing the surface and lean into the smooth, grinding noise from every mark I make.
But it’s not enough. I can still see Diana in the white surface of the ice.
The way her throat bobbed against her knitted white turtleneck, her lips parting, oblivious to how much I want to know how they feel against me when she’s not pissing me off.
I groan, slap-shooting another puck towards the net. It bounces off the edge, skidding into the boards.
I know this is a stupid thing to be angry over. I just can’t shake off how it makes me feel like I’m dealing with my parents all over again. Being pulled left and right like a puppet they want to tame.
I should keep my emotions off the ice. Usually, I do. But today, they follow me throughout practice.
I miss every single hit, every single pass.
“Alright, that’s it!” Coach Clark finally snaps his finger at me and points to the bench. “Get over there and get comfortable, Kai.”
I curse under my breath as I skate towards the bench.
My vision flashes red. I drop down on the bench and slam the end of my hockey stick against the floor.
The pressure vibrates through the shaft, wringing out my anger with it.
All I want to do is scream. At Coach. At Diana.
At my fucking self because of how easily I fall apart for someone who wants so much out of his own life.
But I’m already benched from practice. One more bad move and my punishment will risk my chance to play in the first game of the season against the Vipers.
Against Simon fucking Valdis and I won’t let that happen.
Luke and Rowan confront me after practice.
“Dude! You’re lucky coach is letting Row talk to you alone,” Luke stresses. “He was planning on ripping into you just now.”
I chuck my water bottle aside. “As he should. I should’ve been more focused today.”
The bench creaks as Luke plops down beside me. Rowan leans against the wall with his arms crossed. As reserved and steady-headed as he is, the disappointment on his face still stings.
“I know there’s a lot riding on your shoulders right now. The internship, your parents, getting signed, but you need to find a way to get that out of your system before you go on the ice. What you did back there is going to cost us in the first game.”
Guilt kills the anger riling up inside of me. “I know, Row, and I swear it won’t happen again. I’ll figure it out. I promise.”
Rowan studies me with that quiet, unflinching stare that makes your spine instinctively straighten up. Then he softens, his arms unraveling. The strict captain disappears, and he settles down beside me.
“I saw you talking to Diana at the gym today. Did she say something to rattle you?”
Hearing her name again makes my frustration rear its head.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” I rise onto my feet, snatching my hockey stick. “I’m going to run some drills.”
I grab a puck and drop it onto the ice. My eyes shut. Visualizations of my stick dexterously controlling the puck reins my focus back and quiets down everything else.
Don’t go too fast. Control your puck. Control your skates.
I open my eyes. My knees bend into stance before I skate towards the first stickhandling aid. I sweep the puck through the slat, catching it at the other end. I zig zag through each aid in front of me. The sharp sound of my stick tapping against the ice echoes across the arena.
“Kai!”
I can almost see it again. The fans sitting in the stands, calling out my name, and waving their leis like they did when I was in first year. Pride fuels my every move. I whirl around to do the drill all over again.
“Kai!”
My skates grind to a stop.
“What the hell?”
The boys stand by the ice: Rowan is scowling, Wallace is nervously scratching the back of his neck, and Luke is smiling like a dog who just ate something he wasn’t supposed to.
The reason why breaks my focus. Diana stands between them, still pristine in her heels and designer clothes, clutching a cup of coffee and a small bag of cookies from Bridgehead.
I cautiously skate towards them. “What’s going on?”
Luke’s smile grows smug as he gestures at Diana. “Well, we ran into Diana in the hallway, and she said she wanted to talk to you. So, we thought, ‘What the hell?’”
“Especially me,” Rowan mutters.
Wallace pats him on the shoulder and smiles at him. “Come on. Let’s give them some space.”
The boys begin to walk out of the arena. Luke eagerly rubs his hands together while Rowan drags him down the hallway.
Diana cranes her neck, staring at me with nervous, long-lashed eyes. The arena’s cold air brushes through the loose strands in her ponytail. How soft she looks in her knit sweater, and the sharpness of her glossy high heels still has me in a chokehold.
“Hi.” Diana musters a small, embarrassed smile. “Again.”
I swallow hard, piling my hands on top of my stick. “Hey.”
“You aren’t done with practice?”
“Everyone else is. I got benched today, so I wanted more time on the ice.”
“In that case, I can stand in for the net?” she offers. “I bet it’ll be cathartic for you.”
I roll my eyes. “You piss me off, princess, but not that much.”
A bigger smile curls across her lips, making the loose strands of her hair drift against them.
The strong urge to brush it behind her ear and watch the blush rise up her cheeks burns inside.
Stay focused, Kai. You’re thinking about her hair and how fucking cute she is when you should be mad at her. Stay focused.
I breathe out and look down at my skates, nudging the little piles of ice dust into the corner. “What are you doing here?”
“I came here because I wanted to apologize.” She wiggles the cookie bag and the cup of coffee, catching my attention again. “This is typically how Asians apologize.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
Diana’s smile falls. “I’m apologizing for the way I’ve been treating you.
I promise it’s not because of the rumors.
I don’t believe them. I never have. It’s just…
” Her fingers crinkle into the paper bag.
Her eyes avoid mine as she stumbles through her words.
“I-I’m grappling with so many things involving the HMG.
It stresses me out, and I lash out at people who don’t deserve it.
” Diana looks back up at me. “I’m sorry for how I made you feel. I really am.”
This time, the mask of the cold, unbothered heiress falls away. All I can see is a girl wracked by guilt that has me softening up inside.
I ease up enough to step off the ice and settle down onto the player’s bench. “I’m sorry, too.”
Diana drops down beside me, looking confused. “For what?”
“For what I said to you at the dinner party.” I slip off my glove and rake my hand through my hair, gripping the curls tight.
“I was anxious and pissed off from what your mom, your brothers, and your sister were saying. I felt like I was watching myself be picked apart by the rumors all over again with nothing I can do to stop it.”
“I’m sorry about my family.” Diana shakes her head. “I try to talk some sense into them. It doesn’t always work.”
I snort, smirking back at her. “I appreciated you ripping into your brother for me, though.”
Diana laughs. The sound echoes around the arena, silvery and carefree, and I want to hear it again. “Ripping into Gregory happens to be a hobby of mine.”
I chuckle. All of the tension in my bones unwind as Diana smiles at me. Not that proper, rehearsed one I see on TV. This smile is wry and wicked as it slowly sneaks across her lips.
Diana holds out the goods in her hands. “Truce?”
I take the bag and the coffee cup, our fingers brushing as I do. “Truce.”
My brows arch in surprise when I take a sip. “How do you know I like the dark roast with brown sugar?”
Diana pales. Her words churn out, taut and careful. “The barista was a big fan of yours.”
“Oh.” My brow arches. “Was she?”
“Mhm.” Diana recomposes herself and raises her chin with the confidence of someone who believes they’re right. “I simply told her I was buying coffee for you, and she simply knew what your order was.”
“Sounds…simple,” I muse.
Diana shyly avoids my gaze, wrapping her arms around herself.
Her phone suddenly rings.
She answers it with her thumbs fiddling. “Hans, is everything okay?”
His response has her springing to her feet. “Oh my god, are you alright?”
A man’s strong, accented voice answers on the other end. I watch Diana’s face change, disappointment and worry heightening after his every word. When he goes quiet, Diana sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose.
“No, that’s perfectly fine. Take care of yourself first. I’ll figure something out.” She nods with a weary smile. “Yes, of course. Thank you, Hans.”
I dart to my feet the moment she ends the call.
“What’s the matter?”
“That’s my driver.” Diana rubs her forehead as she types on her phone.
“There’s a media scandal that Gregory is tossed up in with that popstar, Sasha Vellair.
Apparently, they’ve been seeing each other in secret, and it’s all been exposed.
Now, her fans are raging at our gates. Sophia is the only one at home, but even she can’t leave.
The fans went after all the cars, and now I won’t be able to get back home until it’s all resolved. ”
Of course that dipshit Gregory is the one who fucked everything up.
“Is there anything you can do about it?” I ask.
“Not really.” Diana looks so worried that she can barely hold her phone still. “Hans said he’ll be picking me up a little later than usual, and I’ll probably be staying at a hotel downtown.”
“Diana, you can’t stay on campus for that long in September.”
“Why not?”
“It gets empty and dark after three. I just got my project partner to work with me. I’m not letting her get kidnapped by some creep who likes lurking on university campuses.” I hesitate, my fingers tightening on my hockey stick. “Why don’t you…why don’t you stay at my place?”
My heart races as soon as the words leave my mouth.
It sounds insane. Especially with how tense our conversations were before the truce.
But I can’t just leave Diana here alone.
I don’t want to leave her here alone. When she’s no longer hellbent on keeping me at arm’s length, she’s actually relaxing to talk to.
And insanely nice to stare at.
“Look, it’s up to you,” I blurt out, “If we stay at my place, it’s just ten minutes away from Granville Island. We can go there to work on the project when I’m done teaching at the hockey club.”
Diana relents a little bit. “That does sound reasonable.” She gulps. “It’s just…”
“Just…”
“I’m scared of the media finding out. You absolutely can’t tell anyone I’m staying with you.”
“I get it,” I assure her. “Trust me, the boys won’t say a word.”
Diana cocks her head. “Are you sure this is okay?”
“I can take the couch, and you can sleep in my room. You won’t even have to worry about the boys on Saturday afternoon.
Rowan will be gone because he’ll be helping out at his Aunt Edie’s restaurant.
Luke is sleeping over at some girl’s house, and Wallace is busy with student council stuff.
Rest assured, there’s tons of room for you,” I promise.
Diana quirks her lips to the side, considering my offer one more time. Then her shoulders drop.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” I echo. “I can meet you by the orange tunnels by the end of the day. Not a lot of people go down there. It leads straight to the parkade, so we won’t have to cut through campus.”
Diana breathes out a sigh of relief. “Perfect.”
I click my tongue, shaking my head. “There’s lots of factors to consider when it comes to you, huh?”
Diana smiles up at me, batting her dark lashes. “In that case, I’m giving you the option to back out.”
I draw in closer until our shadows collide. “Option denied.”
Diana’s smile falters as her eyes drop down to my lips. Her breath trembles slightly. It skirts against my skin, so soft and fleeting, I wonder what it’d feel like against my shoulder if I’m pou—
I back away from her. Diana flinches. I force my eyes on the polished paint on the bench, the CCM on my gloves, just anything except the fucked up visions in my head.
I clear my throat, my voice coming out rough and unsteady. “I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later?”
Diana nods. Her eyes flicker back up at me, and she pokes at my chest. “Don’t be late.”
She walks out of the arena, leaving behind the scent of vanilla and flowers on my skin. I lean onto my stick, lightly batting my forehead against it.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
“Yah-hoo!” The Super Mario Party theme song suddenly blasts out.
“Aish!”
“What the f—” I snap my head up. “Wallace?”
He sheepishly pokes his head out from the end of the hallway corner with his Nintendo Switch. Luke and Rowan pop out from the other side.
Of course they never left.
I whip out my arms. “Have you guys just been lurking there the whole time?”
“Luke wanted to eavesdrop,” Rowan grumbles. He steps out of the corner just as Luke hurtles past him with his blue eyes blazing.
“And good fucking thing we did!” Luke bats at my chest. “Dude! I think Diana wants you!
“Mon Dieu,” I groan.
“I saw the signs!”
“You saw nothing!”
Rowan waves his hands, shutting us up. “Listen, I make it my life’s mission to disagree with Luke.”
“That’s true,” Luke chirps.
Regret warps Rowan’s face before he shakes his head. “But I don’t know, Kai. I’m starting to sense something.”
“I can tell you a hundred percent that Diana Huang is secretly lusting after your ass,” Luke insists.
“Never say the word ‘lusting,’” I beg, “Please.”
“She’s fighting her feelings,” Wallace protests. “I can tell, Kai!”
I huff, plopping down to unlace my skates. “Guys, it doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter!” Luke bursts out.
I rip my skates off. “Look, my parents are already breathing down my neck about taking over the family business. I have to stay focused, or I don’t get signed. I won’t let Diana be the reason I don’t.”
My throat feels tight the moment the words tear out.
Except it’s true, no matter how hard it is to accept. This dream of playing for the NHL demands sacrifice.
Diana might take over my head more than she should, but that’s where she’ll have to stay if I ever want to get signed again.