Chapter 48
Oliver
The locker room buzzes with postgame noise. Water bottles snap open, tape rips, and triumphant shouts bounce off the walls. The air is thick with sweat, soap, and adrenaline.
I sit near my stall, half out of my gear, and stare at the floor.
My thoughts are a jumbled mess that keeps circling back to Rina when I should be celebrating with the team.
The win tonight was hard-fought. It’s the kind that should leave me pumped.
My gloves are off, my skates unlaced, but I can’t make myself move.
Or even give a shit.
Which is a first.
“Come on, Van Doren,” Knox calls from across the aisle, his grin stretching wide. “We won. Look like you’re actually happy about it.”
River snorts, dragging a towel through his hair. “You were on fire tonight. I don’t think I’ve seen you skate that hard since the playoffs.”
I tug my jersey over my head and toss it in the bin. “Just focused, I guess.”
“Focused?” River laughs. “More like possessed.”
Their voices fade into the background. Normally, their banter would pull a smile from me, but today it doesn’t even come close.
The one face I wanted to see in the crowd tonight was a no-show.
Rina never misses home games. Her seat in the suite might as well have her name etched across it. She’s part of this team, and takes her role as PR manager seriously. Seeing that spot empty for the first time in years hits harder than any check on the ice.
It was a gut punch I was unprepared for.
I keep telling myself I’m doing what’s best for her by giving her space and the room she needs. But, Christ, it’s harder than I imagined.
The laughter around me grows louder. Someone’s yelling about postgame drinks, another guy’s talking stats, but it all feels far away.
Almost like I’m underwater, listening to a world I don’t belong in.
There’s the rip of Velcro, the clang of metal, and the faint sound of music from the hallway.
Every sound grates against the hollowness that fills me.
I lean forward and brace my elbows on my knees before dragging a hand through my damp hair.
It’s hard not to chase after her when every part of me feels wired to find her.
When did she become my other half?
The thought settles heavy inside me as the noise around me fades. I move on autopilot, stripping off the rest of my gear before heading to the showers. The water hits my shoulders, hot enough to sting, but it does nothing to wash away the ache beneath my skin.
If this were any other time, I’d stay, joke around with the guys, and let the adrenaline fade under all the usual banter and bullshit.
But not tonight.
By the time the reporters clear out, I’m left with nothing but a bone-deep exhaustion.
The space feels smaller.
Louder.
Too damn bright.
I dig my phone out of my duffel, a faint flicker of hope sparking before I can stop it when I see a waiting message.
Maybe she texted.
Maybe—
Hayes: Great game tonight! We’re down the block grabbing food. Kia’s with us. If you’re up to it, stop by.
I stare at the screen until the words blur. After a few seconds, I type out a reply.
Me: Thanks for the offer but going straight home. Talk soon.
It’s all I can manage.
I shove my phone into my pocket and sling my bag over my shoulder as laughter continues to bounce off the walls.
Jax glances up from tying his shoes. “You heading out already?”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Long day.”
He nods, easygoing as always. “Get some rest, man.”
I give a faint nod back and stride toward the door. The sounds cut off behind me as it swings shut, replaced by the buzz of fluorescent lights and the squeak of my sneakers against the floor.
No one stops me on the way to the parking garage. There’s no small talk or postgame rundowns. Just the steady slap of my footsteps against concrete until I slide behind the wheel and start the engine. The rumble of the Porsche fills the silence as I pull out of the garage and onto the street.
The drive home is quiet. Streetlights flash across the windshield in fractured streaks of light, breaking and reforming on the glass. The city’s alive with cabs rushing by and sirens wailing in the distance. Inside the vehicle, it’s just me and the steady purr of the engine.
I don’t bother turning on the radio or checking my phone.
What’s the point?
Other than that single text the night Rina left, there’s been nothing but silence from her. Every part of me is screaming to reach out and make sure she’s all right. Instead, I keep my distance. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.
As much as I hate to admit it, Kia’s right. Rina needs to figure this out on her own.
And if she doesn’t… Well, then I’m fucked.
I probably should’ve met up with my family and grabbed some food. Maybe it would’ve been better than going home to an empty penthouse and wallowing. But how the hell am I supposed to sit and smile when all I can think about is Rina and the future I want with her?
By the time I pull into my parking space, my chest feels hollow. The elevator ride stretches forever with the kind of quiet that presses against your ears until even the sound of your own breathing is too loud.
The doors slide open with a hiss, revealing nothing but darkness on the other side.
It’s empty, exactly the way I knew it would be.
Even though I told myself not to get my hopes up, that she wouldn’t be here waiting, disappointment slams into me.
Hope’s a real bitch that way.
I toe off my shoes and force myself to move farther inside. The space smells faintly of lemon cleaner, the way it always does.
I’m really starting to hate it.
When I drop my keys on the counter, the sound echoes throughout the stillness. My shoulders sag as I plow a hand through my hair and glance around. The living room looks exactly the way it did before I left for the game. Everything’s in its place.
Untouched.
Perfect.
Lifeless.
Instead of hanging out in the living room and watching a little TV, I head down the hall, just wanting to crash. Maybe if I sleep hard enough, long enough, I’ll wake up tomorrow morning and the pain burning a hole through me will have dulled, even just a little bit.
Each step I take seems to thud against the floor.
The penthouse is so quiet I can hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears.
The silence has never pressed in on me like this.
It’s never felt so thick or stifling. I’m not even sure I can live here without her anymore.
She might not have been here that long, but it was more than enough to leave a mark.
As soon as I step over the threshold, I grind to a stop.
For a second, my brain refuses to process the image in front of me. The room is dim, the corners swallowed up by shadows, until the shape on the bed comes into focus and the truth snaps into place.
Rina’s stretched out across the middle of the king-sized bed, dark hair fanned over the pillows, wearing nothing but my jersey.
My number stands out in bold strokes along the sleeves.
Her bare legs are tangled in the sheets, skin glowing against the white cotton, and for one stunned second, my breathing stutters.
She looks like something out of a dream.
My dream.
“Rina?” I don’t realize how hard it is to get the question out until I try. “You came back?”
She nods. “The entire time I was gone, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. Wanting you. No matter how much I fought it, I couldn’t stop from falling in love with you. I’ve spent so much of my life letting fear guide my choices. And I almost let it happen again with you.”
I stand frozen, trying to absorb the words I’ve waited my whole life to hear. Then I’m on the move, eating up the distance between us until I can cup her face in my hands. My thumb sweeps across the curve of her jaw.
“You love me?”
Her gaze stays locked on mine. “I do. If I’m being honest, I have for a while. But I was too scared to admit it to myself, and you.”
I lean closer, brushing my forehead against hers.
For a moment, only the sound of our breathing fills the air. It reminds me of that faint, fast tempo we heard in the doctor’s office. The one that changed everything. Proof that what we made is still there, alive and waiting for us to find our way back to it.
“I know,” I whisper. “And it’s okay. I love you too. I was just patiently waiting for you to realize you felt the same.”
A small smile tugs at her lips. “Patiently, huh?”
I grin. “Well, you certainly took your sweet damn time doing it.”
Her shoulders shake as she leans into me, laughter dissolving into a quiet, unsteady sigh. For the first time in days, the tension that’s plagued me finally loosens.
Because she’s here.
In my arms.
Exactly where she was always meant to be.
Tomorrow, there’ll be noise with the team and the press. But for tonight, none of it matters. It’s just us, and the promise of something new.