Page 32 of Rinkmates

“Leave him alone,” Colton interrupts. “He’ll talk when he’s ready.”

The shrill sound of whistles pierces the air, and someone’s yelling, “Shit, Huntington’s really serious about it.”

I turn my head to look out the window, watching as the scenery outside becomes a blur. However, my focus is soon interrupted by the growing sounds of laughter from behind me.When I turn back around, I see Derek and Shane sharing videos with the others. My curiosity gets the best of me, so I lean backward and grab Devereaux’s phone.

There it is: footage of Liora and me against my car, her fingers clutching my shirt, my lips near her ear.

The angle makes it seem as if we’re kissing, her eyes closed, our bodies touching. Then, footage of me carrying her luggage into my home—it gives the impression we’re a couple, and my heart sinks. Fuck. She looks so small next to me, and I act like I’m afraid to break her.

The team erupts in laughter, and I flip them off. Fuckers.

“You gonna make it official then?” Devereaux teases and I shove back his phone. “Risky move, man. Risky move. It will break some hearts.”

“Maybe he didn’t tell you because he doesn’t want you idiots gossiping about the girl heloves,” Shane interjects, earning a glare from me. Love? Woah. I prefer it when he keeps his mouth shut, like he usually does.

Jayce leans in close, making sure only I can hear his words. “Or you don’t want them to know she’s the one you fantasized about in high school, wanking so hard until your hand ached,” he says, causing me to nearly choke on my drink.

I don’t know what I did to deserve these two as my best friends. Killer over there isn’t talking as usual, and our resident genius here is the epitome of a golden boy with his Sunday mass attendance. But when it comes to me, they turn into bumbling idiots. Must be some sort of cosmic joke.

But. Damn. I forgot Jayce knew about my history with Liora.

We’ve been friends since college, so of course he knows about my obsession. I spent countless nights daydreaming about her. Just the thought that she moved in with me…it’s absurd. Insane. Unbelievable. Way too far-fetched. Okay, I’m out of adjectives to describe the mess of my life. But it’s happening. No, it happened.Past tense. Liora moved in and I’m not even home with her. While she might be lounging on my couch, using my shower…damn, this is all it needs for my fucking dick to twitch, and I practically collapse into my chair faster than I could even say the wordshit.

“Jesus Christ, that boy’s done. I thought this was a joke,” Malcolm says, and I can feel all the curious eyes on me.

“Could be good,” Devereaux yells from the back again. Always the loudest mouth. “Maybe he finally gets his horns clipped and we actually have a shot at winning.”

“Cheers to that!” Mercer chimes in from the front row, and Max honks in agreement. “Now, everyone, rest up and keep the fuck quiet. Tomorrow will be tough enough without having to listen to all this nonsense.”

I sink back into my seat with relief as our coach gives me a breather.

Naturally, Ethan discussed the fake dating situation with him first. He was pleased that I found a babysitter. Liora is the perfect cover for me to skip out on social events and steer clear of trouble. My go-to excuse…and I made a promise to her to behave. Look at my five-foot heroine.

Ten

LIORA

“Can you believe they got all these stars for the show?”

Priya takes a deep breath, her eyes shining with excitement as we stand at the back of the busy training room. We gaze at some well-known influencers, as well as actors and singers who used to be popular but haven’t been in recent years.

I’m a little starstruck since I listen to Mara Jane’s songs on a daily basis and now she’s standing close to me, talking to me as if it were normal.

For the past couple of days, Priya and I have been hitting the ice rink hard.

Thankfully, Nina hooked us up with member cards, which got Priya in for free too. Nina’s generosity saved us a ton, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

The best part?

Riley’s been MIA for three whole days with zero communication, giving Priya and me the perfect excuse to have a blast at his penthouse. Of course, I got his go-ahead before inviting her over. Keeping her from rummaging through his things was a real challenge though, but I think I finally havemonster Priya under control. We also developed an unhealthy addiction to Riley’s fridge, particularly the ice cube function, while binging one romance movie after another on his streaming accounts. There are definitely perks to having money. Is a hot tub and a balcony the size of two trailers necessary? Absolutely not.

But it’s incredibly convenient when you want to soak and belt out Spice Girls songs with your friend under the open sky without anyone watching.

“Yeah, I’m curious about who they’ll match us up with.” I shake out my limbs as I stand in front of the wall-mounted barre.

I firmly grasp the polished wooden handle and lift my foot, stretching out my leg to warm up for my routine. There’s this familiar burn in my leg, and I can’t wait to show my new routine. Getting back on the ice regularly feels amazing.

“I hope I’m paired with Mason Stone,” Priya says, folding her hands as if she’s praying to God.

---