Page 38 of Ice Cold Rival

Right at the top, under the trending tab, was my name. My thumb hovered over the link, knowing nothing good would come of clicking on it. Amanda would expect me to close the app and hide, Toby would tell me I was overreacting… Reece would say fuck them all and tell me to do whatIwanted.

I wanted to know what people were saying about me.

Before I could let reason convince me otherwise, I tapped my name. Post after post of people speculating on my relationship with Toby, my relationship with Reece, my mental health. Most of it leaned negative, but some of these people I didn’t know thought I was a badass for dating Reece.

While I tried not to care about other people’s opinions, I knew I was lying to myself. Invisible I could handle—I’d been doing it most of my life—but the vitriol coming from perfect strangers about my dating life was a lot to handle.

Was the notoriety worth it? We’d mostly succeeded in getting Amanda to stop harassing me, and after the lunch with my mom, the families had backed off a little. Judging by Toby’s locker room talk, he wasn’t immune to the situation either. I had no doubt most of the gossip on here was sourced straight from him.

At this point, I wished he’d just leave me alone and move on with his life, but I knew dating Reece was only going to keep his attention zeroed in on me. After scrolling for a minute, I’d had enough. I didn’t need to see the same message over and over again about how I’d lured Reece in to punish Toby.

They weren’t wrong.

As I dropped my phone in my lap, Marco asked if I wanted anything from concessions. I’d met Marco briefly at Reece’s house, but Avery was a new player—an intimidatingly beautiful woman with dark red lipstick and a confidence I envied. The only people I knew at this school were playing hockey or hated my guts. If I were more confident, I could pretend like I didn’t care.

“Nachos,” I told him, and Marco scooted past us, leaving Avery watching me speculatively.

I traced the edge of my phone case and watched Mase drop into an impressive split on the ice. This was my moment. I could sit quietly, cheer for Reece as promised, and leave the game without even trying to make a connection… or I couldtalkto her.

“What can you tell me about this book club?”

Avery laughed. “Eva started it over the summer as a way to connect because she claimed she was losing her edge. It’s usually me, Marco, Stephen, Eva, and her other friend, Mac. We only read romance novels, the smuttier, the better, and there’s an ongoing battle about the name.”

“Oh goodness, there’s more of you?”

Her gaze returned to Cole on the ice. “Do you not like big groups?”

I shifted in my seat, smoothing the jersey over my lap. “No, I’m fine in groups. I just haven’t had a lot of luck making friends lately, or keeping them.”

After the overwhelming day at Reece’s house and the subsequent cold shoulder at mine, I’d called up Shannon, one of my closest friends from Easton, but she’d sounded distracted while we talked and got off the phone quickly. The Chi Omega chapter at Easton was full of fantastic women—I missed them—but I’d left. A couple of them had even warned me not to uproot my life in order to follow Toby.

I should have listened.

Avery’s lips twisted. “Well, you’re on Eva’s radar now, so you won’t need to worry about making friends.”

“Should I be afraid of her?”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Yes. Eva is an unstoppable force who loves meddling in other people’s lives. She’s a goddamn miracle, and you should absolutely be terrified of the effect she’ll have on you. You’ll probably also thank her when the dust settles.”

I plucked at my top. “She gave me this jersey. Is it weird she had one with Reece’s name on it?”

Avery twisted in her seat to face me. “Forget Eva. Why are you here now?”

The bluntness made me blurt out an answer without thinking it through. “Reece wanted me to be here.Iwanted to be here. And I figured it was time to stop living in an oblivious bubble.”

She gave me a satisfied nod. “And what are you hoping to get out of this thing with Reece?”

“Besides multiple orgasms?” I quipped, hoping to stop this line of questioning.

A half-smile tilted the corner of her lips, but she wagged her finger at me. “You’re no puck bunny.”

“Why do people keep informing me of that?” I muttered. “No, I’m not. I’m not even well-versed in hockey. I mean, I know the rules and I know what it’s like to date a hockey player, but I haven’t spent much time actually watching the game.”

She leaned back and crossed her arms. “You didn’t answer my question.”

I didn’t have an answer. What did I want? Freedom from Toby and his influence. Closer relationships with my sorority sisters. A chance to explore a life outside of what I was expecting. And yes, orgasms. All those answers had one thing in common.

“Reece. I want Reece. But I’m worried about immediately trading in one guy for another. I’ve only been single a few weeks out of the last five years. What do I even know about what I want?”

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