Mikayla.

Four seconds of him staring, two seconds of Mikayla in the distance with her professional face on, and boom. Four seconds of watching Jayce collide with Maddox, sending him into the boards and stealing the puck.

That’s all it was to send every social media platform into a frenzy.

If we needed a boost to awaken a wave of excitement with our debut, that video single-handedly did it.

That and everyone now thinking there was a fucking love triangle happening between Maddox, Mikayla, and Jayce.

To be fair, the world wasn’t wrong. They could see what I and the rest of our Heartbreaker Crew noticed ages ago.

Years ago.

Only, we never confronted the elephant in the room.

The public, however, is begging to see who will win Mishka’s heart by the end of the season.

I can see why Dakota wants them to milk this opportunity and not share the news that Mikayla and Maddox are officially dating. Fake it until our team gets enough publicity to succeed? I guess if the administration is aware of it, my best friend doesn’t have a choice.

Best friends…

Why does the idea make me angry?

“I totally get it,” I assure her. I’m surprised when she hugs me.

Her touch makes my body want to melt in her embrace. I become a noodle that has no strength in his limbs when our Heartbreaker Queen is in my personal space, touching me as her sweet perfume pulls me in like a drug.

Hugging her reminds me of old times when we could be intimate like this without it being a “problem” to a certain crew member, who made it a big deal every single time he witnessed any of us show Mishka affection.

Gatekeeper Jayce.

Quickly hugging her back before she thinks I’m mad or something, we pull back, and I enjoy how her eyes beam with happiness. I’m happy she’s excited about this dorm arrangement.

The moment we heard she was going to be in the dorms next door to the building specifically for Strattonville Vipers, we made it a mission to get her upgraded to the best damn suite in the place.

Was it making our ‘little’ obsession with the coach’s daughter more obvious? Yes, but who the puck cares? I’m sure the administration was already clueing in that Mikayla was important to a lot of people on the team.

Yes, she was Coach Johnson’s daughter and not really “our” team’s coach’s daughter, but I noticed for as long as I’ve known Mishka, Coach Cyrus considered her a daughter.

He only had boys and was closest to Wyatt, even if they pretended not to talk much with one another in public. Whenever Mikayla needed anything, and Coach Johnson wasn’t around, Coach Cyrus stepped up to the plate.

Even now, with Mikayla moving into one of the few suites in this building, he encouraged her to have the day off so she could focus on moving. It wasn’t something he needed to do but encouraged because he knew how big changes like one’s environment were difficult on Mishka.

She wouldn’t show it to the world, but we knew her long enough to confirm she was reeling in those emotions just to appear strong and ready for this internship.

That’s probably why Maddox is here.

“You guys didn’t have to help me move all my stuff today,” she voices as she walks over to the box that’s near her new four-seater loft couch.

It looks cozy as fuck.

Also, a nice spot to fuck on…

“And how did you get out of the captains’ meeting?” Her accusing gaze is on Maddox, who doesn’t look the least bit guilty. In fact, the way that man smiles reminds me of what a handsome pucker he really is.

Far too handsome for my confused, palpitating heart.

“I have my ways,” Maddox admits with a shrug. “They can talk Jayce’s ears off for the entire afternoon. I can’t be bothered with the rules and regulations I’ve already reviewed during the flight here.”