Page 1 of Breakaway Hearts

Chapter1

Reese

I should’ve known the green mouth guard would be a bust. Who do I think I am? Steph Curry? We don’t even play the same sport.

Note to self: go with the leprechaun socks next time.

The buzzer sounds, and I kick myself off the center ice with the rest of the team. A collective groan comes from the home crowd, and I tip my head back to stare at the arena’s ceiling instead of facing their disappointed faces.

Goddammit.

I want to blame the loss on the green mouth guard, my lucky green accessory for the night, but I know that’s not it.

I played like shit, plain and simple.

As we line up to shake hands with our opponents, one or two of them give me sympathetic looks. They’ve all had off games too, so I’m sure they know how I feel right now.

Except they don’t—not really. Because it’s not just the bad game that’s weighing on me right now. It’s everything that came before the game.

“Well, that sucked,” Theo mutters as we make our way through the tunnel back toward the locker room, earning a few nods from the others. “Shit really fell apart in the third period.”

“Eh, leave the scolding to Dunaway,” Maxim Federov grunts.

He’s not wrong. Coach Dunaway may actually murder us for our performance tonight, not to mention the fact that I ended up in the penalty box for an illegal check. That’s not my usual style for sure.

“Hey, man.” Noah glances over at me as we enter the locker room with the rest of the team. He’s the team captain and one of my closest friends, and he definitely saved my ass a few times tonight on the ice. “You alright?”

“Do I look alright?” I grunt as I rip my helmet off. I spit out my mouth guard and bury it in my open bag while the rest of our team banters around us.

Noah chuckles, nudging my shoulder with his. “Look, don’t beat yourself up. Grant already does that enough for all of us. Tonight was tough, but we’ll win the next one.”

Normally, I’d appreciate his attempt to get my head back in a good place after a loss, but it’s not working right now. Because even if we had won the game, I’m pretty sure I’d still have this empty, hollow feeling in my chest.

“Look, I’m really not in the mood right now.” I sigh. “Can you just, you know, not?”

“Not what?”

“Not be so… optimistic.”

Noah blinks at me for a second, surprise flashing in his dark blue eyes. Then he barks out a laugh. I roll my eyes, wishing in this moment that his locker was a bit farther from mine. The burden of being his assistant captain, I suppose.

“Yeah, leave him alone!” Sawyer shouts from across the room. He’s grinning and buck naked except for the towel he holds over his crotch. “Go be happy by yourself, asshole!”

Why is everyone so fucking overjoyed after losing? Sawyer Townsend, who’s usually stressed as hell thanks to the never-ending demands of being a single dad with a career in the NHL, and even Grant Parker, our perpetually grumpy goalie, are acting as if it’s no big deal that we got our asses handed to us on the ice tonight.

Only Theo, our resident hot-headed right winger, looks as confused as me.

“What the hell is wrong with you all?” he asks, sitting on the bench in front of his locker as he towels off his short dark hair. His biceps, nearly all tattoos at this point, pop in and out from beneath the white cotton. “Don’t tell me you’re still playing nice because of Sienna.”

Ah. So maybe he’s slightly more well-informed than I am.

It’s been a month and a half since my ex-girlfriend unceremoniously dumped me, and my stomach still drops at the mention of her name—which is a pretty unavoidable occurrence, since she works on the legal team of the Denver Aces. A jobIgot her, back when I thought the two of us were moving toward something more serious.

As Theo’s words hang in the air, the locker room gets quiet, that atmosphere turning a bit awkward. Noah clears his throat.

“Fuck,” I mutter under my breath. I tug at my jersey as if it’s constricting my airways as the silence grows somehow more uncomfortable.

“Listen, Reese—” Noah starts, but I cut him off, holding up a hand.

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