Page 8

KATERINA

Classes at Pleasant Oaks University are about what I expected—a mix of overachievers, sleep-deprived athletes, and students who are here because their parents have too much money and not enough supervision. I fall into the first two categories.

I sit in the back of my Statistics class, my notebook open, but my mind isn’t on standard deviations or probability distributions. Instead, I’m replaying last night’s game in my head.

More specifically, how Aiden looked at me when I teased him afterward. His hand around my wrist, his voice dropping to that low, almost dangerous tone. The way I felt breathless for half a second.

I shake the thought away, tapping my pen against my notebook.

Focus, Kat.

The professor drones on, and I do my best to pay attention, but my brain keeps drifting. The problem isn’t just Aiden— it’s everything: the pressure of training, school, and trying to prove myself in a country that still doesn’t feel like home. A folded note lands on my desk, breaking me from my thoughts. I glance up, catching Alina’s amused expression from two rows ahead. I unfold the note, recognising her neat cursive immediately.

You’re spacing out again. If this is about Aiden, blink twice. I roll my eyes but can’t fight the small smile pulling at my lips. I quickly scribble back.

It’s about how I’m going to kill you for that comment. I flick the note toward her, and she catches it effortlessly, giving me a knowing smirk before returning to the lecture. After class, we walk toward the main quad, the crisp fall air nipping at our skin. Roman and Alexei are waiting for us near the campus library coffee shop. Roman is leaning lazily against the counter while Alexei complains about the lack of decent Russian tea options.

“Just admit you like coffee,”

Roman teases, sipping his iced latte.

Alexei glares. “I will not. Coffee is bitter and depressing. Like your soul.”

Roman grins. “My soul is delightful. Just ask Alina.”

Alina, who had been in the middle of checking her phone, looks up, her cheeks slightly pink.

“Why me?”

Roman shrugs. “You seem to enjoy my company more than most.”

Alexei fake coughs. “Understatement.”

Alina glares at him, but I don’t miss how her fingers tighten around her coffee cup. I exchange a quick look with Alexei. He notices it, too.

Roman and Alina are a thing. Or at least, they want to be a thing.

They just don’t know it yet.

I tuck that information away for later as we leave the coffee shop, heading toward the library’s double doors to get some studying in before training. We find a quiet table in the back, books and laptops spreading out as we settle in. Everything is fine.

Until the devil himself walks in. He spots us almost immediately, his dark eyes locking onto mine for a split second before he looks away. He’s with Will and Grayson; all three still carry that post-game energy. Will says something that makes Grayson laugh, but Aiden just nods, his expression unreadable.

I force myself to focus on my work, but it’s impossible. Not when he’s so close.

And then, because the universe loves testing me, he walks over.

“You’re in my seat, Angel Face,”

he says, standing across from me.

I look up, arching a brow. “Oh? I wasn’t aware you had a reserved throne in the library.”

Roman snorts. Alexei hides his grin behind his laptop. Aiden sighs like I’m exhausting him. “You always have to be difficult, don’t you?”

“It’s one of my best qualities.”

Alina looks between us, eyes wide with amusement, but stays silent. I swear I hear Roman mutter, “Here we go again.”

Aiden doesn’t move. He just stands there, waiting. I should tell him to find another seat, but I won’t give him the satisfaction of thinking he’s getting under my skin.

So, I move.

Slowly. Casually. Like I want to.

I grab my coffee, stand, and slide into the seat beside Alexei, stretching my legs out as if I hadn’t just ceded my spot to the enemy. Aiden smirks.

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

I roll my eyes and turn back to my notes. For the next hour, I pretend he’s not sitting across from me, but it’s impossible. Every time I glance up, he’s already looking at me. Every time I shift in my seat, I feel his gaze flicker to the movement. And worst of all?

I like it.

And I hate that I like it.

When we finally leave the library, Alina falls into step beside me, nudging my arm. “That was fun to watch.”

“You need a new definition of fun,”

I grumble, but Ali grins.

“You like fighting with him.”

I scoff. “I do not.”

“You do. And he likes it too.”

I shake my head, but I don’t argue further. Because deep down, I know she’s right.

I don’t know if I want this tension between me and Aiden to stop. When I think about what it would be like if he ignored me completely, not acknowledging me at all, I almost miss him. What does it say about me if I would rather argue with this man than not get the chance to interact at all?

Later that night, after training, we all end up back at the Hockey House. Someone suggested a movie night, and before I knew it, I was curled up on the couch next to Alexei, Roman, and Alina, sitting suspiciously close on the other side of the room, and Aiden stretched out in the armchair across from me.

The lights are dim, and the movie plays in the background, but I can’t focus. Not when Aiden keeps looking at me. Not when I keep looking back.

Roman suddenly stretches, throwing an arm over Alina’s shoulders like it’s the most natural thing in the world. She stiffens at first, then relaxes, leaning slightly into him. I smirk, whispering to Alexei, “Took him long enough.”

Alexei chuckles.

“Five Bucks says she pretends to be annoyed but secretly loves it,”

I add with a smirk. Confident. I know Ali will push him away.

“Deal,”

Alexei says, shaking my hand. The movie ends, and as people start filtering upstairs, I grab my empty cup and head to the kitchen. Aiden is already there, leaning against the counter. We stare at each other for a long moment, the weight of everything unsaid hanging between us. I roll my eyes, turning away toward the sink. I rinse my cup, focusing too hard on the swirling water, but Aiden’s presence lingers behind me, feeling like a gravitational pull. Alexei walks into the kitchen with a confident smile on his face.

“Did you notice who’s happily sitting with an arm over their shoulder?”

My train of thought disappears when I hear Roman’s voice from the living room. “Hey, Alexei, how much does Kat owe us for losing that bet?”

I freeze. Roman makes his way into the kitchen, going straight for the fridge.

Aiden raises an eyebrow. “Bet?”

I slowly turn around, shooting daggers at Alexei, who looks like he’d melt into the floor instead. Roman, on the other hand, has no such survival instincts.

“Yeah, the bet on whether Alina would let Roman put his arm around her,”

Alexei mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. Aiden looks from me to Alexei, amused. “And what does that have to do with Kat?”

“Oh, she was so confident Alina would shove him away,”

Alexei supplies, clearly ready to die on this hill. Aiden grins, and I immediately regret everything. “Wait. Did you just lose a bet? You?”

I cross my arms. “It was a miscalculation.”

Roman cackles as he closes the fridge shut, water in his right hand. “She was so sure. So smug.”

I glare at him. “Traitor.”

Aiden leans against the counter, smug.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be wrong before, Angel Face. This is a historic moment.”

“You realise you’re setting yourself up for an ‘I told you so’ in the future, right?”

I say sweetly. His smirk deepens.

“Are you implying that there’s something for you to be right about? Interesting.”

I make a frustrated noise, pushing past him toward the doorway. But before I leave, I throw back, “Fine. Laugh it up. But when Alina and Roman get together, I expect interest in those five bucks. Remember that bet.”

I snap at Alexei, who’s already pulling out his phone with a sigh.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll Venmo you.”

I give all of them the middle finger as I exit the room and go upstairs.

Roman, still grinning, calls after me, “Make sure you don’t lose any other bets, Kat. Wouldn’t want to ruin that winning record of yours.”

Aiden chuckles behind me, and I don’t have to look to know this is far from over.

I have a feeling he will enjoy holding this one over my head.