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Chapter twelve

Technically, I’m lying… except not really

Chase

N othing clears my head like being on the ice.

The scrape of my blades on frozen glass, the cold air slicing through my lungs, the clean rhythm of pucks pinging off the boards—it drowns everything else out. No media bullshit. No fake relationship to save my ass. Just the boys, the puck, and the space to breathe.

The Storm’s still weeks out from official training camp, which means today’s just an informal skate. Light drills, half-assed reps, and enough chirping to qualify as cardio. It’s chaos disguised as practice, and I’m usually all for it, but today, I know I’m the fucking entertainment.

I tighten my gloves and coast toward the net. Logan’s already near the circles waiting on a pass, while Jake’s behind him, chirping him like it’s a warmup drill.

I drop into a low stance and send a crisp pass right to his tape. “Heads up, Pookie.”

Logan catches it clean and casts a look towards Jake. “Can you get your boyfriend to stop calling me that?”

Jake lets out a delighted sound, looping a wide circle around us. “Why? You jealous I don’t say it to you like that in my soft voice? ”

“You sound like a walking restraining order,” Logan mutters, flicking a wrister into the net.

“Love you too, baby,” Jake chirps, skating off before Logan can slash him.

Ryan skates up, already laughing. “Gotta be honest, Walton, didn’t think we’d see you today after the shit show you just lived through.”

I groan. I should’ve known this was coming.

“No, really.” Logan wipes his nose with the cuff of his glove. “How does it feel to have your dick go viral?”

I drop my head back with another groan, louder this time. “For the last fucking time, there was no actual dick you could see in the video.”

Jake skates up next to me, eyes gleaming. “Oh, we know. The whole team watched it like it was the fucking Zapruder film. Frame-by-frame analysis.”

Ryan nods solemnly. “We did a full team review.”

I whip toward him. “ You what? ”

“Oh, yeah,” Logan deadpans. “Scientific purposes. Strictly academic.”

I stare at the high rafters of the arena ceiling, hoping they may fall and kill me. “Oh my fucking god.”

Logan shrugs. “Not our fault you moan like a porn star, bud.”

“Your time will come, Miller.”

“Doubt it.”

Jake taps his stick against the ice. “Alright, break it down for us. Who leaked it?”

I exhale sharply, rubbing the back of my neck. “Old fling… Years ago.”

Reid, who’s been silent this whole time and standing in the net like the brooding mountain he is, finally grumbles his way into the conversation.

“This is why you don’t film shit.”

Logan snorts. “Alright, Grandpa.”

Reid glares. “I’m serious. If I get a fucking text from my mom about your moaning again, I’ll end you.”

I choke. “Your mom saw it?!”

“She’s on social media, you asshole.”

I open my mouth to reply, but we all turn at the same time towards a commotion at the boards. Eli. Back from his honeymoon, gliding across the ice like he didn’t just disappear for two weeks of vacation sex. He looks entirely too relaxed, tanned, and happy. Disgusting.

He reaches us at center ice and lifts his chin in greeting, casually flipping a puck off the blade of his stick.

“Morning, degenerates.”

Ryan grins. “Look who finally came home.”

“Just in time for the gossip,” Logan adds. “You hear about our boy’s greatest hits video?”

Eli side-eyes me. “I did. Briefly debated unfriending you.”

Jake doesn’t miss a beat. “Bet Tamara watched it.”

“She said it was poorly lit.”

I curse loudly as they all chuckle together. “Can we not do this?!”

“Fine,” Ryan says, relenting. “Let’s talk about your next move. What’s the plan? Did John say you have to vow celibacy? Maybe date a nun?”

I don’t even think, I just say it.

“Didn’t have to. I’m dating Zoe now. Officially off the market.”

The silence is immediate and sharp. Logan turns his head slowly, blinking as if he misheard me. Ryan’s mouth falls open, and Reid stares at me like I’ve personally insulted his lineage.

Jake is the first to break. “I’m sorry… what? ”

“I’m dating Zoe,” I repeat, with what I hope is an effortless shrug. “It’s new.”

Ryan barks out a laugh. “No, you’re not.”

“I am.”

Jake eyes narrow suspiciously. “Zoe Carlson . Charlie’s ride-or-die, will-smite-you-with-a-glare Zoe. That Zoe?”

“Yeah.”

Logan whistles low. “Bold strategy, Walton.”

“She hates you,” Jake says.

“No, she doesn’t.”

“She called you a walking hormone last week,” Reid reminds me.

“Affectionately.”

Eli crosses his arms and studies me as if he’s watching game footage he intends to break down later. “Why would she do this to herself?”

I flash him a grin. “I’m very charming.”

They’re all still staring, trying to find the lie on my face. I give them a practiced smirk, the kind I save for reporters and cameras, and hope it’s enough to sell it. But under the surface, my pulse is doing ridiculous shit for every half-truth I’m about to tell.

Zoe and I agreed on this. If anyone asked, we’d say it started at the wedding. That it just happened. Technically not a lie, but somehow that makes it worse.

“Wait, when did this happen?” Logan asks, squinting at me.

“Eli’s wedding,” I say smoothly. “It kind of… just clicked into place.”

Another beat of silence, and then Jake reacts. He throws his hands up and spins on his skates. “Holy shit . That’s why you were both late for brunch.”

I keep the smile on, let the lie settle over me. “We were at the bar, talking. One thing led to another…”

It sounds almost easy when I say it like that, but it wasn’t. The way she looked at me when I touched her like I couldn’t stop, the way I didn’t want to. It wasn’t supposed to matter. But fuck, I remember every second.

“You’re serious,” Logan says, disbelief still coloring his voice. “Like you guys… hooked up?”

“We talked,” I say. “We danced.”

“And then?” Jake asks, suspicion sharpening his voice.

I smile slowly. “We vibed.”

Ryan groans, and Reid rolls his eyes.

Eli’s still staring at me, trying to decide if I’ve finally lost it. “She’s not your type.”

“She is now.”

Logan frowns. “Was it a moment? Or like… a slow burn?”

I almost laugh. It was definitely a moment, alright.

Zoe, looking like every bad decision I’ve ever made, standing at the bar in that goddamn perfect satin dress with the ribbons.

Giving me hell before I could even say hi.

Making my brain melt every time she laughed, or when she agreed to dance with me.

Or when she randomly kissed me in that photo booth like she could do it without it meaning a damn thing.

And then later.

Her, against the wall of my hotel room. Me, between her thighs. Us, tangled in the sheets, unable to separate right after we came because we were so fucking gone.

The way she looked at me, the way I just knew.

I push those memories down so hard they practically crack my ribs. No one needs to know how much I think about that night. No one needs to know how much I wish I could go back to it again and again.

Instead, I lean into the lie, because at least that way I’m in control of it.

“Oh, there was a moment.”

It was fast and messy and unforgettable. So good I still feel it in my bones and have been chasing that feeling ever since.

“Jesus Christ,” Jake mutters. “You’re in deep.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Okay then, real question.” Logan skates closer, dragging his stick behind him.

He stops just in front of me. “Who fell first?”

“Me.”

I don’t mean to say it so quickly, but I don’t even think. It just drops from my mouth like the truth it is.

There’s a pause, a longer one this time. The air stretches tight, like it’s holding its breath. Reid’s eyebrows creep up in slow disbelief, and Ryan makes a weird sound that might be laughter or horror.

Jake just stares at me. “Oh my god .”

I exhale sharply, already so over this. “Listen, I don’t owe you douchebags the full play-by-play of my love life—”

Logan gasps. “You just said love !”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Reid, who hasn’t said a damn word since I doomed myself, finally exhales. And then he nods, like he’s just figured out the meaning of life.

“Yeah.” His voice is calm. “That tracks.”

I whip toward him. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugs, entirely too calm. “I mean, if I had to guess who’d be in love first out of the both of you, my money was always on you.”

I point a gloved finger at him. “I’m not in love!”

His mouth opens to reply, but Jake suddenly grabs my arm and turns us away from the guys, his tone shifting. “You know she’s Charlie’s best friend, right?”

“I know.”

“She’s family, man. If you screw this up—”

“I’d never fucking hurt Zoe, you know that.”

The words come out rough, but I mean every single one. Doesn’t matter that it’s fake, doesn’t matter that this is a play for damage control. She’s not going to be collateral.

He stares at me a beat longer, trying to read between the lines and see the truth of it all, then finally nods. “Alright.”

And then, because this team is run by demons, Logan opens his mouth.

“So, when’s the sex tape sequel with Zoe dropping?”

Jake slowly closes his eyes as I freeze. Something cold and instant slams into my chest, knocking the breath out of me. Not embarrassment, not frustration. Something worse, something darker. A sharp, violent no fucking way response that I barely manage to keep from showing on my face.

Because no one— no one —gets to see Zoe naked. Not in a video. Not in their goddamn heads . Not anyone but me .

My brain goes blank, and my body moves automatically. Before I can stop myself, I snap my stick against the ice, the crack cutting through the rink like a gunshot that makes the guys all jolt.

“The fuck did you just say?”

Ryan whistles low. “Ohh, shit.”

Jake looks half impressed. “Did not expect that level of commitment this early.”

I point my stick out at Logan. “You don’t talk about her like that.”

“Damn,” he says. “Didn’t realize you were that cooked.”