(Slade’s POV)
I tried to tell myself it was just another day.
Another practice. Another stretch of ice under my skates. Another quiet holiday I could ignore by skating until my legs burned and my lungs begged for mercy.
It didn’t work.
Aspen had been in my head since the moment I woke up. The sound of her voice the night before. The way she’d looked at me at the rink earlier, like she was seeing something she wasn’t prepared for. Like she didn’t quite know what to do with the way I made her feel.
I knew exactly what to do with how she made me feel.
I wanted her.
There was no denying it anymore. Not after she’d left earlier with that careful smile, not after I’d watched the door longer than I should’ve, half hoping she’d turn back.
I couldn’t be without her. The thought sat heavy in
