Chapter 13: Too Close

Kieran’s POV

There were several things I understood perfectly about hockey, skating, pressure, winning and control. Unfortunately, “why the hell am I suddenly incapable of functioning around Asher Carter?” was not one of them.

By Friday morning I had slept maybe three hours. Every single time I closed my eyes, my brain replayed the party. The kiss. The panic afterward. I slammed my locker shut harder than necessary.

Landon looked up from taping his hockey stick. “You look unstable.”

“I feel unstable.”

“That’s comforting.”

I dragged a hand down my face while practice started in ten minutes and somehow that made everything worse because practice meant seeing Asher again, which apparently my nervous system now treated like a medical emergency.

Milo Hayes walked into the locker room carrying two energy drinks and terrible intentions. “Good morning, emotionally constipated athletes.”

Nobody answered.

Milo sighed dramatically. “Tough crowd.”

Then his eyes landed on me. "Whoa. Hampton looks like he fought demons all night.”

“He lost,” Landon said.

“Shut up, you just love troubles.”

Theo walked past us grinning. “You look stressed, Captain.”

“I’m surrounded by idiots.”

“Yet somehow you’re the one spiraling,” Milo replied.

I grabbed my helmet before I actually committed violence. Normal. Everything needed to stay normal but the second I stepped onto the rink and saw Asher Carter sitting near the bench with a clipboard, my brain immediately stopped functioning.

Asher looked up.

Our eyes met.

And suddenly all I could think about was his mouth.

Fantastic.

Asher’s expression shifted instantly. Panic. Recognition. Then immediate avoidance. He looked away so fast it was almost aggressive. Good. Perfect. That was healthy.

Coach Donovan Hale blew his whistle sharply. “Circle up!”

Players gathered near center ice while Coach paced in front of us looking like a man two seconds away from homicide.

“Westbridge tournament is next week,” he barked. “And right now half of you skate like confused toddlers.”

Milo raised a hand. “That feels targeted.”

“It was.”

The team laughed.

Coach pointed toward the practice stations. “Today’s drills are partner based. Tight control. Close contact puck protection. Fast transitions.”

Then his gaze landed on me. Bad sign.

“Hampton.”

I straightened instantly.

Coach jerked his chin toward Asher. “Carter’s helping you.”

Asher blinked. “With what exactly?”

“Hampton needs someone feeding passes during rotation drills since Brooks tweaked his shoulder.”

Landon looked personally offended. “It was one minor injury.”

“You cried dramatically for fifteen minutes.”

“I was expressing pain.”

Coach ignored him completely. “You know hockey strategy better than half this team anyway, Carter. Stay near the boards and keep up.”

Relief visibly crossed Asher’s face. Interesting.

Milo snorted loudly. “Oh, this feels illegal already.”

Theo shoved him. “You make everything weird.”

“Because everything IS weird.”

Coach pointed at center ice. “Move!”

Asher grabbed a bucket of pucks and skated carefully toward the drill area, staying close to the boards exactly the way fragile little mascot Asher Carter normally would.

Except now I knew better.

Because I had seen him skate.

And once you saw something like that, you couldn’t unsee it. I coasted beside him slowly, too close, always too close lately.

“You nervous?” I asked quietly.

“About standing near your ego for extended periods? A little.”

My mouth twitched despite myself. “Cute.”

“I wasn’t trying to be.”

“That’s the tragic part.”

He rolled his eyes and passed me a puck harder than necessary. I caught it easily before deliberately skating closer. His shoulders tensed immediately.

Interesting.

“Your passing got better,” I murmured.

“Maybe you’re getting slower.”

“That sounded flirtier than you intended.”

He nearly dropped the remaining pucks.

Across the rink Milo yelled dramatically, “Why do you two like fighting always?”

The entire team burst into laughter while Asher looked ready to commit murder while even Coach looked exhausted.

“Less talking!” Coach barked. “More skating!”

Practice started again. I ran drills while Asher fed pucks from the boards, but somehow things only got worse from there because now I noticed everything about him. The sarcasm. The confidence underneath the quiet act. The way his eyes tracked every movement on the ice like he understood hockey too well.

At one point I missed a pass because I was staring.

Landon barked a laugh. “Focus, Romeo.”

“I hate you.”

“Emotionally noted.”

Asher smirked under his breath. That should not affect me the way it did.

Coach blew the whistle again. “Hampton! Carter! Demonstration.”

I frowned. “For what?”

“Puck protection positioning.”

Absolutely not. Asher looked equally alarmed.

Coach pointed impatiently. “Move.”

We skated toward center ice and the team immediately got interested again because apparently public humiliation was their favorite sport.

Coach tossed me a puck. “Defender pressure simulation. Carter, stay close and force movement.”

Asher stared at him. “You want me to bodycheck your captain?”

Coach crossed his arms. “I want you to stop looking terrified of human contact.”

Theo laughed loudly while Milo yelled, “THIS IS BETTER THAN NETFLIX.”

Asher muttered something under his breath that sounded violent before moving closer too carefully, I could practically feel his heartbeat from here.

“You’re stiff,” I said quietly.

“You’re annoying.”

“Use your shoulder.”

“That sounds threatening.”

“Carter.”

“What?”

“You’re thinking too much.”

His eyes snapped to mine, for one second neither of us moved then I reached for his wrist instinctively. Everything froze again. His breath caught slightly. Mine did too. The rink suddenly felt too quiet and too small.

I adjusted his grip slowly. “Like this.”

His face was close enough now that I could see the faint blush creeping across his cheeks. Wait. Was he blushing? Something dangerous twisted low in my stomach.

“Asher,” I said carefully.

“What?”

“You’re red.”

“I’m cold.”

“You said that last time.”

“Well maybe I’m consistently cold.”

“You’re wearing layers.”

“You’re very observant today.”

I grinned slowly. “You noticed.”

His expression immediately became defensive. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet you keep talking to me.”

“Unfortunately i have to respond.”

Coach yelled from across the rink, “Carter, stop flirting and pressure him properly!”

The entire rink exploded.

Asher nearly choked. “We are NOT flirting!”

Milo pointed dramatically. “That reaction means yes!”

I should have been embarrassed. Instead I was staring at Asher’s face because somehow his annoyance only made him look... Nope. Absolutely not finishing that thought.

Practice continued but my concentration was officially dead. Every time Asher spoke, I noticed. Every time he looked at me, I noticed. Every accidental touch felt illegal. At one point another player skated too close to the boards near him and instinctively I moved between them before I even realized what I was doing.

Asher blinked at me.

I blinked back.

Neither of us acknowledged it.

Cassian unfortunately noticed everything.

From across the rink his dark eyes followed every interaction between us with unsettling intensity. That guy missed nothing, which was exactly why it made me nervous when he suddenly smirked slightly after watching Asher laugh at something Theo said like he knew something the rest of us didn’t.

Coach finally ended practice and players immediately started skating off.

Milo skated backward toward me. “So,” he said loudly, “when are you two filing custody papers?”

“Die,” I replied automatically.

Theo grinned. “You really do act divorced.”

Asher groaned. “I hate this school.”

“That’s fair,” Landon admitted.

Everyone started heading toward the locker rooms, everyone except me and Asher because somehow we ended up lingering near the bench alone again. Asher adjusted the sleeves of his hoodie awkwardly. “You stared too much today.”

“You noticed too much today.”

“That’s because you’re weird lately.”

“I’m weird?”

“You nearly skated into Milo.”

“In my defense, nobody should have to look at Milo unexpectedly.”

A laugh escaped him before he could stop it and there it was again that stupid feeling in my chest. His smile faded slightly when he realized how close we were standing now. Close enough that I could feel his breath.

Neither of us moved away.

“You keep doing that,” I murmured.

“Doing what?”

“Looking at me like you’re about to fight me.”

“Maybe I am.”

The second the words left my mouth, silence crashed between us. Asher stepped closer, barely an inch but still enough to completely destroy my remaining sanity.

“You talk too much, Hampton,” he said quietly.

“You think so.”

His eyes dropped briefly toward my mouth and suddenly I forgot how breathing worked again. I leaned closer instinctively. He didn’t move. Neither did I. One more second and...

“WHY DO YOU TWO ACT DIVORCED?”

We jumped apart violently. Milo stood halfway across the rink holding his hockey stick like he had just uncovered government secrets. Landon looked seconds away from tears.

Milo pointed dramatically between us. “You fight like a married couple with tax problems. Don't injury him, hampton.”

“Shut up, Milo,” we snapped simultaneously.

Milo gasped dramatically. “nice. Same tone too.”