Chapter 6: Akil

Akil

⛸️

The cold water poured over me, washing away the sweat and exhaustion from practice. I was alone now, everyone else had already cleared out, just like usual. I didn't mind—this was my time to think, or not think. Just be in the quiet.

Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around my waist and used another to dry my hair. The muscles in my back and shoulders were still buzzing from the intense session on the ice.

Then, I heard the door creak open.

I froze, the towel halfway through drying my hair, my eyes darting to the source of the noise. There, standing in the doorway, was Nesta.

"Nesta? What the hell?" I stammered, instinctively pulling the towel tighter around my waist as my voice rose in shock. "What are you doing in here?"

Her face turned an intense shade of red, and she quickly covered her eyes with both hands. "Oh my gosh, I didn't think anyone was still here!"

I stood frozen, my confusion slowly turning into frustration. She wasn't even looking at me now—her head turned sideways, one hand over her face, the other gesturing awkwardly toward the lockers. "Ronan took my phone charger when we were studying, and he's stuck at some family thing, and I need it. I didn't think anyone would still be in here!"

I blinked at her, trying to make sense of her words. "So, you just... walked into the guys' locker room?" I asked, my mind racing.

"Well, yeah!" She kept her hands over her eyes, barely glancing at me. "I knocked! But no one answered, so I thought it was fine! I didn't think you'd still be... uh..." Her voice trailed off as she awkwardly waved her hand toward me.

"Naked?" I finished for her, scowling.

"I didn't say that!" she squeaked, her hands clutching her face in an attempt to shield herself.

I groaned, rubbing my face. "Nesta, you can't just barge into the guys' locker room like it's no big deal."

"I didn't barge in!" she protested, still not looking at me. "I knocked! No one answered, so I thought it was fine!"

I stared at her, incredulous, then glanced toward Ronan's locker. Of course, he would forget to leave her charger. And of course, Nesta couldn't wait until tomorrow to get it back. This was my fucking luck.

"Well, if you're going to do this, just grab it and go," I said, turning to my locker and pulling on some clothes. "And next time, maybe wait for a response before coming in."

"Fine," she muttered, blindly stumbling toward Ronan's locker, hands still firmly over her eyes. "Just... don't move or anything!"

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to give you a show," I muttered under my breath, hurriedly pulling on a shirt and jeans.

By the time she had managed to unlock Ronan's locker and get her charger, I was dressed and leaning against the bench, arms crossed and glaring at her.

She turned around, charger in hand, her eyes carefully avoiding mine. "See? Crisis averted. No big deal."

"No big deal," I echoed, raising an eyebrow. "Nesta, this is the guys' locker room. Do you realize how many rules you just broke by being in here?"

She waved me off, completely unfazed. "Relax, Akil. It's not like I'm planning on making a habit of it."

I shook my head, muttering something under my breath about how impossible she was. But just as she was about to leave, I couldn't help myself. "Next time, maybe leave the sneaking around to people who know what they're doing."

She paused at the door, turning back with that infuriatingly smug grin. "Next time, stop acting like sneaking is your superpower."

I blinked, momentarily taken aback.

Before I could respond, she was already halfway down the hall, waving me off like she'd won some kind of argument. I just stood there, seething, caught somewhere between wanting to scream and the overwhelming urge to throw something at her.

Nesta, I thought, shaking my head. Unbelievable.

I grabbed my bag off the bench and slung it over my shoulder, muttering under my breath about how she had no concept of boundaries. My one quiet, miserable moment after practice, and she had to barge in like she owned the place.

Of course, it had to be Nesta. Out of everyone, it had to be her. The way she blushed, how flustered she got—it didn't matter. None of it helped. All I could think about was how completely irritating she was.

And then there was the way she held her ground, the way she shot back with that sarcastic smirk.

"Next time, stop acting like sneaking is your superpower." Jesus. I couldn't believe she said that. And now it was stuck in my head.

I stopped dead in my tracks, my frustration boiling. Why the hell was I even still thinking about this? Nesta? Really? She was the one person who could ruin the only time I had to myself. The one moment of peace, and she turned it into a circus.

I shook my head, clenching my fists. She was... she was Nesta. Ronan's best friend. The girl I would never, ever get along with.

"Get it together," I muttered, walking faster now, my teeth grinding. Maybe the cold air would do something to snap me out of this ridiculous spiral.

I reached my jeep and unlocked it, sliding into the driver's seat, but even as I started the engine, my irritation didn't fade. That tension, that ridiculous energy she brought with her—it lingered.

I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes, trying to shove all of it out of my head. All of it. I just needed to get home, to get away from Nesta, to reclaim whatever peace she had stomped over.

❤︎

Nesta

As soon as I was out of the locker room, I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding. My hands were clammy, my heart racing and my face was on fire.

What the hell was that?

I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to collect myself, but the image of Akil standing there in nothing but a towel, his abs glistening like he'd been carved out of freaking marble, was burned into my brain.

I mean, sure, I knew he was in good shape—he's a hockey player, for crying out loud—but seeing it up close? With the wet, tangled hair and those stupid veins running down his arms? God help me.

And don't even get me started on the way his towel hung dangerously low on his hips. It was indecent. Completely indecent. And somehow unfairly distracting.

The sharp cut of his v-line drew my eyes like a magnet, thick, muscular, and veined—so defined it could've been carved from stone.

You could tell he was fit, and active, and spent his life working out and playing hockey. My gosh. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I needed to stop thinking about it. But how could I, when every detail seemed designed to test my self-control?

I couldn't help when my gaze dipped lower, lingering longer than I should've allowed. The fabric clung to him, the outline impossible to ignore.

My throat tightened, and I swallowed hard, heat rising to my face as an entirely inappropriate thought crossed my mind. It had to be fucking huge.

"Get it together, Nesta," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head as I tried to banish the utterly inappropriate thoughts creeping in. Thoughts I had no business having.

Because this was Akil. Smug, arrogant Akil, who lived to annoy me and thought he was God's gift to the world. I hated him. I hated him.

Except...

No. Nope. Not going there.

I groaned, rubbing at my temples. I didn't like Akil. I had a crush on Ronan. Sweet, dependable Ronan. The guy who always had my back, who never failed to make me laugh, who—well, who didn't stand half-naked in locker rooms looking like some kind of Greek god.

"Stop it, Nesta," I scolded myself, walking faster to my car. I was letting my brain wander way too far into dangerous territory. I didn't even like Akil. He was just... there.

Hot. Smirking. Smug. But there.

Gosh, I needed to stop thinking about this. About him.

I gripped my steering wheel tightly once I slid into my car, staring straight ahead as I tried to clear my head.

Akil wasn't an option. He wasn't even a consideration. I had my sights set on someone else. Someone who didn't drive me insane.

So why couldn't I get him out of my head now?