Chapter 27 Trh Moment

Chapter 27 Trh Moment
 Chapter 27 : The Moment I Couldn’t Forget

The rink was empty now. The echoes of skates against ice and pucks hitting the boards had faded, leaving only silence that pressed in on me from all sides. I sat on the bench, my hockey bag at my feet, still gripping my stick like a lifeline. My lungs burned, my legs felt like lead, and my heart… my heart refused to slow down.

I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Cole. The way he had been so serious, so cold, yet somehow… so intense. I could still feel it—the way he had leaned close to correct my posture, the slight brush of his hand when he’d adjusted my stick. It was nothing too much, just hockey, he’d told me, but it had set my skin on fire in ways I didn’t expect.

I pressed my palm to my face, trying to catch my breath, but the memory wouldn’t let me. My mind kept replaying it over and over: his blue eyes, sharp and unreadable, focused entirely on me. No teasing. No smirk. Just… him. Serious. Cold. In control. And yet… I had felt something there, something I couldn’t name.

I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts. I can’t think like this. I’m tired, sweaty, and I just practiced like a madwoman. Why am I thinking about him like this?

But the images wouldn’t leave. His hand brushing my shoulder, the way he watched me, the way his jaw tightened when I made a move he didn’t expect. Why did it feel like he was testing me… and me only?

I glanced down at my stick. I wanted to tell myself it was just hockey. Just a game. But it wasn’t. Not anymore.

And then, that thought hit me like a punch to the chest.

I’m… falling for him.

No. Stop. I shook my head violently, hoping that would make the thought disappear. No. He’s Cole Hayes. The Cole Hayes. The guy everyone here swoons over, everyone wants, everyone looks up to. I’m just a transfer. A nobody. I can’t… I won’t…

But my heart wouldn’t listen. It was hammering against my ribs as if it had its own mind. And worse, my stomach twisted at the thought that maybe… maybe he could feel something too.

I pushed the memory away, but then it came back even stronger. The way he had said nothing to anyone, the way he had focused on me and me alone, ignoring everyone else. My chest tightened as I realized just how much I had wanted him to smile at me. Just a tiny, small smile. Anything. And he hadn’t. And yet… I hadn’t minded it. Somehow, I had wanted him to stay that serious, that cold, that unreachable.

My mind wandered to the rumors that would start soon. I knew the school would be buzzing tomorrow. “Mila and Cole…” “Cole Hayes carries her bag…” “She beat him once…”

The thought made my stomach churn. I didn’t want attention. I didn’t want to be the girl everyone whispered about. I didn’t want to be… this girl.

And then the worst thought of all came creeping in:

What if he doesn’t feel the same? What if all of this… this intensity, this attention, this closeness—it’s just because of the bet?

My hands clenched around the stick. I wanted to throw it across the rink, scream into the empty air, just release the frustration building inside me. But I couldn’t. Not yet.

I pushed myself to my feet and started walking slowly to the edge of the rink, dragging my skates behind me. The ice beneath my boots was cold, the chill biting through my socks. My mind raced faster than my legs could carry me.

Why do I feel like this? Why does my chest hurt when I think about him?

I remembered every little detail from today. The way he moved—precise, confident, untouchable. The way he let me make mistakes, just enough to learn. The way he didn’t smile or say anything unnecessary. He was pure focus and discipline, and yet… he had allowed me into that space. Just me.

I froze for a moment, gripping the railing of the rink. My reflection in the ice stared back at me, tired, flushed, and confused. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how fast my heart had raced when he’d leaned over to correct me. I didn’t like how I had wanted his hand to linger just a fraction longer than necessary. I didn’t like the way my stomach flipped every time I thought of him.

And yet… I did.

I exhaled shakily, letting the air out slowly. My hands were still trembling slightly, my legs still heavy from exertion. But more than anything, I felt a strange mixture of fear and excitement. Fear because I knew I was opening myself up to something I couldn’t control. Excitement because… I wanted it.

I sat back down on the bench and buried my face in my hands. I can’t let myself fall for him.

And then, my thoughts betrayed me again. But what if he likes me too? What if all of this, the way he pushed me, the way he focused on me, the way he stayed close—what if it’s because he sees me differently than everyone else?

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag. I wanted to believe that. I wanted to cling to it like a lifeline. But deep down, I knew the truth: I didn’t know him yet. I barely knew anything about him outside the rink. And even now, after everything, he could still be cold, unreachable, untouchable.

I leaned back, letting the rink’s silence wash over me. The lights reflected off the ice, pale and cool, like a mirror for my thoughts. My chest ached, my legs ached, my heart—my heart ached most of all.

And for the first time, I admitted it to myself, quietly, without a voice:

I think… I’m falling for Cole Hayes.

A thrill of panic shot through me, mixed with something else I didn’t recognize—anticipation, perhaps, or hope. I didn’t want to hope. Not yet. Not when everything was still so confusing. But my chest still fluttered at the thought of him, still burned with the memory of his intensity, still ached from the realization that I wanted more than just hockey practice.

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, taking one last look at the empty rink. My reflection stared back at me, a girl who was strong, who had beaten the best player in school, who had pushed herself harder than ever—and yet… also a girl who didn’t know what to do with her heart.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I had to go. The school would resume soon, the rumors would fly, and life would go on. But something had shifted inside me. Something I couldn’t ignore, no matter how hard I tried.

And as I walked out of the rink, I couldn’t help one small, quiet thought that echoed in my mind:

I want to see him again. I want to see Cole Hayes.