Kayden

It was Damian Fernandez. He was wearing a casual hoodie with the Southbridge Bears logo stitched prominently on the chest.

When our eyes met, he flashed me a bright smile. It was the same smile he’d used in previous encounters when he tried to wedge himself between Rhys and me.

I frowned immediately, my shoulders tensing at the sight of him. I ignored him and tried to move past, but he blocked my path. "I have no time for this, Damian," I told him.

He didn’t step aside or drop the smile. Instead, he tilted his head, studying my face like my reaction amused him. "I have been wanting to speak to you since the last two games, and knowing how Rhys usually is, I am sure that he must have told you everything, right?"

Before I could reply, he pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a couple of times with deliberate slowness, then raised it toward me.

The photo filled the display in high resolution. It was an intimate shot of Rhys and Damian, clearly recent.

It was the one Rhys had mentioned because in the shot, Rhys looked completely off guard as Damian kissed him. It was a bit blurred and most people wouldn’t recognize it was them, but since Rhys had already told me, I recognized it instantly.

My blood ignited in an instant at the sight of the picture. I slapped the phone hard out of his hand, sending it clattering across the tiled floor with a sharp crack as it skidded under the row of sinks.

"I don’t care about whatever this is, but I need you to stay the hell away from me and Rhys," I growled, stepping forward until we were nearly chest to chest. "Whatever twisted game you are playing, it ends right now. You don’t get to pull this shit before our game. What the hell were you expecting I would do? Cry over a picture where your faces are barely recognizable?"

Damian’s eyes widened but he didn’t scramble for the phone right away. Instead, he chuckled softly. The bright smile never fully faded as he bent down to pick up his phone, checking the screen casually. When he straightened, his eyes had cooled considerably.

"Oh, Kayden Vale! I see why Riri likes you. Sharp-tongued, beautiful, and very soft. He couldn’t handle someone rugged like I am," he chuckled again. "The truth is that it would be hard to stay away from Riri, Kayden. I was his first everything. First kiss, first real touch, the first person he let see all of him. Feelings like that..." He paused, checking the phone again. "They don’t just vanish overnight. They take a long time to go away. Longer than you probably want to admit."

Riri. I had heard that nickname a couple of times and hated how it sounded. It stirred a hot mix of jealousy and raw anger that burned up my neck. But I wasn’t going to let it define me, especially in front of Damian.

"To hell with you," I shot back immediately, even as my pulse hammered in my ears. "You shouldn’t be doing petty shit like this. We are not kids playing games in the locker room. If you’ve got a problem with me or us, we battle it out on the ice tonight like real players."

Damian pointed toward me and laughed. "You really think someone as soft as you has any chance against me? Just because you have been making headlines, you really think that you have a chance against me?"

I clenched my fists tightly at my sides. I felt the urge to punch him, but I relaxed, not wanting to cause any problems before the game started.

"You are just a rookie who made a name for himself this season by leeching off Rhys. I know what you truly are and I know you don’t love Rhys and are just using him, using his legacy as one of the greatest hockey—"

That did it. I didn’t let him finish as I punched him hard in the face.

Damian was taken aback by the hit, and when he raised his head and his eyes met mine, I saw the shock written clearly on his face, plus fear.

Good. He should fear me.

"I already told you that we should battle this on the ice instead of arguing in a washroom. I love Rhys for himself and not for his title or anything else, which is why I am going to show you exactly why I keep trending throughout this season," I told him and took another step toward him, then grabbed his collar.

"Stay the hell away from our lives. I’ll show you exactly how powerful I am out there, or I swear I’ll make sure you regret ever stepping foot in this arena." I let go of his collar and turned to leave the washroom, not waiting to hear anything else from him.

I shoved past him, my shoulder connecting solidly with his in a deliberate bump that made my point without escalating further, and pushed through the bathroom door back into the bustling concourse.

The arena noise had grown louder as more fans had arrived.

My hands stayed clenched at my sides as I started heading toward the players’ entrance that led back to the ice level and the locker room corridor.

The confrontation with Damian replayed in sharp flashes in my head, but I shoved it all down. All I had to do was win the game and be who I wanted to be. That was the only priority now.

I was halfway down the wide, echoing hallway when I spotted Soren near the railing that overlooked one of the lower seating sections with a partial view of the ice. He had arrived earlier before the game, probably to watch the warm ups, and must have missed ours.

Soren was dressed in a comfortable hoodie and jeans, but I recognized his slender figure and the relaxed posture that always made him stand out.

But today he wasn’t alone.

Standing right beside him, their shoulders brushing comfortably, was someone I never expected: Rio Takahashi, Soren’s longtime figure skating rival, the one who was supposed to be his Skating partner for the Olympics happening in a few months.

Who would have thought that the person he had invited, the special person he had made up with, was his rival?

Rio was a beautiful man, just like Soren. He had a lean, elegant build honed from years on the ice. His darkish blue hair was swept back neatly, and he wore a sharp casual jacket that somehow still screamed competitive athlete even off the rink.

His hand rested lightly on Soren’s lower back, and it confirmed it all.

They were lovers.

Soren caught sight of me at the same moment and his eyes widened in genuine surprise. He gasped dramatically, pointing between Rio and me with a quick, theatrical flourish of his hand.

Rio turned smoothly, spotting me, and offered a polite, genuine nod accompanied by a small smile that reached his eyes. "Kayden Vale. I finally met you. It’s an honor to meet you. Soren told me plenty of things that you and Rhys Calder had done for him. Thank you for hosting him in your home these past weeks. It really meant more than you know. I am glad that he met someone like you."

Soren’s cheeks warmed with a light flush, but there was a new unshakable confidence in the way he carried himself, and I was glad that I got to play a role in that.

He leaned subtly into Rio’s side without hesitation and smiled brightly. "Yeah... I’m finally able to tell the whole world what I am now. No more hiding my secret, no more living in fear of it coming out at the worst moment. The weight has been lifted," he said excitedly, his voice holding a quiet pride born from probably months of his internal struggle.

"I am truly glad and happy for you, Soren," I told him. "I also can’t wait to let everything I have been holding back out," I told him, and he stared at me in confusion. "I should probably go now and join the others. I hope you both enjoy the game tonight."

"Good luck!" both of them said at the same time.

I exchanged quick hugs with Soren while I shook Rio’s hand warmly, then I headed toward the locker room.

By the time I pushed through the locker room door, most of the guys were already half-dressed in their game gear. Music thumped low from a speaker in the corner, and most of them were chatting about the game.

I noticed Rhys alone on a bench and headed straight toward him. "Hey!"

Rhys raised his head when I reached him. "I had thought something had happened and was about to go meet you. Why are you just coming now?"

I sighed, wondering if I should tell him about Damian, but I didn’t. Instead, I just mentioned Soren and Rio. "I couldn’t believe it myself. Those two are supposed to be rivals but they are lovers."

Rhys chuckled and placed his hand around my neck. "Just like us."

I shook my head. "We were never rivals, Rhys. Just captain and teammate.’’

He shrugged. "Whatever we were before doesn’t matter. We are lovers now because love happens when you least expect it, and I am glad it’s you, which is why tonight is for you."

"No, it’s for us.This game determines our future."