Rinkmates: A steamy Hockey Romance (The Mates series Book 1)

I’ve been on the edge since I woke up this morning, wondering if Liora really is mad at me after what happened in the living room. The memory flashes through my mind as I run on the treadmill—her soft skin under my fingertips, the quiet gasps escaping her lips, the way her body arched into my touch. It’s seared into my brain, replaying on a loop.

Next to me, Jayce spots Colton as he grunts through another bench press rep. “Ri, you going to the gala in the Hamptons after play-offs?” Jayce asks.

“Ugh, not sure, man,” I say, legs pumping steadily on the treadmill. “Kind of just want to lay low and recharge during the short break. Although my sister’s been bugging me to go…and I kinda said yes.”

“Oh yeah, Rosie’s graduating Julliard this year, right? Damn, they grow up so fast. She still loves dancing?”

“Yep, she’s got her big senior performance in July. Ballet prodigy, that one.” Pride swells in my chest thinking about her. She’s been struggling, too, but I hope she’s got it under control. But, well, I’m one to talk.

I slow down and pull out my phone, a new idea forming. What if Liora didn’t just want to be my date for the night? Maybe she’d be up for coming to my parents’ with me. God knows I can’t go alone—my father drives me up the wall. But a weekend in the Hamptons with her? That actually sounds pretty tempting.

Riley: Hey, good morning…Wondering if you’d want to go to this bougie Hamptons gala thing with me in a few weeks and stay at my parents? No worries if not, just thought it could be fun…

I hit Send before I can second-guess myself. Within seconds, bubbles appear. My heart hammers in my chest.Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

Bladezilla: Hmm, I’ll have to check my very busy schedule. But I suppose I could make an appearance as arm candy for NY’s star center…

Relief floods me, a dopey grin spreading across my face. I’m typing out a flirty response when Jayce’s voice cuts through my trance.

“Damn, you’re smiling, Huntington. What are you doing?”

“Ah, nothing, just texting Liora about the gala,” I mumble, feeling my cheeks heat up.

“Mm-hmm, sure. You two were looking pretty cozy at the party. When’s the wedding?” he teases.

“Ha, funny.”

King pushes through one more rep, and Jayce carefully guides the bar back to the rack. King sits up, his face flushed, giving me his signature frown. “You two looked grossly in love.”

I roll my eyes. “We didn’t.”

Jayce and Colton exchange a glance and then, as if rehearsed, they both say, “You did.”

I run faster, trying to escape thoughts of that little blonde, but it’s impossible.

“Did you see her last interview? They grilled her about her Olympic disaster,” Jayce says carefully. “Do you know why she exited?”

I keep running. “No. I didn’t ask. I don’t want to force her to tell me something she isn’t ready to share.”

“She kinda told it on camera though,” Jayce says, and I stop the treadmill, hopping down.

“What?”

Jayce shrugs. “Well, it was just a thing about time. Everyone wants to know why she left and hid for years.”

Can’t say I’m not dying to know, though.

I pull out my phone, stop the music playing in my earbuds, and head to YouTube to search for the interview. Liora told me she and Aiden were invited to The NY Morning Show today, but I didn’t know she’d talk about what happened. I’ve been dying to know for years, and there’s a pang of sadness that she didn’t tell me first.

I start the video while Jayce and Colton continue training.

I see her sitting on a yellow couch on a bright TV set, next to Aiden. They talk about their first show and how they scored an impressive twenty-five points to advance to the second round. I’ve had my fair share of interviews, and I’ve sat on that yellow couch a couple of times.

They’re talking with Rosanne Montgomery. With her short red hair and glasses, she gives off old teacher vibes, bringing back unkind memories of being forced to read aloud in class, ending with the entire class laughing at me. I’ve hated reading out loud ever since.

Rosanne asks Liora and Aiden about their plans and private lives, and they chat away. Then she asks about me, and Liora’s cheeks turn pink as she tells Rosanne what a nice guy I am. Damn. She’s so damn cute. I know she has to talk about me like that, but it does something funny to my stomach nonetheless. I wish I could be the nice guy for her.

Then Rosanne turns serious and says she’d like to address the elephant in the room. In an instant, I see Liora tense up, and my fingers tighten around my phone. This is exactly why I hate dealing with media people. They pry and hope you falter because this is where the money lies. They can’t just focus on Liora’s impressive skating skills. No, they want the clicks.

Aiden’s gaze drops to his feet, his hands nervously fiddling with each other. A flicker of emotion crosses his face, leaving me to wonder if she confided in him. Perhaps he asked her.

I didn’t.

My heart clenches at the thought of pushing her away with that question. And there’s the fear that she’ll tell anyone but me. I want to be the one she turns to though. But the thing we have going isn’t meant to last, so why should she bother to let me in?

Rosanne leans forward, crossing one leg over the other as if she’s about to eat popcorn with her nosy mouth, and asks, “Honey, the internet is buzzing. Everyone’s asking why you left in the middle of the Olympics. You were expected to win gold again. Why would you leave and disappear?”

Liora swallows hard. “I-I’d rather not go into detail, since this is a very personal issue, but I was only nineteen at the time, and something happened in Beijing that made me physically and psychologically unable to continue in the Olympics. I understand that you’re curious and concerned about what happened, but please know that I’m fine now and more than happy to be back on the ice.”

Something happened. What happened?

“Doesn’t sound good, huh?” Jayce says, taking over for Colton on the bench press. I can see the worry written all over my friends’ faces, and I’m pretty sure mine looks the same. I’m on edge, dying to find out what happened to her.

“No,” I say. “It must have been something really big. No athlete gives up a gold medal just like that.”

Jayce nods.

Rosanne at least seems to understand that it’s something Liora doesn’t want to talk about on camera and asks them about their pairing for the show. Aiden says they’ve become friends and that Liora is the nicest girl he knows. They talk about Grace and their next routine. Liora is handling it like a pro, and I think she practices that response because she acted so calm and professional. I’m proud of her.

I turn my phone off and start running again.

But the question of what the hell happened to her burns in my chest. What could have happened in Beijing? A lot. And she needs money. She lives with her mom in a trailer park. Nothing you’d expect from a family that could afford all the costs of figure skating before. It’s a crazy expensive sport.

Maybe a lawsuit?

I just can’t wrap my head around it, and hell knows I’ve tried everything to find anything about her past. It’s like she died after Beijing. There’s no record of her whatsoever.

But what can I do? I can’t force her to tell me anything. Not when we still pretend to hate each other. Maybe it’s time to tell her that I don’t. That all the snarky things I said were to keep her from getting too close because I’m a fucking scaredy-cat when it comes to any form of relationship. What did my therapist say? Your fear of bonding is a way your mind is trying to protect you from potential pain or rejection.

And that man be damned for handing me my issues out cold but fuck, he’s right. Just the thought of Liora leaving me after I open up my heart makes me want to run. To forget her. To snarl at her again in the hope she’ll never talk to me again.

Hate me before you love me, you know.

Opening up emotionally and being vulnerable feels so fucking threatening. It’s so much easier to wear the mask of a cool, unbothered hockey player who doesn’t give a fuck about anyone instead of being judged, rejected, or hurt when revealing my true thoughts and feelings. Because once you’re honest, people talk about the real you. When I’m fake, their reactions can’t hit close because it’s not me.

I run as fast as I can.

My life should have come with a manual.