Page 79 of The Heart Breaker

Just like last time.

23

AURORA

The final buzzer cuts through the rink, and the place explodes instantly. People are on their feet, clapping, shouting, the rookies pouring onto the ice while the Colton U Midnight Wolves celebrate the win.

But all I can see is Cole’s fist connecting with Chase’s jaw.

My gaze drops to the ice. Logan and Austin are skating lazy circles, both of them grinning, and Isabella’s down by the bench talking to Coach, both of them frowning toward the tunnel Cole disappeared through.

I told him not to fight.

Just once, could he have listened to me?

I tug Cole’s jacket tighter around myself and head for the stairs.

“Holy shit,” Maisie breathes, hurrying after me. Her hand brushes my elbow as we get swept down with the rest of the crowd. “That was… intense.”

“That was stupid,” I mutter.

She glances over, her brows lifting. “You okay?”

I give her a shrug, even though my whole body still feels wound too tight, panic and anger buzzing under my skin. “Fine. Just tired.”

It’s a weak excuse and we both know it, but before she can say anything else, Austin slams his glove against the glass and grins up at his girlfriend.

Maisie lights up straight away. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” she says, already angling toward him.

“Yeah,” I say, waving her off. “Go congratulate your boyfriend.”

She practically skips the rest of the way down, and I let out a chuckle as I make my way toward the tunnel leading to the locker rooms.

I spot the Westbrook guys filing off the ice, Chase in the middle of them with a towel pressed to his lip, blood smeared across the white Westbrook crest.

His head lifts and his eyes land on me, but then they drop, lingering on the jacket around my shoulders.

I watch as his mouth tightens and something ugly flashes across his face just before one of his teammates throws an arm around his shoulders and steers him toward their locker room.

I head the other way and wait by the door as the guys start heading out, showered and dressed. One after another, they pass, and still no Cole.

I wait.

And wait.

And wait.

But Cole never comes out.

Holden comes through the door next, and his eyes land on me, his brows lifting a little when he sees me standing there, but he keeps walking without saying anything. It makes sense why he wouldn’t want to talk to me after I canceled our date.

I swallow, and before I can talk myself out of it, I shove through the door.

The locker room is almost empty. Austin’s the only one in there, already dressed, and his brows shoot up the second he sees me.

“Aurora? What are you?—”

I cut across the locker room toward Cole’s cubby, ignoring Austin completely. He’s standing there with a towel hanging low on his hips, water still sliding down his back, catching on the hard lines of muscle.