Page 19 of Icebound Hearts

I glance at him warily. “What?”

“A race. You and me. One lap, full speed.” I snort. “I’d win.”

He smirks. “Prove it.”

It’s stupid. I know it’s ridiculous. But Aiden challenges me, and I can never back down from a challenge.

“Fine,” I say.

We line up at the edge of the rink. Alina, Roman, and Alexei catch on quickly, skating to the boards to watch. Roman whistles. “This should be good.”

The coach hasn’t arrived yet, so we won’t get yelled at for goofing off. Grayson skates over, a knowing smile on his face. “On my count,” he says.

Aiden and I crouch low, ready.

“Three… two… one… go!”

I shoot forward, pushing hard, my skates cutting deep into the ice. I don’t look at Aiden. I focus on the rhythm of my strides, the way the cold air stings against my skin. Halfway through, we’re neck and neck. I grit my teeth and push harder, determination burning in my veins.

Out of nowhere, Aiden bumps into me.

It’s subtle. Just enough to throw me off balance. I stumble, my skate catching the ice, and suddenly I’m falling. I brace for impact, but an arm catches me before I hit the ice. Aiden.

We crash together, skidding across the ice in a tangled mess of limbs until we finally land, Aiden underneath me like a warm, padded mattress of muscle.

For a second, I don’t move. Aiden cheated.

“You cheated!”

Aiden grins up at me, flat on his back, still holding onto me. “No idea what you’re talking about.” I shove his arm away, sitting up. “You bumped me!”

“It’s called strategy, Angel Face.” I glare. “It’s called being an asshole.” He just smirks. “Same thing.”

Alina skates over, trying and failing to hold back laughter. “Wow, that was… something.”

Roman claps his hands. “I’m giving that a solid nine for the fall alone.” I groan, shoving myself up. Aiden follows, brushing ice off his jersey.

I narrow my eyes at him. “I want a rematch.” He winks. “Whenever you want, Angel Face.”

I whip off my glove and chuck it at him. He ducks, laughing.

I officially hate him.

Chapter ten

KATERINA

I am going to kill him. Not just yell at him. Not just throw something at him. Kill him. Because Aiden Knight has spent the past two days making my life a living hell.

Ever since our little race, he’s made it his mission to push each one of my buttons. And he’s enjoying it. It started small—stealing my seat in the library, purposely walking in front of me in the dining hall so I have to stop short, bumping my elbow just enough to mess up my notes in class. Annoying, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

Then he escalated. He changed my phone background to a photo of himself smirking, which he somehow got past my passcode (Roman was the traitor, I know it). He ‘accidentally’ knocked my gym bag over at practice, sending my neatly packed belongings everywhere. And the worst offense?

He took my coffee.

I had set it down for one second before practice, and when I turned back? It was gone. I found him on the ice, casually sipping from my cup like he owned the damn thing.

“You don’t even like iced caramel lattes,” I had snapped at him. He had the audacity to take another sip and smirk. “I do now!”

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