Page 66 of Face Off
I scrub a hand over my face, exhaling hard. “Bad.”
Her lip trembles. “I ruined everything, didn’t I?”
“No,” I say fiercely, grabbing her hand. “You didn’t ruin anything. This is on me. I should’ve been smarter. Should’ve - I don’t know.” My chest aches. “But I’m not sorry, Chloe. I couldn’t stay away from you if I tried.”
Her eyes well, tears she’s fighting hard to hold back. “Murphy’s right. They’ll hate me. They’ll never forgive me.”
“Then they’ll have to deal with it,” I say, reckless and certain. “Because I’m not letting them scare me off you. Not him. Not anyone.”
Her shoulders shake, and I pull her across the console into my arms. She clings to me, and I swear I’ll fight every single person in that locker room if that’s what it takes.
Even as dread gnaws at me, there’s one truth louder than all the noise. I want her.
The fallout comes fast.
The next morning, my phone’s already buzzing off the hook before I’m even out of bed. Messages from the guys. A couple from management. One from Coach.
Coach: We need to talk. Today.
Chloe stirs beside me, eyes heavy with sleep. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I lie, tucking the phone under the pillow. I kiss her hair, breathing her in, clinging to the one place that still feels safe.
But even I can feel the walls closing in.
Coach doesn’t mince words when I show up at the rink.
“You realise the position you’ve put us in?” His tone is sharp, but not shouting. Which is worse. Controlled. Deadly serious.
I shift on my feet, heat crawling up my neck. “I know. I just,”
“No excuses,” he cuts in. “You’ve got every right to live your life how you want. But dragging her into this locker room for sex? After everything with Murphy? That’s reckless, Taylor. Stupid.”
Shame burns through me, but I lift my chin. “She’s not like that. Not anymore.”
Coach’s eyes narrow, like he’s weighing up how much I actually know. Then he huffs out a laugh with no humour in it. “Christ, you really don’t have a clue, do you?”
My stomach knots. “A clue about what?”
He hesitates, just a beat, but it’s enough. Then he says it, blunt as a hammer.
“Her old man is the reason you’ve even got a team to play for. He’s been bankrolling us for years. Main sponsor. Without him, there’s no Raptors.”
The bottom drops out of my gut. “What?”
“You heard me,” Coach says flatly. “So, you sneaking around with his daughter isn’t just awkward, it’s a goddamn bombwaiting to go off. If it gets out, if he eventhinksshe’s being dragged through the mud again because of this team - because ofyou- we’re all screwed.”
I can barely breathe. I’d known dating Chloe was risky, but this? This is career-ending. Not just mine, everyone’s.
Coach jabs a finger at me. “You better think very carefully about what you want here, Ollie. Because this isn’t just about feelings. It’s about the future of this entire franchise.”
Practice is brutal. Murphy avoids me like the plague, which almost hurts more than his rage. The rest of the boys are stiff, cautious, unsure. The easy banter’s gone, replaced with something tense and brittle.
I skate harder than I’ve ever skated in my life, lungs on fire, legs screaming, trying to prove something I can’t even name. That I’m still worth their trust. That I won’t let Chloe’s past destroy what we’re building. That I won’t letusbe ruined.
By the time I stagger off the ice, my chest feels like it’s caving in.
When my phone buzzes with a text from Chloe asking if I’m okay I feel conflicted and broken.
