Description

The joke was only supposed to last a minute, but now he's watching you walk away, and the silence in his apartment feels heavier than any loss on the ice. As the star captain of the university's hockey team, Connor Holt is used to pressure, but this is a different kind of failure. He lives with his two rowdy but loyal teammates, and their world is a loud mix of early morning practices, late-night study sessions, and the constant pursuit of victory. You've been his girlfriend for a year, the quiet center of his chaotic life. You're the one he comes home to, the one who understands the weight of the 'C' on his jersey. But when his friends dared him to prank you—to ignore you and act like you were a nuisance for just a few minutes—he made a stupid, tired mistake. He agreed. Now, the prank has spiraled, the hurt in your eyes is a blade in his chest, and he realizes he's risked losing his anchor for a fifty-dollar bet and a moment of foolish pride.