Icebound Rivalry

Chapter 3- Forced proximity

Chapter 3

Maya reached the meeting room ten minutes early and found the door already unlocked.

The lights were on. Someone had been inside before her.

She stepped in and saw the printed drill sheets from their last session still sitting on the table where Alex had left them.

The edges remained slightly crumpled. She gathered the papers, stacked them neatly, and set her own materials in their place.

Her notebook opened to a clean page.

She wrote the date at the top and underlined it once.

The facility felt busier today.

Voices carried from the hallway and the distant sound of pucks hitting the boards reached her through the walls.

Maya sat and reviewed the new sequence she had prepared.

This one required longer concentration and forced the player to reset after deliberate interruptions.

She wanted to see how Alex handled controlled disruption.

Her pen rested against the paper while she waited.

The muscles in her shoulders stayed tight no matter how many times she rolled them back.

Footsteps approached and stopped outside the door.

Alex entered without knocking.

He wore the same team warm ups as before but the cap was gone.

His dark hair looked slightly damp.

He closed the door and took the chair across from her with the same easy ownership of the space.

“You changed the drills,” he said after a glance at the new sheet.

“I did,” Maya answered. “The last ones were only a baseline. These will show me more.”

Alex picked up the paper and scanned the instructions.

His mouth stayed in a straight line. “You like making people uncomfortable.”

“I like finding out where the cracks are so we can fix them before they matter on the ice.”

He set the paper down and met her eyes. “And you think you can find mine.”

“I think everyone has them. Including me.”

The quiet that followed lasted longer than it should have.

Alex’s fingers rested on the edge of the table without moving.

Maya kept her posture open and her expression calm even though her pulse had picked up the moment he walked in.

She waited for him to decide whether he would cooperate or push again.

He chose the first option, at least for now.

He followed the new sequence with the same controlled precision as before.

When she introduced deliberate interruptions he recovered faster than most players she had worked with.

She noted it without comment. After the third round he leaned back and crossed his arms.

“This is still a waste of time,” he said.

“Then why do you keep showing up.”

The question hung between them. Alex’s jaw shifted once.

He did not answer right away. Instead he looked toward the window and then back at her.

“Coach made it clear I do not have a choice.”

“That is only part of it,” Maya said. “You could sit here and give me nothing. You are choosing to complete the work.”

He exhaled through his nose. The sound carried a hint of irritation. “Do not read into it.”

“I am only stating what I see.”

They continued for another twenty minutes.

The conversation stayed limited to instructions and short confirmations.

Maya watched the way his shoulders tensed whenever the drill forced him to restart.

She also watched the way those same shoulders eased once the sequence was finished cleanly.

Progress existed even if he refused to name it.

Near the end of the hour she closed her notebook and rested both hands on the cover.

“We are done for today. Same time the day after tomorrow.”

Alex stood and pushed the chair in. He paused with one hand still on the back of it. “The team leaves for the road trip in five days. Montreal first.”

Maya nodded. “I know. I will be traveling with the leadership group.”

Something moved behind his eyes. It was gone before she could name it.

“That means more of these sessions in hotel conference rooms.”

“It does.”

He held her gaze longer than necessary. The air in the small room felt heavier. Maya did not look away.

Her fingers pressed lightly against the notebook cover until the pressure registered in her knuckles.

Alex turned toward the door. He opened it and then stopped with one foot already in the hallway.

His voice stayed low when he spoke again.

“Keep your expectations realistic, Reyes. I am not going to become one of your success stories.”

He left before she could reply. The door shut with a soft click this time instead of a hard close.

Maya remained seated and stared at the empty chair.

The crumpled papers from their first session still sat near the edge of the table where she had stacked them.

She reached out and smoothed one corner with her thumb.

Five days until the road trip. Five days until the forced proximity became constant.

She opened her notebook and added a single line beneath the date.

He is still testing the walls. But the walls are not as solid as he wants me to believe.

She closed the book, gathered her materials, and stood.

The hallway outside was empty when she stepped out.

Somewhere farther down the corridor a door opened and closed.

Maya adjusted the strap of her bag and walked toward the exit with steady steps.

The next session would come soon enough.

And after that the road would close every easy escape either of them still had.