Icebound Rivalry

chapter 14-New City

Chapter 14-New City

The team left the hotel before sunrise. Maya boarded the bus with her bag over one shoulder and took a seat near the middle.

She kept her notebook closed and her phone face down.

Most of the players were still half asleep.

A few wore headphones. The air inside the bus felt stale from the early hour and the recycled heating.

Alex boarded a few minutes later. He walked past her row without slowing and took a seat three rows ahead on the opposite side.

He did not look back. Maya watched the back of his head for a moment and then turned her eyes to the window.

The leftover anger from the night before still sat in her chest.

She disliked that it had followed her onto the bus.

The bus pulled out of the lot and joined the thin morning traffic. Maya rested her head against the seat and closed her eyes for a short time.

Sleep did not come. The motion of the bus and the low sound of the engine kept her awake.

When she opened her eyes again the sky had lightened to a dull gray.

Alex had not moved from his seat. His shoulders stayed set in the same controlled line she had come to recognize.

They reached the next city in the early afternoon.

The hotel lobby was busier than the last one. Staff members handed out key cards in small groups.

Maya accepted hers and checked the number. Single room. Separate floor from the leadership group.

The relief she felt was sharp and immediate. She did not examine it too closely.

The elevator ride to her floor was quiet. She unlocked the door and stepped into a standard room with one bed and a desk near the window.

She set her bag down and unpacked only what she needed for the day.

The notebook went on the desk. She opened it to a clean page and wrote the date.

Then she closed it again without adding anything else.

The afternoon schedule listed a short team meeting and an optional recovery session.

Maya attended the meeting and stayed at the edge of the group. Alex sat with the other leaders and spoke only when Coach Langston asked him a direct question.

Their eyes met once across the table. The contact lasted less than a second.

Maya looked away first this time and kept her expression neutral.

After the meeting she walked the hallway toward the exit and nearly collided with him at the corner.

Alex stopped short. The space between them was narrow. Neither of them stepped aside immediately.

“You have the recovery session listed,” he said.

“It is optional.”

“I know.”

Maya adjusted the strap of her bag. “Are you attending.”

“Yes.”

“Then I will see you there.”

She moved past him before he could answer.

The short exchange left her more annoyed than the collision itself. She disliked how easily he could still pull a reaction out of her.

The recovery session took place in a small room near the training area.

A few other players were already there when Maya arrived. Alex walked in a minute later and took a spot on the far side of the room.

He followed the guided stretches and breathing work without complaint and without looking in her direction. Maya kept her instructions short and professional.

When the session ended the other players left quickly. Alex stayed behind to put away a resistance band.

Maya gathered her notes and prepared to leave. He spoke without turning around.

“The separate rooms are better.”

“I agree.”

“The last suite made everything louder than it needed to be.”

Maya paused with her hand on the door. “You are the one who kept walking into the living area.”

Alex turned then. His expression stayed closed but the set of his mouth had hardened.

“I am aware of what I did.”

“Then stop talking about it like it was only the rooms.”

He held her stare for a long moment. Neither of them looked away. Neither of them softened.

“We have a game tomorrow,” he said finally. “Keep the work clean.”

“I always do.”

He nodded once and left the room first. Maya waited until the hallway was empty before she followed.

The walk back to the elevators felt longer than it should have.

She rode up to her floor alone and unlocked her door with more force than necessary.

Inside the room she set her bag down and stood near the window for a while.

The city looked ordinary from this height. Ordinary was easier.

Ordinary did not leave her replaying a thirty second conversation in a hallway. She sat on the edge of the bed and opened the notebook again. This time she wrote one line.

Separate rooms. Same problem.

She closed the book and stared at the closed door.

Tomorrow there would be another game and another private session.

The distance of separate floors helped, but it did not erase the fact that every time they stood in the same space the old fight showed up again.

Maya lay back against the pillows and closed her eyes. Sleep would come eventually.

The anger would still be there when she woke.