Icebound Rivalry

Chapter 15-Competition

Chapter 15-Competition

Maya arrived at the arena early for the morning skate.

She took her usual place along the glass and opened her notebook to a clean page.

The ice was still being smoothed when the first players stepped out. She watched the warm up without writing anything yet.

Her focus stayed on the leadership group as they moved through the early drills.

Alex skated with the same controlled power he always showed.

He called out short corrections to the younger players and kept the pace high.

Maya tracked the timing of his shifts and the way he recovered between them.

When the coaches set up a competitive drill that split the team into two groups, Alex ended up on the opposite side from the players she had been watching most closely.

The drill required speed and precision. Alex’s group took an early lead.

Maya noticed the way he pushed the tempo every time the other side started to close the gap.

He did not look toward the glass once. She kept her pen still and simply observed.

When his group finished first, a few of the players tapped their sticks against the boards.

Alex skated to the bench without celebrating.

After the skate the team moved into video review.

Maya sat at the edge of the room and listened while Coach Langston broke down the previous game.

Alex answered two questions with short clear points.

When the meeting ended she stood and gathered her things. She was nearly at the door when she heard her name.

“Reyes.”

She turned. Alex stood a few feet away with his bag over one shoulder.

The hallway around them was emptying.

“You watched the competitive drill,” he said.

“I watch all of them.”

“You were tracking my group specifically.”

Maya adjusted the strap of her bag.

“I track whoever is setting the pace. Today that happened to be you.”

Alex’s expression stayed even but his eyes narrowed slightly. “Is that your professional assessment or something else.”

“It is the assessment I am paid to make.”

He held her gaze for a moment longer than necessary.

“We have a private session this afternoon. I want to use it for something different.”

“Different how.”

“Competition. Same recovery sequence we have been using, but timed. I want to see if you can keep up when the pressure is on both sides.”

Maya felt the challenge land cleanly. She did not look away.

“You want to turn the session into a contest.”

“I want to see what happens when neither of us is coasting.”

“I have never coasted in those sessions.”

“Then prove it this afternoon.”

He turned and walked toward the locker room before she could answer.

Maya stood in the hallway for a few seconds and then continued toward the exit. The request sat in her mind the entire way back to the hotel.

She disliked how quickly she had accepted the shift in tone. She disliked even more that part of her was already planning how to win it.

The afternoon session took place in the same small conference room as before.

Maya arrived first and set the timer on her phone.

She arranged the printed sequence on the table and waited.

Alex walked in exactly on time and closed the door. He looked at the timer and then at her.

“You are taking this seriously,” he said.

“You asked for a contest. I am giving you one.”

They began. Maya called the intervals. Alex completed each round with clean form.

She matched the timing on her side of the table with the written notes and the stopwatch.

Neither of them spoke beyond the necessary counts.

When the final round ended the timer showed they had finished within two seconds of each other.

Alex leaned back in the chair and looked at the numbers. “Close.”

“Too close for you to claim a clear win.”

“I was not trying to claim anything. I was testing whether you would match the pace.”

Maya closed her notebook. “I matched it. What is your next test.”

He studied her for a long moment.

The quiet in the room felt deliberate on both sides.

Alex stood and pushed the chair in.

“That is enough for today,” he said. “Same time after the game tomorrow.”

“I will be here.”

He walked to the door and paused with his hand on the handle. “You do not like losing.”

“Neither do you.”

Alex glanced back once. The corner of his mouth moved but it never became a smile.

“At least we understand that much about each other.”

He left. Maya remained seated until the hallway went quiet.

She looked at the timer still open on her phone and then closed it.

The session had stayed professional on the surface. Underneath it had felt like something else entirely. She gathered her materials and stood.

The walk back to her room was short. She unlocked the door and set her bag on the desk.

The notebook came out first. She opened it and wrote one line under the date.

He turned the work into a contest. I accepted.

She closed the book and sat on the edge of the bed.

Tomorrow there would be a game and another session. The competitive edge he had introduced would not disappear overnight.

Maya stared at the closed door and already knew the next time they sat across from each other she would be ready to match whatever pace he set.

The fight between them had simply found a new shape, and neither of them seemed interested in stepping away from it.