Chapter 12
Emilia almost didn’t go.
That was the first thought when she saw the arena from across the lot. Second thought was that she’d already told Nate today worked. Third thought was the photo still sitting in her desk drawer at the dorm, face-down, like hiding it would make it less real.
She went anyway.
The air inside the rink hit the same way it always did. Cold. Sharp. That mix of ice and old popcorn and rubber. Skates cutting. Pucks hitting boards. Coach yelling something about spacing that nobody looked happy to hear.
She took her usual seat in the front row and opened her notebook like this was still just an assignment.
It wasn’t.
Nate spotted her before the next drill started.
He didn’t wave. Didn’t smile big. Just looked at her across the ice like last night and this
