Dear Ice King, Ruin Me Beautifully

At The Rink

~Dean's POV~

“You've been going hard all night, man! I gotta rest!”

Knox's complaint barely registered as I drove the puck down the ice.

He accelerated towards me, extending his stick to intercept it, but I shifted my weight onto my outside edge and pulled the puck across my body.

His blade swept through empty space.

“f**k!” He cursed.

I cut left, skating past him before he could recover. Two quick strides brought me into the high slot.

I transferred my weight onto my front skate and snapped my wrists.

The puck flew off my blade. Straight into the top corner of the net.

“Goal,” I muttered.

“Yeah, no s**t!” Knox shouted behind me. “You planning to kill me before our first game together?”

I circled behind the net, collecting another puck.

“Apply some pressure.” I said, barely smiling his way.

“Some pressure?” He laughed incredulously. “I got laid throughout last night and half the morning. That girl wouldn't let me sleep!”

“Sounds like your problem.”

“Damn right, it is. A beautiful problem.”

I ignored him.

Knox hooking up with women wasn't news. The bastard had been doing it for as long as I'd known him.

Usually, I'd have something to say about his ridiculous stories.

Tonight, I wasn't interested.

I pushed off again, my skates biting into the ice as I accelerated towards the opposite end.

The cold air burned pleasantly against my face.

This was what I needed.

After all that happened tonight at the Gallants’ mansion, I needed this.

The sound of my blades cutting across the ice. The weight of my stick.

The familiar rush of adrenaline whenever I accelerated.

Hockey had always made sense to me. People rarely did.

It was pure therapy. It was bliss. No other activity could compare.

I reached the faceoff circle and fired another wrist shot.

The puck struck the crossbar with a sharp clang.

“Ha!” Knox yelled. “You missed!”

I retrieved the rebound. “Watch.”

I moved closer, opened my blade slightly, and sent the puck into the net.

Knox groaned. “Christ, Gallants!”

I barely heard him. Laura's face had appeared in my mind again.

The tears in her eyes…

The way she'd stood across from our father, trembling with anger as she accused him of ruining her life.

I'd known she was hurting. Hell, I'd known for years.

But watching her lose control in front of everyone had weakened me. Chase would have something to report to his mother and laugh over. f*****g opportunists.

Talking about his mother— my stepmother; I was glad she didn’t show up. For whatever reason it was.

And Father…

I tightened my grip on my stick.

The bastard hadn't changed a bit. I pushed harder, skating around the faceoff circle before turning sharply.

Another memory interrupted.

Alice. Her lips against mine.

Fuck.

I nearly lost control of the puck.

I recovered immediately, but the irritation remained.

Of all the things I could have been thinking about, why the hell was I remembering that kiss? Not just remembering. It had been on my mind since it happened.

It had been unexpected, and annoyingly difficult to forget.

Her lips had been too soft, stirring a part of me that hadn’t come to life since ‘her’

My body reacted to the kiss. It was f*****g strange. I had only ever reacted to ‘her’

Then there were those blue eyes.

The way she'd looked at me in the car while I treated her hand…

Why was she crying? Who was she and why was she living in Mrs Hartley’s house. I didn’t care to know until now. I shouldn’t care to know.

I exhaled sharply. s**t. I didn’t want to notice her beyond the random girl I hired.

Yet… I could still remember the warmth of her hand beneath mine.

And that moment in the car…

Christ.

If her phone hadn't rung, I wasn't entirely sure what I would have done.

That realization irritated me more than anything else.

I accelerated towards the net.

“Dean!”

I barely had time to turn before Knox came skating towards me.

He bumped his shoulder against mine, knocking me slightly off balance.

“f**k off, man!” I recovered and lifted my stick threateningly.

Knox burst into laughter.

“Whoa! Easy, champion! You gonna murder your best friend over a little contact?”

“Try that again.”

“See? This is exactly why messing with you is so much fun.”

I shook my head. He was impossible.

My lips twitched anyway. Knox noticed.

“Holy s**t. He smiles!”

“Shut up.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Dee-Dean Gallants is capable of human emotion!”

I skated past him. “Keep talking, and you'll be practicing alone next time.”

He laughed harder.

Eventually, I slowed near the boards, breathing heavily.

Sweat clung to my skin beneath my gear, and my thighs burned pleasantly from the repeated sprints.

I'd pushed myself harder than necessary. Still, I felt better.

I stepped through the open gate onto the players' bench and lowered myself onto the seat.

Knox followed, removing his helmet.

“Man, you're a f*****g beast.”

“That's what they say.” My lips twitched wider.

“Cocky bastard.”

I removed my gloves and helmet, running a hand through my damp hair.

Knox tossed me a bottle of water.

I caught it, twisted off the cap, and drank deeply.

He watched me for a moment. “Something going on with you?”

I lowered the bottle. “What?”

“Come on, Dee. You're grumpy most days, but tonight you're acting like it’s either the ice or you murder someone.”

I snorted, breathing heavily. “That obvious?”

His expression shifted, looking more invested. “Is it Selene?”

“Don't mention her.” The words came out sharper than intended.

Knox raised both hands. “Alright. Sorry, man.”

I stared at the ice.

“But seriously,” he continued, “I know she's been a pain in your ass lately. You wanna talk about it?”

“No.” I deadpanned.

“Fair enough.” He said, knowing better than to push.

I reached for my phone. There were missed calls and three unread messages waiting for me.

Father, Laura, and Selene.

Dread coiled tighter around my throat.

I opened Laura's first and read,

‘I failed you again, brother. I'm so sorry you had to witness that. But I don't regret standing up to Dad. Trust me, he had it coming. Let me know when you're free. I want to talk.’

I read the message twice.

My chest felt heavy.

Laura hadn't failed me. If anything, I'd failed her by not showing up for her when she needed me the most. Before she started seeking solace from the drugs.

I wanted to call her. But not tonight.

I needed to clear my head before having that conversation.

I opened Father's message next.

‘Laura sabotaged the dinner. Sure that first impression must have scared your fiancee. I'd like to see Alice at your next game on Saturday. Bring her.’

I stared at the screen.

That was really all he had to say…

His daughter had practically broken down in front of him, and he was already making arrangements for another meeting.

I dragged a hand down my face. f**k.

I wouldn’t still be involved with him if I wasn’t aware of what that man was capable of.

I hadn't even told Alice that our arrangement wasn't necessarily over.

After what happened tonight, I doubted she'd want anything more to do with my family.

She'd gotten injured because of our mess.

I wasn't about to drag her into another uncomfortable situation just to satisfy Father's demands.

I'd find an excuse.

Tell him she'd travelled…Anything solid that would be believable.

As far as I was concerned, the deal with Alice had ended tonight.

“You gonna say something?” Knox’s voice cut through my messy thoughts.

I looked his way.

He was watching me closely.

“I finally have you on my team, man. You know how long I've been waiting for this? We should be celebrating, not sitting here looking like somebody died.”

“Give me a minute, Knox. It's been a long night.”

“Obviously.” He patted my shoulder. “Another reason you need to get laid.”

I ignored him and opened Selene's message.

‘You have to stop avoiding me eventually, Dean. We need to talk about what happened. I know you're in town. Your dad told me.’

“Fuck.” The word left my lips before I could compose myself.

Knox tilted his head. “Yeah. Definitely something wrong with you.”

I locked my phone. “Laura came home tonight.”

His mouth fell open. “Wait. What? My crush showed up?”

I raised a warning brow at him. “I'll knock your f*****g teeth out.”

He burst into laughter. “Relax! I'm messing with you.”

I gave him a flat look.

“Seriously, though.” His amusement faded. “I thought she swore she'd never set foot in your father's house again.”

“So did I.”

“What changed?”

“No idea.”

He studied my expression.

“Did something happen?”

I looked away. “Nothing I want to discuss right now.”

Knox nodded. “Alright.” I was glad he didn't push.

Then he leaned back against the boards.

“Look, man. Whatever's happening with your family, don't let it mess with your game life. You've worked too damn hard to get here.”

I glanced at him.

“I'm serious,” he continued. “You are new in this team. Your focus has to be totally here cos you need to impress the managements. If your family's going to keep dragging you into their bullshit, then you need to set some boundaries.”

My mouth twitched. “Now I remember why we're friends.”

“Because I'm handsome?”

I slapped his chest. “Because you're a f*****g menace.”

Knox grinned. “Love you too, brother.”

I shook my head and reached for my water.

“Oh, speaking of family,” he added. “Your stepbrother's been trending all day.”

That was the last person I wanted to talk about. But I replied Knox anyway.

“I’m not surprised. He just got engaged.” I said. “He should enjoy the attention while he can. Professional hockey's going to give him something else to worry about.”

Knox chuckled. “Damn. You really don't like that guy.”

“That is being decent about it.” I said honestly.

“Whatever you say.” He pulled out his phone.

“Apparently, there's this video from his birthday party. Dude proposed to Kylie right in front of his girlfriend of three years.”

My brows drew together. “He had a girlfriend?”

Knox stared at me. “Come on, Dean. Do you ever use the internet?”

“I check hockey news.”

“Clearly.”

He scrolled through his phone.

“Anyway, the video's everywhere. He’s being dragged.”

“Good for them.”

I rose, reaching for my helmet.

“Here. Look.”

Knox held his phone towards me.

Out of courtesy, I spared the screen a glance.

A crowded arrangement appeared, followed by Chase standing beside a woman I recognized as Kylie.

“Oh, it's his birthday celebra—”

My words died.

A woman stood in front of them, clutching a gift box.

Her posture was rigid, her face unmistakable.

Alice.

I froze, then I looked closer.

The sweatshirt. The pants… The gift box in her hand.

It was the same box I'd mistaken for my delivery when I first encountered her last night.

My pulse kicked.

Slowly, I reached for Knox’s phone.

I stared at the screen, my attention now completely undivided.

What the hell was Alice doing at Chase's birthday party?