ROMEO | 18+

14.

Loud screams of joy erupt around the arena as Eden U wins the game.

A wide grin makes draws itself upon his lips, and as he skates around, smiling victoriously whilst hugging his teammates, he finds Isla amongst the public. She is standing, clapping, cheering with Nora and the rest of her family by her side as they cheer for Luca. Romeo takes advantage of their momentum of distraction to point his stick at Isla, and winks.

"For you, angel," he mouthes.

Though Isla looks away, he notes the way she nibbles her lower lip to prevent a smile from taking over her features.

♣ ♣ ♣

Romeo hates the dress-code on game day. Wearing a tuxedo after a long, exhausting game is everything but comfortable.

He's the last one to leave the changing room. As he slides his duffle bag over a shoulder, he wonders if Isla has seen his message. He's asked her to wait for him by the locker room and knowing her, she's either avoiding him or playing by his rules.

His heart starts hammering at the sight of Isla standing a few metres away, one shoulder leaned against the wall as she scrolls through her phone, a look of utter annoyance—or boredom, he doesn't know—etched on her face. But, when she hears the echo of his footsteps inching closer, she looks up, and her features illuminate ever so softly.

His lips curve upwards into a smile, the beat of his heart racing and thundering, the palms of his hands stricken with beads of sweat. He ignores the drastic change in his demeanour as he approaches the woman he should stay away from. He drops his bag to the floor, his hockey stick following closely.

"Come here," he says gruffly, engulfing her in a tight, warm embrace before she can run away.

It takes a beat before Isla wraps her arms around his waist, and he can feel the way her heart thrums so wildly against his chest, its rhythm falling in sync with his own organ. He holds her for a moment, for an eternity, as if he doesn't want to let go.

He hasn't seen her since Thanksgiving. After he had asked her to stay, she had decided to let her guard down and stay for a while. Eating sundaes after sundaes turned into watching movies with Aïda and Killian. He'd fallen asleep in the middle of a movie, and quite frankly, Isla was more interesting than the romantic comedy Aïda had chosen. Isla sat next to Aïda all night long, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the small smile spreading across her lips when something funny was being said, or the way her eyes glossed over when a moment of sorrow consumed her emotions.

When he awoke, it was the middle of the night. Isla was curled in a ball at the end of the sofa, Aïda spread across the rest of it by her side. Killian was on the floor, still awake, playing a game of chess on his phone. And when Romeo awoke again several hours later, Isla had left.

"You're my good luck charm, baby," he mumbles in her hair, inhaling that flowery scent of hers he's become addicted to. He lets himself be submerged by her fragrance that cocoons him in a hazy cloud of comfort.

"Get away from me, loverboy," she grunts, pushing him away. When he looks down into her eyes, her own are glinting with thousands of shimmering stars. Her eyes will always betray her, and Romeo is glad she can't any longer hide behind her cold façade.

"You're so sweet," he mutters behind his grin. Tucking a strand of hair behind an ear, he purposely lingers his touch upon her cheek. He cradles her face and she almost leans into his touch when his calloused thumb brushes over her cheekbone. "God, I could kiss you right now."