adrianna rossi is a skilled ohl defencewoman, joining the erie otters in the 2023 season.
along side her, matthew schaefer is one of the top ohl defencemen in the league.
you would expect them to be good friends, right?
wrong.
the first time adri...
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the night after a win always feels different.
guys were loose. music was louder. coaches gave us a little more space, like we'd earned a breath before the next grind started again. we were crashing at a hotel just outside town before heading back in the morning.
curfew wasn't strict. just understood.
but no one said anything when a few of us wandered down to the conference room the staff had turned into a hangout space. snacks, deck of cards, a crappy speaker that kept skipping.
i wasn't looking for her.
but the second i stepped inside, my eyes found adrianna sitting near the back of the room.
she was laughing at something one of the rookies said. legs curled under her. hoodie sleeves pushed up. hair still damp from her shower.
it shouldn't have hit me the way it did.
i should've just walked past. found a chair. joined the chirps. stayed in my lane.
but instead, i sat on the couch across from her and pretended not to notice the flicker in her expression when she realized i was there.
"you lost?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"nah. just taking in the view."
"gross."
"you asked."
she looked away, but not before i saw it—the twitch of her mouth, like she was trying not to smile.
we didn't talk after that. not directly. but it was worse than talking.
because i could feel her across from me. every glance. every shift in her posture. every breath.
someone put on a movie none of us were really watching. the room started to quiet, players filtering out one by one, claiming their exhaustion and early wake-ups.
by the time i looked around again, it was just me, her, and one of the goalies snoring quietly in the corner.
she stood up, slow. stretched her arms overhead, hoodie rising just slightly at the hem.
i pretended not to notice.
"you staying down here all night?" she asked.
i shrugged. "maybe."
she nodded once, then turned toward the hallway.
but then she stopped.
turned back.
"you were good yesterday," she said.
the words hit harder than they should've.
"you too."
she held my gaze for a second too long. or maybe i held hers.
either way, it felt like something cracked open. quiet. dangerous.
"don't think this means we're friends," she added.
"wouldn't dream of it."
but the way she walked away—slow, calm, unbothered—told me she knew exactly what this was.
and whatever it was...
it wasn't nothing.
and i knew she felt it too. ________ a/n: shorter chapter than usual but next chapter........🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🧐🧐🧐🤨🤨
