Brains Behind the Puck

Scrambled Confessions

As soon as James walks out of the kitchen, the silence drops, thick and heavy. The hum of the coffee maker is the only thing keeping me company, but I can feel Luke and Michael staring me down like they're waiting for me to crack. Like I'm on some weird reality TV show, Riley's Love Life: Exposed.

I take a long sip of my coffee, hoping it'll calm my nerves. But of course, it doesn't. Because as soon as I set my mug down, Luke gives me that look—the one that says spill it.

Luke starts, leaning against the counter like he's about to get the best gossip of the year. "So... you and Lex, huh? You finally joined Team Hawthorne?"

My heart skips a beat. "What?"

He raises an eyebrow, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable I am. "Come on. James all but spelled it out for us. You and Lex had a... moment last night, didn't you?"

The heat creeps up my neck, and I can already feel my cheeks flushing. "We skated."

Luke's eyebrows shoot up so high they might leave his face. "Skated? That's it? Didn't take you for the vanilla type."

I nod, maybe a little too quickly. "Yes. Skated. That thing people do on ice."

Michael leans in, crossing his arms like he's about to deliver a verdict. "You skated. With Lex Hawthorne. Mr. 'I don't do feelings' Hawthorne."

I can hear the disbelief in his voice. "Yeah," I mumble, avoiding their eyes. "It wasn't a big deal."

Michael gives me a look that says he's not buying it for a second. "You, who haven't even been near an ice rink in years, decided to skate. With Lex Hawthorne?"

There's a weight behind his words, he knows my walls and knows that skating with Alex carries a whole load of implications. And I know exactly what he's getting at.

I shrug, trying to act casual. "It wasn't a big deal. He was there. I was there. It just... happened."

Luke snorts, trying to keep a straight face. "Yeah, because Hawk is all about the accidental romance. Right."

I bite my lip, feeling the tension in my chest tighten. Because I know what they're thinking. And the worst part? They might be right.

"He didn't ask me to skate," I say quietly. "He was already there. He invited me. It wasn't... like that."

Luke raises an eyebrow, not buying it for a second. "James seemed to think it was definitely 'like that.'"

My stomach twists. Because, yeah, I know what James thought. The way he smirked when he walked in last night, like he'd caught us in the middle of something way more than skating.

Michael leans in like he's interrogating a suspect. "So, what exactly went down, Ry? Don't make me guess."

I hesitate. Because how am I supposed to explain what happened when I don't even fully understand it myself? The kiss, the heat between us, the way Alex held me like I was the only thing grounding him... it felt intense. Real. And now he's gone, not a word, not even a text, and I'm left here trying to figure out if it meant anything at all.

"We kissed," I finally say, my voice barely above a whisper.

Luke's smirk is back, bigger than ever. "Called it. I knew you two couldn't keep your hands to yourselves."

Michael groans like this is physically painful. "And let me guess—James caught the show?"

I drop my head, my cheeks burning. "Yeah. Kind of."