Face Off

Hockey is Nate's entire life.

It's controlled, predictable, and exactly how he likes it. On the ice, everything has a system. A plan. A purpose. And Nate? He always executes.

Until Rosie.

She isn't supposed to matter. Not in his training, not in his focus, not in the very carefully constructed future he's aiming for.
Then she runs straight into him.

Literally.

One collision, one very undignified first meeting, and suddenly the universe seems a lot less interested in Nate's plans than it used to be. Especially when Rosie starts showing up everywhere - talking too fast, thinking too loudly, and acting like his presence is a personal inconvenience.

Which, according to her, it is.

Nate is used to being in control. Rosie is... not controllable.

And unfortunately, she seems to think that's a challenge.

Rosie has her life perfectly organised.

History major? Sorted. Show choir rehearsals? Timetabled. Emotional stability? Debatable, but functioning.

Everything is going fine.

And then she meets Nate.

Well - "meets" is generous. She runs into him hard enough to question her own spatial awareness and possibly his survival instincts.
He's the hockey captain extraordinaire. Broody. Focused. Infuriatingly calm. The kind of guy who looks like he alphabetises his emotions.

Rosie does not have time for this.

Unfortunately, Nate does not seem to have received the memo.

And the worst part? The more she tries to ignore him, the more he keeps showing up like a problem she didn't ask for... but can't quite solve.