Chapter 4 004

NOAH

The first rule was simple:

Don’t look at Kai Harper’s sister the way other guys do.

It was a boundary I’d set years ago, a line carved in stone. Kai was my brother, my teammate, the guy who had my back when the hits got brutal. You don’t cross that line. You don’t even let yourself think about it.

But sitting at my desk in our off-campus suite, staring at a playbook while rain taps against the glass, the rule feels less like a boundary and more like a cage.

“Brooks! Coach wants the power-play edits by tomorrow morning,” Kai yells from the kitchen over the blender as he mixes another massive protein shake.

“I’m on it,” I call back, rubbing my eyes.

The pressure this semester is unreal. The NHL draft is months away, and every game is an audition. Coach Daniels reminds me daily that one bad hit, one scandal, one slip in focus could tank my stock. Scouts are everywhere, watching how I lead, how I practice, how I breathe. My future depends on staying locked in. No distractions. No mistakes.

Then Sloane arrived on campus.

And my ironclad focus is completely shot.

I close the playbook and lean back. I can’t stop thinking about the way she looked in the hallway yesterday. She isn’t the shy kid who used to trail after Kai anymore. She’s different. There’s a quiet confidence to her now, a sharper edge that makes it impossible to look away. The way she laughs when she’s trying to be annoyed, the stubborn way she argues when I try to help her—it’s messing with my head.

I pull out my phone and stare at her contact. Sending that text last night was reckless. I told myself it was just a courtesy, just me looking out for Kai’s sister.

Deep down I knew it was a lie.

An hour later the rain thickens into a steady cool drizzle. I head to the student center to drop off paperwork at the athletic department, hoping the night air will clear my head.

Campus is quiet. Brick paths glow under amber streetlights. Most students have already retreated inside.

As I push through the heavy glass doors of the student center, I see a lone figure under the concrete awning.

Sloane.

She’s in a fitted black jacket, arms crossed tightly over her chest, staring out at the rain. Her dark hair is a little damp, curling around her face. She looks small against the massive brick building, lost in her own thoughts.

My feet move before my brain gives permission.

“Forget an umbrella?” I ask, stepping into the light.

She jumps slightly, wide eyes snapping to mine. A soft pink flush rises on her cheeks, and something tightens hard in my chest.

“Noah,” she breathes, voice a little breathless. “Yeah. I thought I could beat the rain, but the club meeting ran late.”

“Come on,” I say, tilting my head toward the path. “I’ve got a big umbrella in my truck by the quad. We can share.”

She hesitates for a second, lips parting, then nods. “Okay. Thanks.”

We step out into the drizzle side by side. The silence isn’t awkward. It’s loaded—thick with everything I’ve spent years trying to suppress.

“How are classes?” I ask, and I actually want the answer.

“Good,” she says, looking up at me through her lashes. “Intense. Everyone acts like I’m supposed to know what I’m doing, but I’m secretly terrified I’ll walk into the wrong lecture hall.”

A low laugh escapes me. “Trust me, everyone’s faking it. Even the seniors. I spent my entire freshman year completely lost.”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe,” she counters, a teasing smirk on her lips. “You look like you owned this campus the second you stepped on it.”

“It’s called sports armor, Sloane. Fake it till you make it.”

She chuckles, and the sound does something dangerous to my insides. We keep walking, talking about her classes, the ridiculous housing rules, the tiny quirks of Maplewood. For the first time we’re not talking through Kai. We’re just talking. Really talking.

The realization hits me like a body check: I’m not looking at a kid. I’m looking at a woman. Intelligent, gorgeous, captivating—and she has my full attention. The conversation feels personal. Comfortable. Entirely dangerous.

“Kai told me you were talking to a Boston scout at the house,” she says softly, tone turning serious. “That’s… amazing, Noah. You’ve worked so hard for this.”

“Thanks.” My throat is suddenly dry. “It’s a lot of pressure. Sometimes it feels like one wrong move and everything falls apart.”

“You won’t,” she says instantly, stopping on the path to look at me. Her eyes are bright, filled with a fierce, unwavering belief that catches me completely off guard. “You’re the most disciplined person I know. You’re not going to fail.”

My heart hammers. No one talks to me like that. Everyone wants something from the captain, the future draft pick. Sloane just sees me.

“Sloane—” I start, taking a step closer.

Her sneaker hits a slick patch of wet leaves.

“Oh!” she gasps as her balance vanishes.

Instinct takes over. I shoot my arm out and catch her before she can hit the ground. My hand lands firmly on her bare waist, pulling her flush against my chest.

Neither of us moves. Neither lets go.

The rain falls softly around us, but I don’t feel the cold. All I feel is the burning heat of her body against mine, the frantic beat of her heart against my chest. Her hands rest on my shoulders, fingers gripping the fabric of my jacket.

The moment stretches, tight as a rubber band. The air turns heavy and electric.

My gaze drops to her mouth. Her lips are parted, breath coming in short, shallow puffs. Her eyes track down to my lips too, fingers tightening on my shoulders.

She wants it.

God help me, I want it too.

For one reckless, terrifying second the draft doesn’t matter. The scouts don’t matter. The team, the rules, the consequences—they all burn to ash. I begin to close the distance, tilting my head, grip tightening on her waist as I lean down to taste her.

“Noah!”

Kai’s loud voice cuts through the darkness like a siren.

We jump apart instantly, hands dropping as if burned. My heart is trying to explode out of my chest.

Kai jogs down the path under a massive umbrella, completely oblivious that he just shattered the universe.

“Hey, I saw your truck was still here and figured you guys might be caught in the rain,” he says, grinning as he reaches us. He looks at Sloane, then at me. “What are you guys doing?”

“Just… walking back,” Sloane says, voice shaky and perfectly fake. She won’t look at me. She’s staring at the ground, face bright red.

“Cool. Come under the umbrella, Sloane. Let’s get you back to Alder.” Kai throws an arm around his sister’s shoulders and glances at me. “See you at the skate, man?”

“Yeah,” I choke out, jaw clenched so tight it aches. “See you there.”

I watch them walk away into the rain, Kai talking animatedly while Sloane stays quiet.

I stand alone on the wet pavement, my hand still tingling from where it rested on her skin. My mind is spinni

ng, a dark, heavy panic settling deep in my gut.

I didn’t just look at her differently.

I almost kissed her.