All Chapters of Black Ice: Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

~ALAN~ The metal door closed behind Miller and the others, making the locker room so quiet it felt like it was buzzing. The bass from the speakers in the corner was still booming, but the fun was gone. I didn't move for a long second. I just stood there, the water still dripping from my hair and tracing the lines of the ink on my shoulders. The boy hadn't moved either. He was still a statue against the lockers, his knuckles white as he gripped the handle of his mop like it was a lifeline. He looked small. Too small for a place this loud and this violent. I turned away, heading toward my locker. I could feel his eyes on me. It wasn't the way the girls on campus looked at me—hungry and bold. This was different. It was the wide-eyed, scared, curious look of a deer watching a predator from the bushes. I reached into my locker, pulling out a pair of black boxer briefs. I took my time dragging them on, purposefully slow. I was 6'4" of elite-trained muscle, and I knew exactly

~ALAN POV~ I didn't think about the weight on the bar because thinking only led me to feel empty and obsessed. Clang. The noise of the plates clashing was like a loud bang in the wet air of the Briarwood gym. I was on my fiftieth bench press, my muscles hurting, and my vision narrowing until all I could see was the blurry gray of the ceiling. "Voss! Ease up! You’re going to tear a pec before Friday’s game," John’s voice barked from somewhere above me. I didn't stop. I couldn't stop. Because every time I closed my eyes, I didn't see the puck or the net. I saw a pair of forest-green eyes drowned in fear. I felt the ghost of smooth soft skin under my thumb. The mood around me felt weighty, filled with the smell of metal and my own sweat. "Alan! Drop the bar!" I ignored him. I pushed. One more. One more. My heart wasn't just beating; It was pounding against my ribs like a scared animal. It was an endless, hard thump that matched my heartbeat in my throat. Finally, John st