The Hockey Captain Wants His Plus-Size Ex Back Chapter 03
The next morning, I arrived at the North Athletic Annex at six.
Easton was already there.
He was on the practice rink, skating alone. The summer campus was quiet, but inside the annex, the sound of his blades cutting across the ice was sharp and clean. He moved fast, stopped hard, turned, and started again. Every motion looked like it had been practiced a thousand times.
I stood by the boards for a while. Then I changed into workout clothes, found an empty treadmill, and started walking.
That was how my summer began.
Easton trained on the ice. I trained by myself.
He did not correct me. He did not encourage me. Most of the time, he did not even look in my direction.
But he never told me to leave.
The first week was hard, but not hopeless.
I walked, then jogged. I followed beginner workout videos on my phone. I tried planks and failed after fifteen seconds. I practiced basic cheer jumps in front of the mirror and landed like a sack of laundry.
People laughed.
I was embarrassed, of course. I was still human. But embarrassment did not kill me.
Quitting would.
So every morning, I came back.
I did not starve myself this time. I ate breakfast. I drank water. I rested when my knees hurt. I reminded myself that I was not punishing my body. I was taking it back.
By the second week, rumors spread.
Mia Hart had stopped chasing Cole Mercer.
Now she was chasing Easton Vale.
People said I could not live without a hockey player to follow. They said Easton would never want me. They said I was only using him because Cole had embarrassed me in public.
Easton heard those rumors too.
He still kept his distance.
But I noticed something.
He always left after I did.
If I packed my bag at seven, he stayed on the ice until seven-oh-five. If I stretched near the door, he retied his skates for no reason. If a group of boys stood outside laughing too loudly, Easton walked out behind me, silent and cold, and the laughter stopped.
One afternoon, I was practicing toe touches on the blue mat near the mirrors.
I was bad at them.
My legs would not lift high enough. My timing was wrong. Every landing shook the floor and made my face burn. Still, I tried again.
That was when Vanessa walked in.
She brought three cheerleaders with her.
She had her phone in one hand.
“Mia,” she said, smiling. “Are you training or filming a campus safety video?”
Her friends laughed.
Vanessa came closer. “I have to admit, you’re persistent. First Cole, now Easton. You’re like a stray dog, always looking for a new owner.”
“That’s your habit.” I said.
Vanessa’s smile twisted, anger flashing across her face as if she couldn’t believe I had dared to talk back.
One of the girls sneered. “Maybe she should try not shaking the floor first.”
I didn’t answer.
I took a breath, reset my stance, and jumped again.
Their voices were still behind me, but this time, I didn’t care.
Vanessa lifted her phone higher.
“Oh, that’s perfect,” she said. “Cole has to see this.”
Before I could try again, Easton’s voice came from behind her.
“Move.”
Vanessa froze.
She turned around. “Excuse me?”
“You’re standing where she needs to land.”
The gym went quiet.
Vanessa’s smile stiffened. “Relax, Easton. We’re just talking.”
“No,” he said. “You’re in the way.”
For a second, no one moved.
Then Vanessa stepped aside, her face tight.
Easton walked to the mat. He did not look angry. He did not look protective. He looked the same as always—cold, calm, impossible to read.
He stopped beside me and glanced at my feet.
“Your stance is wrong.”
I blinked.
He stepped closer. “Feet closer. Don’t throw your chest forward. Lift from your core.”
His hand touched lightly between my shoulder blades.
My breath caught.
Easton acted like he did not notice.
“Again,” he said.
I jumped.
It still was not perfect.
But it was better.
Easton gave one small nod. “Better.”
One word.
My chest filled with something bright and embarrassing.
Vanessa stood there with her phone still raised, but no one was laughing anymore.
After a moment, she smiled coldly.
“Cute,” she said. “Cole will love this.”
Then she turned and left with the other girls.
The door closed behind them.
I looked at Easton. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
“You said you weren’t training me.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
That was true.
I almost smiled.
Easton looked at the mat again. “Your landing is heavy. Again.”
After training, he finally asked, “Why are you working so hard?”
I was sitting on the mat, catching my breath. For a second, I felt embarrassed.
Then I said, “I want to try out for cheer captain.”
I looked down at my shoes and laughed lightly. “I know it sounds impossible.”
“It doesn’t,” Easton said.
I looked up.
He pointed at the mat. “But your jumps need to be cleaner.”
I stared at him for two seconds.
Then I smiled.
“Again?” I asked.
“Again.”
So I stood up.
That evening, Cole was waiting outside the rink.
He leaned against his car with his arms crossed. I knew before he opened his mouth that Vanessa had sent him the video.
“You blocked me,” he said.
“Yes.”
“You stopped bringing me lunch.”
“Yes.”
“You stopped doing my laundry. You stopped waiting outside practice. You don’t answer my texts.” His gaze dropped to my gym bag, then returned to my face. “And now you’re letting Easton put his hands on you?”
“He was correcting my posture.”
Cole laughed. “Is that what you’re calling it?”
I tried to walk past him.
He stepped in front of me.
“Mia, enough. I get it. You’re mad about Vanessa.”
“I’m not mad.”
“You’re trying to make me jealous.”
“I’m trying to go home.”
His face darkened. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
“How should I talk to you? Like your sister?”
Cole’s jaw tightened.
For once, he had no quick answer.
I looked at him calmly. “You told everyone I was just a neighbor. You said I was clinging to you. You told me to meet other people.”
I shifted my bag on my shoulder.
“So I’m meeting other people.”
His eyes went cold.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
“What did you mean?”
He did not answer.
That was answer enough.
After a moment, he lowered his voice. “Vanessa is temporary. It’s just for the summer. You know that. My mom likes you. You know me better than anyone. In the end, you’re the one I’ll marry.”
Once, those words would have made me forgive him.
Now they only made me tired.
“Cole,” I said, “stop bothering me.”
His expression changed. “What did you say?”
“I said stop bothering me. We’re done.”
Then I corrected myself.
“No. We were never really together, were we?”
Cole stared at me as if I had slapped him.
Then he forced a cold smile.
“Fine,” he said. “Keep acting. Let’s see how long you last!”
I walked around him.
Behind me, his voice followed, sharp with pride.
“You can’t stop loving me, Mia. You don’t know how.”
I did not turn back.