Wrong door, Wrong time
Addaleigh Winters was late.
Of course she was. First day at a new rink, new city, new everything—and she’d already taken a wrong turn trying to find the damn locker rooms.
Her skates clacked loudly against the concrete floors as she hurried down a hallway lined with steel doors and faded team banners. She spotted one cracked open with steam curling out, figured that has to be it, and pushed inside without thinking.
Big mistake.
The first thing she noticed was the heat. The second? A wall of bare backs, glistening skin, and towels that definitely weren’t tight enough.
A few heads turned.
One guy, all abs and attitude, blinked at her mid-shirt removal. “Uh… hello?”
Addaleigh froze, blinking rapidly as the steam cleared just enough to confirm it—yep. Naked. Big. Very male. Locker room. Hockey team.
“Oh—crap,” she blurted, covering her eyes with both hands. “I’m so sorry! Wrong door!”
A deep chuckle rolled through the room like thunder.
Another voice—smooth, teasing—said, “We don’t mind if you stay.”
Someone wolf-whistled. Literally.
“I was looking for the figure skating locker room,” she mumbled, half-turning, half-tripping over her own blades in her rush to escape.
One of the guys—tall, cocky, with dark curls and an ego she could practically feel—grinned. “You sure you don’t skate with us?”
Another one muttered, “She definitely doesn’t look like our goalie.”
But then—her eyes landed on the one near the back. He wasn’t laughing. He was staring. Broad chest, a towel slung low, damp hair falling over sharp, annoyed eyes.
Ethan Dunlop.
She’d heard the name. Star forward. Perpetual scowl. Definitely not amused.
“Wrong hallway,” he said flatly, grabbing a t-shirt and pulling it over his head like she was just some interruption. “Door’s two down.”
Addaleigh blinked, heart hammering. “Thanks. And, again—sorry. Nice... pecs.”
She turned and fled.
The door slammed behind her.
Inside, the silence lasted a beat.
Then Max, still toweling off, grinned wide. “That was the hottest thing that’s happened all season.”
Cole—quiet, unreadable—chuckled under his breath. “She had no idea what she just did.”
Ethan stared at the door, jaw tight, then muttered, “Let’s just skate.”
But even he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back one more time.
