Playing The Long Game On Ice

When nineteen-year-old rookie winger Aiden Cole gets called up to the prestigious Northbridge University hockey team, he expects brutal practices, brutal hits, and brutal competition—not the slow burn of falling for the team's untouchable star. Reserved, hard-working, and desperate to prove he belongs, Aiden has one plan: keep his head down, rack up points, and never, ever risk the secret that could blow up his career before it starts—he likes men.

Luca Hart, the team's golden boy captain and NHL's next big thing, has his own rulebook: no distractions, no drama, and definitely no teammates. But when Aiden walks into the locker room with sharp cheekbones, a nervous smile, and a wrist shot that makes the coaches swear, Luca's legendary control starts to crack. Forced together on the same line and in a campus mentorship program, their chemistry on the ice becomes impossible to ignore—and even harder to hide.

As stolen glances turn into late-night practices, and bruised bodies learn to trust each other in ways neither expected, Aiden and Luca find themselves playing a different kind of long game—one where every choice is a risk and every touch could cost them everything. Between ruthless teammates, a homophobic rival, and scouts watching their every move, they'll have to decide if love is worth rewriting the rules.