Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Levi’s POV

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It felt like it had been forever since I last slept this well. For once, my mind wasn’t already exhausted before I even opened my eyes.

I didn’t want to wake up yet.

Instead, I instinctively snuggled deeper into the warmth beside me.

I’ve always slept with the air-conditioner on full blast. I hated heat. Hated feeling sweaty. Trapped. Suffocated.

But this warmth felt different. It felt comfortable and soft.

Sunlight suddenly hit my eyes, making me click my tongue in annoyance. I slowly opened them, blinking away the/ brightness. And that was when I realized why I slept so well despite spending the night on a narrow bench without air- conditioning.

Hope was sleeping beside me.

My duffel bag was shoved beneath our heads as a makeshift pillow, and sometime during the night, we must have shifted closer together because she was against my side now.

I remembered it vaguely. At some point, she started yawning every two minutes while trying to lecture me about recovery exercises. I told her to just lie down before she could pass out. I remembered feeling sleepy then, too, which must have led to this.

The morning light hit her face softly. Hope had always looked bright. But right now, with her hair messy from sleep and her cheeks slightly flushed from the cold, she looked. angelic. Like sunlight itself had decided to take human form.

Was that why she always felt warm?

My gaze drifted lower unconsciously.

However, I snapped out of it when she groaned softly and suddenly snuggled even closer into me.

Her forehead brushed against my chest lightly while her leg shifted against mine, and suddenly I became aware of how close we actually were.

After that, Hope’s eyes fluttered open. For one second, she looked relaxed. However, when the realization must have hit her, she shoved me away with surprising strength.

Because the bench was ridiculously narrow, I lost balance immediately and feel straight onto the floor. I landed flat on my back with a loud thud.

“Oh gosh!” Hope gasped immediately.

She stood from the bench and hurried toward me with panic written all over her face.

“Are you okay?” she asked quickly, crouching beside me. “Did you hit your shoulder? Your ankle? Your back?”

I sighed while staring at the ceiling.

“No,” I muttered. Even half asleep, her physical therapist instincts were terrifyingly strong.

She still looked worried though, carefully observing my face.

wed,

Chapter 31

I sat up slowly while rubbing the back of my neck then checked my phone.

6:52 AM.

“The rink’s going to open soon,” I muttered while standing. “Let’s go.”

“Crap,” Hope whispered under her breath. I looked at her.

She glanced down at herself and groaned quietly.

“I don’t have clothes,” she muttered. I still have that meeting with Beth and the others at eight.”

Her eyes widened slightly. “Do I still have time to go home first?”

I looked at her properly for the first time that morning.

Messy hair. Oversized hoodie. Wrinkled clothes from sleeping on a bench.

And despite all of that, she still somehow looked cute.

“No time.”

“Just shower in my room and borrow some clothes.”

She immediately looked wary.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “Would I even fit in your clothes?”

Then her expression changed like she remembered something else.

“Wait, I still haven’t even returned your jacket.”

“Enough rambling,” I muttered.

I flicked her forehead lightly before grabbing my bag.

She pouted while rubbing the spot. “Hey!”

“Just hurry before someone sees us here,” I said. “Unless you want that.”

Her eyes widened before she shook her head aggressively.

“Yeah, let’s hurry up.”

The two of us quietly left the arena before the staff fully arrived.

I unlocked the door to my privat room and motioned toward the bathroom.

“Go.”

Hope nodded quickly.

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“Thanks, Levi,” she said brightly. “I don’t know what kind of favor you’ll demand after this, but I’ll accept this debt for now.”

I smirked and shook my head while she disappeared into the bathroom. The second the door shut, I headed toward my closet.

Everything I owned was massive compared to her. Eventually, I grabbed one of my compression shirts and a pair of dark gray sweatpants with adjustable drawstrings.

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11:47 Wed, Jul 15 AMM.

Chapter 31

They’d still drown her completely, but at least they wouldn’t fall off.

Probably.

85 vous

I cracked the bathroom door open slightly and hung the clothes on the inside handle before heading toward my bed The moment my back hit the bed, the realization hit me. I still hadn’t changed after sleeping on a damn bench.

Normally, that would’ve driven me crazy. But strangely enough, I didn’t really care today. I sat against the headboard and scrolled through my phone absentmindedly.

The articles were still everywhere.

A lot of people were suddenly acting brave online, talking about how this season was finally their chance to beat me.

I scoffed quietly. Even injured, I could probably still destroy half their favorite teams.

After several minutes, the bathroom door finally opened.

Steam drifted softly into the room. And against my better judgment, I looked toward the side of the bathroom.

Hope stepped out wearing my clothes. At that moment, I regretted giving her those specific sweatpants.

The compression shirt fit loosely on her frame, looking more like a regular fitted shirt instead. Meanwhile, the sweatpants’ waistband sat low on her hips while she struggled with the drawstrings, exposing flashes of soft skin near her stomach every

few seconds.

I swallowed instinctively. She was completely focused on tying the strings properly and didn’t notice me staring.

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