“Kieran’s reading about heterosexuals?” I asked.
“He reads about them all the time. In this one, there’s a duke, the duke’s brother, and the duke’s brother’s enemy. They’re all after that woman in the ball gown. It’s very dramatic. I’m two chapters ahead of him.”
“Does he know?”
“I’m not telling him. It’s just between you and me.”
I stood and stretched. I could have stayed for another hour. That was the thing about Heath—I always could have stayed another hour. “I’d better get ready for dinner.”
“Bye, Varga.”
“Bye, Heath.”
I let myself into the hallway and walked it slowly. I passed Rook’s room where he put out theDo Not Disturbhanger, whether or not he was in the room.
***
We won the game three to two. Rafe scored his first road goal in the second period, a rebound he banged in from in front of the net, and the bench mobbed him hard enough that his helmet came off.
Rook played twenty-three minutes, including the last shift on the ice, protecting our lead, the way Markel used him in close games.
I had an assist. I caught the puck on the boards in the third and slid it past a Detroit stick to Cross’s tape, and he did the rest. It was a Cross goal. I just held the door for him.
Back at my hotel room, I sat on the edge of the bed and sent a text to Rook.
Varga:Come over.
The three dots appeared, but then they stopped with no words appearing. Three minutes later, I heard two soft taps at my door.
I turned the deadbolt and pulled the door open enough for Rook to slip inside. He closed the door, threw the deadbolt, and pulled the chain across.
Rook wore jeans and the gray henley I’d bought him for his birthday last year and stolen back two or three times before he hid it on a shelf above my reach. He hadn’t shaved since morning. The stubble was at the length I liked best, just a light scratch against my cheek.
He pushed me back against the door. He had one hand flat on the door beside my head and the other on the side of my jaw. Then he kissed me.
I sighed against his mouth. “Door,” I managed with a hitch in my breath.
“It’s locked.”
“Chain.”
“It’s on, Luki.”
“Just checking. Could be anyone out there.”
“No one’s coming to the door.”
“The man in 812 might come over to discuss SportsCenter.”
“Then we’ll let him in.”
“That is very generous of you.”
“Be quiet now, Luki.”
“Make me.”
He laughed once, low, against the side of my neck, and kissed me again. I was quiet.
