“It’s not,” I assured them with a grin I knew the public would view as charming. I’d read what people thought about me, and I worked hard to keep that image up every time I was in the public eye. It wasn’t that hard because the image was remarkably similar to my real personality. I just controlled the chaos a little better.
“What are you doing with your time off?” Y/N asked.
Rowan Rangecroft, I thought to myself. I snorted at my own joke, and then I realized what I’d done. Great. Now I had to cover it. “I’ve got a concussion and my knee’s jacked. I’m not doing much so far. Mostly, I’ve been hanging out in my bed or on my couch. It’s very boring. I hate sitting still.”
“We’ve all had that impression of you,” Y/N commented. They grinned up at me, and I once again appreciated the easy repartee I had with the reporter. “Given your popularity with both the fans and the team, I’m going to guess you’re not spending all that time alone?”
“No,” I told them honestly. “My aunt Ethel lives in the condo next to me, and she’s been in and out of my place since Sunday night. Yesterday, on our day off, I think I had at least half the team over at any given moment. Which was a lot of people at my place. I think they forgot that I don’t keep one of those McMansions some of my teammates bought with their rookie contracts.”
“So, you’ve not been short on company then?”
“Not at all. Rangecroft lives in the same building as me, so he’s been checking on me too. Between him and Aunt Ethel, I’m pretty much never alone.”
“So, would you say you and Rangecroft have gotten close?” I thought of all the nights spent in one another’s arms, the way he cried out my name when he came, the way his cock sat heavy onmy tongue, and I felt my cheeks flush. I ducked my head, trying to hide it from the watchful eye of the camera. I didn’t succeed. “We’ll cut that part.”
“Thanks.” Once I felt my cheeks cool, I dragged my eyes back up to look at Y/N. They were grinning ear-to-ear, and I was glad I was with one of the nice reporters, not one of the sharks that smelled blood in the water and kept attacking until their target broke. I was too easy to break. “Can you ask the question again?”
Y/N nodded and counted down from three on their fingers. “So, would you say you and Rangecroft have gotten close?”
“He’s become one of my closest friends on the team.” That was a much safer answer.
Y/N asked a few more questions about my injury and the timeline of my recovery. After we were finished, Y/N signaled for the cameraman to shut off their equipment. Once the red light had stopped blinking, Y/N leaned back in their chair. “So, you and Rangecroft, huh?”
“No exclusives,” I teased them.
For the rest of the week, I forced myself to stay put when Rowan left for practice. It sucked, but there wasn’t much I could do. Coach Cal had made a good point. The team needed me to heal quickly, so I could come back to play. Rowan hadn’t gone back to his condo for longer than a few minutes, mostly to change or grab food from his fridge to make us dinner, since I got injured. He’d spent every night with me, and I was getting too used to having him there.
“I’m going to miss you when you go to Missoula,” I told him from my perch on one of the kitchen stools.
The team’s flight left the next day, and Rowan was moving around my kitchen preparing meals for me even though I had food in the fridge from my delivery service. His food was better though, so I wasn’t going to complain. I might even remember to eat them since Rowan had made them.
I was watching him cook when I heard the knock on the door. “Aunt Ethel?” I suggested to Rowan.
“I think she said she had book club tonight,” Rowan reminded me. Of course Rowan would remember which of Aunt Ethel’s activities were that night. Rowan remembered the little details, and I liked that about him. “Besides, way too loud for Ethel.”
“Didn’t you say she once almost broke down your door?”
Whoever was at the door knocked again. Right. I should answer that. I looked down at my scooter and then back across the counter to Rowan. “Can you…”
I didn’t get a chance to finish the question before he left the kitchen and strode toward the door. He opened it, and Jonesy and Liam walked in, carrying plastic bags. The smell of Chinese food filled my condo, battling the smells of whatever amazing, delectable delights Rowan was creating. My stomach grumbled. “Mmm, you brought dinner.”
“Looks like you already have dinner plans?” Liam commented. He raised a brow at Rowan, who had gone back to moving around my kitchen like he belonged there. Jonesy nudged him, and I watched Jonesy point out Rowan’s suitcase sitting by the television stand. I should have had him tuck that into the bedroom. “I know that’s not your suitcase, because you’re not going to Missoula. Plus, that is way too nice to be yours.”
“It’s my suitcase,” Rowan piped up. As if they needed clarification.
“And your suitcase is here, why?” Jonesy asked. He had the world’s biggest shit-eating grin on his face. I had a feeling my two best friends had put two and two together.
After all, Rowan had been here the last time they’d visited too, earlier in the week. Neither of them was unintelligent, and in fact, Jonesy was one of the most observant and smartest people I’d ever known.
“I’ve been taking care of Milo.”
“And where have you been sleeping while you’ve been taking care of Milo?” Jonesy singsonged. Oh yeah, they knew. They definitely knew.
Rowan raised a brow at me, and I shrugged. I wasn’t ashamed of what we were doing. I didn’t have a reason to hide the fact that we’d been sleeping together. I liked him, and he liked me. We were together all the time. We were as close to being together as anyone could be without putting a label on the relationship.
“He’s been sleeping in my bed. With me,” I told them plainly. “We’re… uh…”
“Together,” Rowan supplied. “We have been for a few weeks.”
