Page 17 of On His Team

I don’t know what Mara said, but I look up at them, trying to figure it out. Mara smiles at me when she catches me watching. I look back at the whiteboard.

Stanley taps the marker against the board. “Back to the rules.”

Gianna raises a hand. “I have rule one.”

“No,” Benson says.

She scoffs. “You don’t know what it is.”

He does. “It’s about parties.”

She points at him. “Which proves you know me.”

Mara lifts both hands beside her. “Minimum one Hawthorne party per month.”

“No,” Blue says.

“Once every two weeks,” Gianna counters.

“You went the wrong direction,” Benson tells her.

She puts both hands on the table. “You people got girlfriends and ruined the history of Camden U.”

I laugh.

Her head snaps toward me. “What’s funny, Rowan?”

“You.” I take a bite of my eggs.

She narrows her eyes.

I eat a piece of bacon.

Stanley slaps the marker against the board. “Serious rules.”

That settles things slightly.

Benson looks at the empty board. Then at the guys around the table. “Nobody does anything that costs us.”

Stanley pauses. “That’s vague.”

“It’s supposed to be.”

Aspen leans forward against the counter to listen.

Benson explains, “Penalties. Missed practice. Missed film. Anything stupid off the ice that becomes a problem on it.”

Stanley starts writing.

Big black letters.

1. DON’T COST US.

Benson looks at it. “That isn’t exactly what I said.”

“It’s better.”

I point toward Blue. “No fighting.”