Page 227 of On His Team

When the horn finally goes, I don’t scream.

Lucy grabs my forearm, and I grab hers, and for one second, we just stare at the screen as the broadcast cuts to Camden’s bench.

Then Rowan is there. Helmet still on, leaning over the boards while Stanley grabs him by both shoulders and shakes him.

They’re moving on.

Something releases inside me.

I laugh and turn into Lucy at the same time she turns toward me.

Another week.

That night, Rowan comes straight to my apartment from the bus. It’s after eleven when he knocks. I open the door wearing sleep shorts and one of his old Camden shirts. He has his backpack slung over one shoulder and looks exhausted.

“You have a house, and you drove past it,” I say.

“Yeah.”

I smile. “Come in.”

He drops the backpack beside the door, toes his shoes off, and reaches for me before I’ve even closed it. There is no buildup. No joke. He puts both arms around my waist and kisses me like he has been thinking about it for the entire drive back.

I wrap my arms around his neck. “Hi.”

“Hi, G.”

I smile softly. “You won.”

“Yeah.”

“You came straight here to me.”

His mouth comes back to mine.

I laugh softly against it.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

His hand slides underneath the back of my shirt, warm against my skin.

“You missed me,” I say.

“Yeah.”

“Like a lot.”

He looks at me. “G.”

“What?” I whisper.

“I always want you near.”

The stupid happiness that gives me should be embarrassing. I kiss him again. This time Rowan doesn’t let me pull away. His hands slide around my waist, and he walks me backward through the apartment without breaking the kiss. I laugh when my hip catches the edge of the hallway table, but he only steadies me and keeps going.

“You’re very determined.”