Page 230 of On His Team

“Hi.” He puts his face against my stomach.

I laugh and run my fingers through his hair. “Tired?”

“Yeah.”

“How was practice?”

“Long.” He turns his head enough to look at me.

I close the book completely. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

The answer comes easier now. That’s new too. He doesn’t make me drag everything out of him.

I put my hand against his cheek. “Minnesota again.”

“Yeah.”

“How many times can you play the same team in one season?”

“Apparently a lot.”

“You should complain.”

He nods. “I’ll tell the Big Ten.”

“Thank you.”

He smiles and shifts higher until his head is beside mine.

I turn onto my side. “Do you ever think about how this is going to be over soon?”

His eyes stay on mine. “All the time.”

The honesty of it catches me.

“You do?”

“Yeah.”

I don’t know why I expected another answer.

Maybe because Rowan rarely says things before they become necessary.

“What part?” I ask.

“Hockey.”

I blink. “Yeah.”

“Hawthorne.”

I wait.

His hand slides over my waist. “This.”

My heart shifts. “Us?”