“Mhm.” I grabbed a wing, biting into it to hide my grin. “Must have been all that walking around the rink.”
“Exactly. The walking. So much walking.”
“Up and down all those stairs.”
“So many stairs.”
We ate in silence for a few minutes. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, the way she licked sauce from her fingers, the way she tucked her legs underneath her, the way she looked so completely at ease in my space.
“So,” Harlow said, reaching for her Coke, “how long do you think before Bennett tells the entire team?”
“Bold of you to assume he hasn’t already.”
She groaned. “Great. My reputation as a woman of mystery is completely destroyed.”
“You never had a reputation as a woman of mystery.”
“Excuse me?” She turned to face me, mock outrage in her eyes. “I am extremely mysterious.”
I laughed, the sound surprising me. When was the last time I felt this... light? This easy? The weight I had been carrying for weeks, the guilt, the confusion, the constant battle between what I wanted and what I thought I should do, it all felt distant now. Manageable. Like maybe, this could actually work.
But there was still one massive, unavoidable obstacle.
“I’m going to have to talk to Jax and Kaia,” I said, setting down my wing. “Sooner rather than later.”
Harlow’s chewing slowed. She swallowed, reaching for a napkin to wipe her fingers. “Let me handle Kaia. She’s my sister.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.” She crumpled the napkin and tossed it onto the table. “So that leaves Jax.”
“That leaves Jax.”
“Owen,” she whispered. “What exactly are we going to tell them?”
I ran a hand down my face, exhaling slowly. “If everything hadn’t gone down so terribly with Cam, I wouldn’t even hesitate. I would tell Jax we were dating and deal with whatever came after. But it did go bad. Really bad and I don’t…”
“Wait.” Harlow’s face had changed, something bright sparking in her eyes. She held up a hand, cutting me off mid-sentence. “Go back. Say that again.”
“Say what?”
“The dating part.” A smile was tugging at the corner of her lips. “Are we dating?”
My brows rose. “I thought that was implied.”
“Implied isn’t the same as stated.” She shifted on the couch, turning to face me fully. “I’m a woman who appreciates explicit communication. Very explicit.”
I set down my drink and slid closer to her, closing the distance between us until our knees were touching.
“I thought I made it pretty clear,” I said, “when I said you were mine.”
Her lips parted slightly.
“That makes you my girlfriend, Harlow.” I reached up, tucking a damp strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers trail along the curve of her jaw. “Or did you need me to spell it out?”
“I mean...” Her voice had gone breathy. “Spelling is a valuable skill. I wouldn’t want you to get rusty.”
“G-I-R-L-F-R-I-E-N-D.” I leaned in, my lips brushing the shell of her ear. “Is that explicit enough for you?”
