“I don’t get to.” My thumb traced the inside of her wrist. “That’s the job.”
Her mouth curved. “That what you call it?”
“Staying upright? Yeah.”
She went quiet for a second, watching the fire. “I saw you talking to Michigan’s assistant coach.”
“It was nothing.” I shifted slightly so I could see her face. “Quick congrats. He’s been around before.”
“They already know you’re going.”
“Exactly.”
Her fingers fisted in my hoodie. “I also saw him talking to Crestview’s star player.”
That made me look at her. “Mason?”
She nodded.
“When?”
“Right after you went into the locker room.”
I leaned back, letting that settle. Mason was good. Fast. Aggressive. The kind of raw talent player coaches convince themselves they could refine into something dangerous.
Sharing ice with him here on opposing teams was one thing. Sharing ice with him in Ann Arbor? That was different. The thought flickered through before I pushed it aside. Not tonight. “Michigan recruits talent,” I said evenly. “It’s not surprising they’re talking to him.”
“And if he ends up there?”
“Then he ends up there.”
Her brows lifted slightly.
“I don’t avoid competition,” I added. “I meet it.”
That eased something in her expression. “I know you do.”
The fire snapped behind us. Someone laughed too loud. Avery yelled at Jax about lighter fluid. The world shrank to the circle of heat and her back against my chest.
“I just don’t want anything catching you off guard,” she said quietly.
“It won’t.” If Mason showed up in my future, he’d be walking into mine, not the other way around.
She leaned her forehead briefly against my chest. I slid my hand from her wrist to her waist.
“You’re insufferable when you’re confident,” she murmured.
“I’m insufferable when I’m right.”
Her laugh was soft and real. It settled something steady in me.
We stayed until the fire burned lower and smoke clung to her sweater. No drama. No tension at the edges. Just the warmth of her against me, and people enjoying the night.
When she shivered once, I stood. “Come on.”
She didn’t argue as I wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close.
I dropped her off an hour later. I didn’t pull away from the curb until her porch light flicked on.
