I looked up. Every single one of them looked serious.
“We’re not gonna say anything,” Nathan said at once.
“Obviously.” Ethan rolled his eyes. “Jesus, Dean.”
“You really think we’d put him at risk?” Brooke sounded almost offended.
“What she said,” Sasha added, her face tight.
Breathing was suddenly a chore.
I looked between them. “I didn’t mean?—”
“No, you did.” Ethan leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “And it was a fair assumption.”
Nathan nodded. “We know enough about Velkarya to understand this isn’t simple.”
The lump in my throat thickened.
For a second nobody spoke.
I glanced at Ethan. “I’m sorry, but for a second there, I?—”
“Thought I’d spilled the beans,” he interjected. “I absolutely didnot. I didn’t have to. Your secret Olympic boyfriend energy was just catastrophically obvious.”
“Ethan,” I groaned.
He widened his eyes. “What? The guy skates past and your entire attention span packs a bag and leaves.”
That shut me up, because the worst part was he wasn’t wrong.
Brooke’s expression was kind. “How long has this been going on?”
I hesitated. “Not long,” I admitted. “Since we arrived here.”
Noah’s eyebrows shot upward. “Oh wow. So this isfreshfresh.”
“Extremely fresh,” Ethan agreed. “Like emotionally devastating baby deer levels of fresh.”
I stared at him. “So what you’re saying is that basically I’m a newborn woodland creature having a sexuality crisis.”
He shrugged. “If the cap fits…”
I laughed despite myself, the sound rough around the edges. A second or two later, my chest tightened again.
Everything felt too big all of a sudden, too much going on.
Noah’s hand was on my arm, gentle but firm. “Hey, we’ve got you.”
The simplicity of it nearly undid me.
Nathan nodded. “All of us.” Brooke echoed him, then Sasha.
“If anyone gets too curious,” Ethan added, “we redirect.”
“We intercept,” Sasha corrected.
“We’re Team USA,” Ethan said, his tone solemn. “Defensive strategies are important.”
