I look back up at Colten and enjoy the view.
***
By the time we get to the hotel, it’s late enough that everything feels a little unreal.
The lobby is packed, full of all sorts of high-level players everywhere. Different schools, different jerseys, and different energies are all buzzing together in one place. I can feel the undercurrent of nerves and competition. It hums in the air like something alive.
I recognize a few faces. Guys we’ve played against and guys I’ve watched highlights of. It would be a great opportunity to network, to go over and say hi, scope things out.
I stay next to Colten.
While everyone else seems overcharged with energy, I just feel tired. I can already tell tomorrow’s going to be a lot.
Even though we just spent the last two days trapped together in a car, I’m not quite ready for the road trip to be over or for our time together to be broken. I just want to spend a bit more time with Colten. I can network tomorrow.
We make it to the front desk, get checked in, and then—
“One bed?” Colten repeats, his right eye twitching, despite having read the letter with me that clearly stated it was just one bed. He remembered there was no flight ticket, how could he forget there was only one bed?
The front desk person nods apologetically. “We’re fully booked. We can try checking for a cot, but I’m pretty sure they’ve all been taken.”
“It’s fine. We share beds all the time,” I say cheerfully.
Colten makes a noise like I just punched him. “That’s not—” he starts.
“It’s really not a problem,” I continue, smiling at the front desk person. “We've been living together for three years now, so this is nothing.”
The front desk person looks amused, and perhaps slightly embarrassed for us.
Colten looks like he wants to evaporate. He grabs the key card as soon as it’s presented and drags me away.
“Why would you say that?” he hisses as we head for the elevator.
“Because it’s true,” I say. “We literally did the other night.”
He makes a sound that’s half sigh, half exasperated hiss, as he hits the elevator button. I watch in delight as his ears go from a pink flush to a bright red while we wait.
The elevator dings and we step inside. He hits the button for our floor harder than necessary. I lean against the wall, watching him.
“Why did you want a cot anyway?” I ask.
He doesn’t look at me, but I can still see the bright tinge of red on his ears. “Maybe I don’t want to fight for space.”
I grin, stepping closer and leaning into him just enough to be annoying.
“You didn’t seem to mind the other night when you were sleeping on top of me,” I say.
He goes very still, the red spreading from his ears and then down past the collar of his shirt.
“You should be focusing on the combine right now,” he says, sharp and low. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” I ask innocently.
He turns his head and looks at me.
It’sthatlook. The one that makes my stomach twist with heat, that makes my brain go quiet, and that makes everything narrow down to just him. The one that demands my attention.
“Do you want to be punished?” he asks, voice quiet, edged with something I don’t have a name for.
