Page 43 of Rookie Rules

Luca kissed him.

For one impossible second Rowan did not move.

Then his hand closed around the front of Luca's jacket and pulled him closer.

The response erased every safe explanation Luca had built.

Rowan's mouth opened beneath his. The kiss turned hard with restraint breaking rather than disappearing. Luca's shoulder met the concrete wall. Rowan followed, body close enough that the contact belonged to neither hockey nor accident.

Luca touched his waist and felt Rowan tense beneath the fabric.

Not pain.

Want.

Rowan kissed him once more, shorter and somehow less controlled.

Then he stopped.

His hand remained fisted in Luca's jacket. Their faces stayed close. Rowan's breathing had lost its practiced rhythm.

Luca did not chase him.

The choice mattered too much.

Rowan released the jacket and stepped back.

"This cannot happen again."

The corridor seemed colder where his body had been.

Luca's mouth still carried the pressure of him. "You seemed involved."

"Do not."

"Don't what? Notice?"

Rowan picked up his bag.

The captain had returned, assembled too quickly around the man Luca had just kissed.

"It cannot happen again," Rowan repeated.

This time the words landed without room for humor.

Luca lowered his hand. "Okay."

Rowan's expression shifted at the answer, but Luca was done helping him name things.

He walked away first.

Around the bend, locker-room noise met him again. Finn called something about the bus. Jace complained about food. The ordinary world continued with insulting ease.

Luca went to his stall and shouldered his bag.

On the bus, Finn dropped into the seat beside him before Luca could put his headphones on. The aisle filled with players trading chargers, food, and complaints about the departure time. Rowan sat six rows ahead beside Nolan, posture turned toward a tablet.

"You disappeared," Finn said.