CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MASON
NYC didn’t feel like a city anymore.
It felt like noise that had learned how to follow you.
Everything was louder here—hallways, doors, footsteps, even silence. Especially silence.
Hotel check-in took longer than it should’ve. Too many bodies, too many names being called, too many bags stacked like everyone was trying to prove they were staying longer than they actually would.
Coach was already annoyed before we even got keys.
“Rooms. Two per. No switching. No wandering.”
Jace leaned toward me. “That last part is definitely for you.”
“I’m not wandering.”
“You wandered emotionally for like a week.”
I didn’t answer.
Because I already saw her.
Rowan.
Standing near the lobby seating area with Serena, bag at her feet, hair slightly pulled back like she’d been holding it together since the airport.
Caleb was nearby again.
Same pattern.
Same distance.
Same ease.
I hated how consistent it was starting to look.
Like something I couldn’t interrupt.
Rowan
The hotel was too nice to feel real.
Marble floors. Soft lighting. Staff that moved like they’d been trained not to notice anything personal.
Serena flopped into one of the lobby chairs. “This is ridiculous.”
“It’s temporary,” I said.
“Everything is temporary,” she replied. “That’s not comforting.”
Caleb stood beside us, scrolling through his phone. “We’ve got room assignments in five.”
I nodded.
Then I felt it.
Not sound.
Not sight.
Something else.
Mason was here.
I didn’t need to turn to know.
That was the problem now.
Serena followed my gaze anyway. Smirked immediately.
“Oh,” she said softly. “There he is.”
“Don’t start,” I muttered.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Mason
Room assignments got called out in clusters.
Names. Floors. Key cards sliding across desks.
I stopped listening halfway through.
Because I saw her again.
Lobby seating.
Same position.
Different city.
Same effect.
Jace followed my gaze instantly.
“You’re doing it again,” he said.
“I’m not doing anything.”
“You are absolutely tracking her like she’s luggage you forgot to claim.”
I didn’t respond.
Because Coach called my name.
“Reed. Third floor. Solo with Hayes. No complaints.”
I blinked once.
Then again.
“Solo?” Jace muttered beside me.
“Don’t start,” I said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
But he was smiling.
Because he knew.
I grabbed my key card.
Didn’t look back.
I should’ve.
I did anyway.
Rowan was still there.
Still not looking at me.
That stuck harder than it should’ve.
Rowan
The words hit before I processed them.
“Third floor. Hayes and Reed.”
I blinked.
Once.
Then again.
Serena leaned forward slightly. “Oh this is interesting.”
“It’s not interesting,” I said immediately.
“It’s absolutely interesting.”
Caleb glanced up from his phone. “Who did you get paired with?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I already knew.
And I didn’t like that I knew before it was even confirmed.
Mason
Elevator ride was too quiet.
That was the first problem.
Second problem was I noticed the number changing too slowly.
Third floor felt far.
Too far for something I hadn’t decided I was doing.
Jace had already peeled off toward his room.
Left me alone with the key card in my hand.
Then the elevator doors opened.
And she stepped in.
Rowan.
Paused for half a second when she saw me.
Not surprised.
Not shocked.
Just aware.
That was worse.
Because it meant she already knew this was coming too.
She walked in anyway.
Didn’t hesitate.
Pressed the button for third floor.
Stood on the opposite side of the elevator.
Not close.
Not far.
Just… contained.
The doors closed.
Silence hit immediately.
Not comfortable.
Not awkward.
Just loaded.
She didn’t look at me first.
I didn’t look at her first.
That lasted maybe three seconds too long.
Then she spoke.
“Of course.”
I exhaled slightly through my nose. “What.”
“This,” she said.
I glanced at her. “It’s a room assignment.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Sure it is.”
I didn’t answer.
Because the elevator moved.
Slow.
Too slow.
And now there was no one else to fill the space.
Just us.
Contained.
Unavoidable.
Rowan
I hated elevators.
Not because of the space.
Because of what people did in them when they thought no one else mattered.
Mason leaned slightly against the wall.
Arms crossed.
Neutral expression.
Controlled.
Like nothing about this affected him.
But I’d started noticing the small things.
The jaw tightening.
The stillness that wasn’t natural stillness.
The way he didn’t shift away.
Even when there was space to.
That mattered more than I wanted it to.
“You knew?” I asked.
“No.”
That was immediate.
Too immediate.
I nodded slowly. “Right.”
Silence again.
Then:
“This is going to be a long night,” I said.
He looked at me then.
Properly.
“Yeah,” he said.
No sarcasm.
No deflection.
Just agreement.
That was new.
And I didn’t like how honest it felt.
Mason
Elevator kept moving.
Floor numbers ticking up slowly.
I should’ve looked away.
I didn’t.
Rowan wasn’t either.
That was the part I couldn’t ignore.
Not Caleb.
Not Coach.
Not anything else.
Just this.
Closed space.
No escape without making it obvious.
And she was standing there like she’d already accepted it.
That bothered me more than anything else today.
“Stop overthinking it,” she said suddenly.
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
I didn’t argue.
Because she was right.
And I hated that she knew.
The elevator dinged.
Third floor.
Doors didn’t open immediately.
Stuck for half a second too long.
Then they slid apart.
But neither of us moved instantly.
That was the problem.
We both noticed.
Rowan
The doors opened.
Hallway light spilled in.
Normal.
Finally.
I should’ve stepped out immediately.
I didn’t.
Because for a second—
neither of us did.
Then I moved first.
Too fast.
Too controlled.
And I didn’t look back.
But I could feel him behind me anyway.
Still there.
Still aware.
And now—
no longer optional.