CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ROWAN
The hallway felt longer than it needed to.
That was the first thought I had after the elevator.
Not because it actually was.
Because I was aware of every step I took.
And I knew he was behind me.
Not close enough to touch.
Not far enough to ignore.
Just there.
That in-between space that was starting to feel like a pattern I didn’t agree to.
Room 312.
The key card felt heavier than it should’ve when I lifted it.
I stopped in front of the door.
Didn’t open it immediately.
That was mistake number one.
Behind me, I heard him stop too.
No words.
Just presence.
I slid the card in.
Green light.
Click.
Door unlocked.
I pushed it open.
The room was… normal.
Too normal for what it had just done to my head.
Two beds.
Small desk.
Window facing the city.
Muted lighting already on like the hotel expected nobody to adjust anything.
I stepped inside first.
He followed.
Door closed behind him.
That sound mattered more than it should’ve.
Click.
Locked space.
Again.
Not an elevator this time.
Worse.
Because this lasted longer.
I set my bag down slowly.
Serena would’ve had something to say about this.
I didn’t let myself think about her.
Mason stood near the entrance for a second longer than necessary.
Like he was deciding something.
Then he dropped his bag on the bed furthest from the window.
Of course.
Distance.
Intentional.
Or not.
That was the problem now.
I couldn’t tell anymore.
“You take that one,” he said.
Not a question.
I nodded.
“Fine.”
Simple.
Controlled.
Like we were just roommates.
Like nothing had happened in the elevator.
Like nothing had been happening for days.
But neither of us moved past that line.
Mason
The room was smaller than it should’ve been.
Or maybe I just noticed it more because she was in it.
Rowan dropped her bag on the closer bed.
Didn’t look at me.
Didn’t need to.
That was the part that kept catching me off guard.
She didn’t react like someone who was trying to prove something.
She reacted like someone who already knew what was happening.
And didn’t like it.
Same as me.
I exhaled slowly.
“Coach said dinner at seven,” I said.
“Mm.”
That was it.
No follow-up.
No conversation.
Just sound filling space without meaning.
I sat on the edge of my bed.
Didn’t turn on the TV.
Didn’t check my phone.
Because I already knew what I’d look for.
Her.
Instead I didn’t move.
Rowan
I unpacked slowly.
Not because I needed to.
Because movement gave me something to do that wasn’t thinking.
Mason wasn’t loud.
That was the problem.
He never filled space the way other people did.
He occupied it.
There was a difference.
I placed my bag on the chair.
Then stopped.
Because I was aware of him again.
Still sitting.
Still not doing anything.
Just existing in the same room like it wasn’t affecting him.
That was a lie.
I’d started recognizing his lies even when he didn’t say them.
“Are you always this quiet?” I asked.
He looked up.
“Am I loud normally?”
“No.”
“Then why would I be loud now?”
I paused.
Fair.
Annoying.
But fair.
I shrugged slightly. “Just feels weird.”
“What does.”
“This.”
I gestured vaguely between us.
He didn’t respond immediately.
That was new too.
Then:
“It is weird,” he admitted.
Simple.
No edge.
No deflection.
That landed differently than I expected.
Because it was the first time he didn’t try to control how it sounded.
Mason
She was right.
This was weird.
Not the room.
Not the assignment.
The awareness.
The fact I could feel where she was without looking.
I stood up again.
Walked toward the window.
City outside was too bright.
Too loud even from here.
Rowan moved slightly behind me.
Not close.
Not far.
Still inside the same space.
“You always like this?” she asked.
“Like what.”
“Quiet like you’re thinking too much.”
I almost laughed.
Almost.
“I don’t think too much.”
“That’s also a lie,” she said.
That made me turn slightly.
Not fully.
Just enough to see her.
She was leaning against the desk now.
Arms folded.
Not defensive.
Just… steady.
Like she wasn’t intimidated by the space.
Or me.
That should’ve been normal.
It wasn’t.
Rowan
He was watching me again.
Not in the way people usually did.
Not curiosity.
Not attention.
Something more controlled.
Like he was measuring distance without moving.
“You do realise this is going to be awkward for three days,” I said.
“Yeah.”
“That’s it?”
“What else do you want me to say.”
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. “Something less calm.”
That got a reaction.
Small.
Barely there.
But real.
His jaw tightened slightly.
Not angry.
Just aware.
“That would make it worse,” he said.
I frowned. “Worse how?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
That was the first time I noticed him hesitate.
Then:
“Never mind.”
Which somehow made it worse anyway.
Mason
I should’ve stopped talking.
I didn’t.
“Don’t make it something it’s not,” I said.
Rowan tilted her head slightly. “What is it then?”
I paused.
That was the problem.
I didn’t have a clean answer.
So I didn’t give one.
Instead:
“It’s a room assignment.”
She laughed once.
Small.
Not amused.
“Yeah,” she said. “Sure.”
That tone again.
Like she didn’t believe me.
Or like she already knew I didn’t believe myself.
I looked away first this time.
Not because I wanted to.
Because I needed to.
Rowan
Silence came back.
But different now.
Not empty.
Full.
I sat on the edge of my bed.
Finally.
Still aware of him.
Still aware of everything.
And I hated how normal it already felt.
Like this wasn’t the first time we’d been in a space that small.
Like it wouldn’t be the last.
Mason didn’t move from the window.
But I could feel him anyway.
That was becoming the pattern.
Not looking.
Not speaking.
Just presence.
And somehow—
that was the loudest part.