Page 24 of Gap Control

I glanced across the aisle. Mason was already sitting on the other side of Lambert, staring out the window. One leg jiggled slightly.

I buckled in and tried not to think about what we looked like from the outside. About what Brady had written. About the factthat I had no clue what the next few days would feel like and what might happen.

The bus pulled onto the highway. Lewiston disappeared behind us, and the guys got louder.

I stared out the window and told myself everything was fine.

I wasn't lying. Not really.

Just… warming up.

Two hours, one travel snack, and a lot of pretending to nap later, we landed at the hotel, early check-in secured by the team brass.

Room 418. Two beds. One roommate.

The fates forgot that Mercier was married, and I had a fake boyfriend. When I opened the door, he'd already claimed the double bed near the window and dumped his gear across it like he was marking territory. He had a protein shake open and was watching a video with the volume too low to hear but loud enough to irritate.

"Shower first or second?" he asked without looking up.

"I'll let you know after I remember how to function." I dropped my bag and sat on the corner of the unclaimed bed. "Give me a minute for the existential dread to fade."

Mercier nodded. "Take two. I've got earbuds."

I sat there with my phone in my hands and didn't move.

Not because I didn't know what I was doing—I absolutely knew what I was doing—but because sending the text made it real.

Still, I opened a new message to Mason.

TJ:hey. want to get lunch? I know a place. just us? might help the story if we're seen. no pressure. me thinking ahead.

I hit send before I could rewrite it five times or add something dumb like a wink emoji.

Mercier glanced over. "That for Romeo?"

"Do not call him that."

"I'm supporting your narrative."

"He's not Romeo. He's… Ryker."

"Sounds romantic either way."

I threw a pillow at him. He caught it, hugged it to his chest, and sighed dramatically. "Love is war."

"Love is manufactured for the sake of a fan hashtag," I muttered.

My phone buzzed.

Mason:okay.

That was it. Okay. It worked. My stomach fluttered.

I stood. "I'm grabbing food."

Mercier raised both eyebrows. "Like, now now?"

"Soon. Just need to find a shirt that doesn't look like I lost a bet."

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