Page 401 of Playing Dirty

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Yeah.

Pause.

Rowan:

You?

Mason:

Yeah.

That was it.

No buildup.

No cushioning.

Just arrival.

Coach called us.

Boarding.

That word felt heavier than it should’ve.

MASON

Plane seats weren’t designed for thinking.

Which was a problem.

Because that’s all I did.

Rowan sat across the aisle.

Not next to me.

Close enough to see.

Far enough to feel intentional.

Coach leaned back and closed his eyes.

First time I’d ever seen him do that.

Luca nudged me.

“This is it,” he said quietly.

I nodded.

But I wasn’t looking at him.

I was looking at the fact that everything we hadbeen building toward—

was no longer ahead of us.

It was happening.

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