Page 332 of Playing Dirty

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Mason:

Both.

Rowan:

That’s annoying.

I smiled slightly.

Mason:

Welcome to NYC.

That one landed differently.

Because it made it feel like we were already there.

Not physically.

Just… mentally locked in.

ROWAN

Mia sat across from me in the library like she was studying me instead of her notes.

“You’re distracted,” she said.

“I’m focused.”

“You just stared at the same sentence for five minutes.”

“It’s a complicated sentence.”

She leaned forward. “Is it Mason?”

“No.”

“That was too fast.”

I sighed.

“Yes.”

She nodded like she’d solved a puzzle.

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted.

That part was honest.

Mia didn’t tease me for it.

Which was new.

Instead she said, “NYC is going to make it worse.”

I looked up.

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