Page 76 of Rookie Rules

Rowan set the last dish in the rack. The heat wrap remained on the counter behind Luca.

He could wait until Luca left. The routine was manageable alone. He had done it alone for years and in hotel rooms and on buses and in arenas where privacy meant a locked trainer door.

Luca dried his hands. "Do you want me to go?"

No pressure. No question about pain. An exit placed within reach.

"No," Rowan said.

Luca stayed still.

Rowan picked up the heat wrap. "Second drawer in the living room cabinet. There is an extension cable."

Understanding moved through Luca's face and disappeared before it became triumph.

"Okay."

In the living room, Rowan lay on his left side across the rug, knees bent as Owen had instructed. Luca connected the wrap and knelt an arm's length away.

"Where?" he asked.

Rowan guided his own hand along the right side, above the hip. "Here. Not the spine."

Luca waited.

"You can place it."

His hands were warm even through the fabric. He settled the wrap where Rowan had indicated, adjusted the edge once, and removed his hands.

"Pressure?"

"Light."

Luca rested one palm over the pack. No rubbing. No attempt to locate the problem himself. Pressure exactly as requested.

The hotel room returned: one terrible chair, a pillow offered without insistence, Luca turning away.

"You did this at one seventeen," Rowan said.

"I moved a pillow. Medical history will remember me."

"You asked first."

The humor left Luca's face. "You said no."

"You listened."

"That's how no works."

Simple. Luca gave the answer as if it required no praise.

For Rowan, it had required evidence.

"Owen give you anything else?" Luca asked.

"Rotation. Core work."

"Before or after the heat?"