Chapter 23: No Whistle Needed

The red shirts won in extra time.

Nobody remembers who scored.

By midnight the guests had gone, each one stopping at the door to hug my brother, and some of them me.

Two neighbors left casseroles in the fridge.

The chairman shook Gabriel's hand and said the academy would hear no word from the league.

My brother fell asleep upstairs in his own bed with the door open and the freezer bag on his nightstand.

I tucked the blanket over his shoulder myself.

When I came down, the den was dark except for the glow of the television, paused on the empty pitch.

Gabriel sat on the leather couch with his elbows on his knees.

Nico stood by the window, loosening his tie.

Neither of them said anything, and I stood in the doorway and looked at them.

Two men I had spent a summer wanting, and a house that was finally quiet.

"You're not going back to the hotel," I said to Nico.

"No?"

"I don't want you to."

He turned, and his dark eyes went to Gabriel.

Gabriel gave a short nod.

"Stay," he said. "For good, if you can stand us."

Nico's mouth curved.

"I have been trying to stay since the first minute of that match."

I crossed the carpet and stopped in front of Gabriel, between his knees.

"No rules," I said. "No terms. I don't need a whistle."

"No more ball in play," he said.

"No more nobody sees."

"Lainey." His hands settled on my waist, and his voice was rough. "Come here."

I pulled my dress off over my head.

It was the blue one this time, and it landed on the lamp.

I was bare under it, and the light from the TV made my skin pale and gold.

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