Page 111 of Rookie Rules

"Then ask what you mean."

That conversation returned between them. Luca had asked. Rowan had understood. The days since had produced one invitation, one failed evening, and the same professional fluency on ice.

"How many rooms do you have that I'm not allowed into?" Luca asked.

Rowan went still.

The office door remained open. Players moved in the corridor beyond it.

"This is work," Rowan said.

"I know where we are."

"Then not here."

The answer was not never. Luca noticed because he had become skilled at surviving on distinctions.

He was also tired of doing it.

"When?"

Rowan looked toward the door, then back. "After the trip."

A promise of conversation small enough to fit inside logistics.

Luca nodded. "Okay."

Travel compressed the room into fewer exits. At security, Finn became the version of himself everyone recognized. He stole one of Jace's pretzels, corrected Mateo's gate number, and asked Gabriel whether he wanted the aisle without attaching concern to the question.

At the gate, a league account posted Kaito's interview clip. Jace played it once with sound before Finn reached over and lowered the volume.

"He says you know his game," Jace said.

"He's right."

"You going to elaborate?"

"No."

The single word carried enough edge that Jace lifted both hands.

Finn exhaled and rubbed one palm over his face. "We trained in some of the same offseason groups. Played against each other forever. He enjoys making simple hockey sound like a moral superiority. End of mystery."

The explanation fit the visible facts. Luca did not believe it was the whole truth. He also recognized the gift: Finn had offered enough to close the conversation without humiliating anyone for asking.

"I knew it," Mateo said. "Hair rivalry."

Finn pointed at him. "Finally, serious analysis."

The group moved on.

Luca wondered whether he could accept a partial truth from Finn because Finn had not asked Luca to build a life inside it.

With Rowan, the missing pieces determined the terms of every private moment.

On the team bus to the airport, Finn sat beside Rowan near the front instead of taking his usual place across the aisle. They reviewed faceoff clips on one tablet. Kaito appeared as a circle around number 10 and a list of tendencies.

On the flight, Rowan and Finn watched clips until the cabin lights dimmed. Luca could see the tablet from one row back. Kaito took faceoffs, carried entries, delayed beneath pressure. Finn stopped the video twice before the move developed and predicted the next option.