Page 232 of Power Play

Ryan was silent for a second. When he spoke again, the anger remained, but something gentler had moved beneath it.

“I’m not going dark.”

“You’re pissed.”

“Yeah.”

“At me.”

“Yeah.”

My eyes burned. “Then don’t hang up like that.”

“Listen to me.” His voice steadied. “You can piss me off.”

I swallowed.

“You can say something shitty, hurt my feelings, and make me want to throw my phone through a locker-room wall.”

Despite myself, my mouth twitched.

“My being angry doesn’t mean I’m going to mistreat you,” he continued. “It doesn’t mean I disappear or punish you. It means I’m pissed, and I have a game in thirty-five minutes.”

“I know.”

“You know what else?”

“What?”

“I have the right to be angry that everybody gets to hold out hope your parents won’t give a shit about me except you.”

That hit harder.

“Bliss hopes. Aura hopes. Cade probably thinks your dad will see how charming I am and invite me golfing.”

A laugh tried to escape despite everything.

“I knew they would care,” Ryan said, his voice roughening. “I knew where I came from would matter to people like that. I knew my tattoos would matter, along with my name, Flint, and all the rest of it.”

“Ryan.”

“And I still chose you.”

My chest hurt.

“So go choose me back.”

I pressed my fingers against my mouth. “I will.”

“I know.”

“You’re still mad.”

“Very.”

“You’ll call?”

“After the game.”