Page 77 of Speak in Fever

"We could spend a few weeks there. Just us. No pressure, no schedules, no teammates asking questions." Percy can picture it—lazy mornings in bed, afternoon swims, evening fires on the dock. "Would you want that?"

"Yeah, that sounds amazing," Rath says, and there's something almost desperate in his voice. "We can argue about what to watch on Netflix.”

"Why do we have to argue about it?"

"You have terrible taste in movies, Percy. We're going to have to address that."

Percy laughs, pulling Rath closer until he's practically in Percy's lap. "I can live with that. What else do you want to do this summer?"

"Everything," Rath says immediately. "I want to do everything with you. Meet your friends, see where you went to school, hear your dad's stories about when you were little. I want your mom to show me embarrassing photo albums and teach me your favorite recipes."

The domestic picture Rath is painting makes Percy's chest warm with contentment. "She'll do that, you know. The photo albums especially. She's been waiting years to have someone to show them to."

"Good. I want to know everything about you that I don't know yet." Rath's voice grows serious. "I want this summer to be about us, not about hockey or the team or anything else. Just us figuring out who we are together."

"We'll have to tell the team," Percy realizes. "Before we leave. They're going to figure it out anyway when we both disappear to Michigan for three months."

"Are you worried about that?"

Percy considers the question honestly. "A little. But not about their reaction—I think most of them have figured it out already. I'm more worried about the dynamic changing when we come back."

"Torres definitely knows," Rath says with a grin. "He's been giving me looks for weeks. And Raul asked me yesterday if I had 'summer plans with anyone special.'"

"So we're doing this," Percy says, needing to hear it confirmed. "You're coming home with me. We're telling our families. We're making this real."

"We're doing this," Rath agrees. "Though I should probably call my parents first. Let them know I'm bringing someone home with me for a few days before we head to Michigan."

"You want me to meet your parents too?"

"Of course I do. They're going to want to interrogate you." Rath grins. "Plus, my mom will never forgive me if I don't bring you by. She's been planning this meeting for months."

The idea of being welcomed into Rath's family, of being someone worth introducing and celebrating, makes Percy feel almost dizzy with happiness. "When do we leave?"

"Whenever you want. The season's over, we've got all summer." Rath stretches, looking more relaxed than Percy has seen him in weeks. "Though we should probably start packing soon."

They sit together in the gathering dusk, planning and dreaming and slowly adjusting to the reality of a future that's no longer theoretical. The season is over, but something bigger and more important is just beginning.