Chapter 11 Closer Than Ever
Rafe’s POV
For a second, I thought I had heard wrong.
The entire room went still.
Not the kind of normal silence—it was abnormal, like no one even knew how to react. A few guys behind us shifted, whispering under their breath, but it didn’t matter.
All I could hear was Shawn’s words ringing in my ears over and over again.
What the actual fuck am I hearing right now?
Shawn?
Agreeing to share his room with me just like that?
I turn slowly to look at him, a mix of confusion and rage etched across my face. Of all the things I expected him to do, that wasn’t one of them.
Shawn Calder never shared his space with anyone. Didn’t compromise, not to talk of letting people in…and now he was… accepting it?
“Good,” the director’s voice shatters through my thoughts. He looked just as surprised, though he hid it quickly behind that same cold expression. “At least one of you understands what needs to be done.”
I’m still standing there, still trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
Because this didn’t feel right.
Shawn wasn’t the type to make things easy.
So why did this feel like a setup?
Was this his way of challenging me? Or something worse?
“Of course you had to agree,” a quiet laughter tears out of me before I could stop it, shaking my head slightly. “You always do things however you please just to be in control.”
His eyes flicker toward me instantly, and the moment our eyes meet, I see it. That same annoyed look etched across his face.
“Is there a problem, Navarro?” he asks, his voice calm but edged with something sharp.
“Yeah. I’ve got a problem. Since when do you make things this easy?”
“This isn’t easy…it’s what is necessary for the team.”
“For the team?” I shot back. “You’ve got to be kidding me right now.” I tilted my head slightly, studying him, “So…forcing two people who can’t stand each other into one room is definitely going to fix everything? right?”
A few team mates behind me let out quiet snorts before quickly going silent again. But Shawn didn’t react one bit, his eyes still locked on mine.
“Maybe you’re the one who can’t control yourself, Navarro.” He snaps back, “But don’t worry, maybe this will help.”
That did it.
I took a step closer to him, nothing funny about the expression on my face. “Careful what you say, Calder,” my voice drops to a low, dangerous whisper. “You don’t want to start something you can’t finish.”
“There’s nothing to be careful about…because I’m not the one losing control.”
The words hit deeper than they should have.
Because we both knew what he meant.
And that only made the tension between us much worse.
I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. “You’re really going to stand there and act like you don’t know the reason we can’t stay together?”
“Watch your mouth, Navarro.” Shawn shoots back quickly, like he knew what I was about to say.
“Or what?” I lean in slightly, just enough to make sure he caught every word. “Afraid everyone will know who you truly are?”
“I—“
“You think I don’t see it?” I cut Shawn off before he could finish his words, my voice echoing through the locker room. “You think I don’t know why you said yes just now?”
His eyes flashed with something close to fear, but he masked it before anyone could notice. “Shut the fuck up, Navarro. You don’t know a damn thing about me.”
“Oh, I know enough,” I shot back. “You don’t want me in your room because it’ll fix the team…the only reason you want me there is because you think you can control me.”
“That’s not—”
“Or maybe,” I cut in, my voice dropping just low enough for only his hearing, “You’re just so curious to know what happens when there’s no one around to stop you.”
His breath hitches slightly.
Barely noticeable.
But that was all I needed to get him to shut up.
“One more word from you, Navarro,” he said, his voice tight now.
“Or what? What will you do to me, Captain?”
For a second, I thought he actually might lose it. His hands are clenched tightly at his sides, his shoulders going rigid like he is doing everything possible to hold himself back.
“You’re not moving into my room because you want to,” the words roll out of him after a long pause, his voice controlled again, but just barely. “You’re going to move in because you have no choice.”
Another laughter tears out of me—louder this time. “It’s funny, you know? Because I was thinking the same thing about you.”
For a moment, silence falls between us, swallowing the entire locker room as everyone’s eyes flicker between me or Shawn.
“Why does it feel like you’re scared of sharing the same room with me, Navarro?” A slight smirk tugs at the corner of Shawn’s lips the moment he says those words.
“You really think I’m scared of you? Huh?”
His eyes held mine, steady, unreadable.
“Maybe you are…just don’t want to admit it yet.”
That snapped something in me.
Something sharp that refused to back down.
I stepped even closer, closing the gap between us completely until there was no inch of space between us. “So…you really think you can handle that?” I said quietly. “Being around me all the time?”
His jaw clenches tightly, but he doesn’t step back. Neither does he move.
“Maybe the better question should be,” he hisses, “Can you?”
Everyone was still watching now, even if they pretended not to be. But I didn’t care, because the only thing that mattered right now was just him and me.
“You know what?” I tilt my head, a slow smile forming on my lips. “Fine. I’ll move into your dorm since you’re so confident that I can’t.”
“This isn’t about confidence—”
“No,” I cut in. “It is.”
I take another step closer until our lips nearly touch. “Think you can deal with me, Calder?” I continued. “Really think you can keep yourself under control when I move in?”
His breathing slows instantly, like he was forcing himself to stay calm. But I don’t give him any chance to recover as I lean in slightly. Just enough that my voice dropped into something only he could hear.
“I’ll really push you to your limits, Captain.”
For a second, neither of us moved. Daring each other to see who would break first. Then—
Shawn leans even closer, his eyes locked onto mine, dark and unreadable. His lips are just inches from his ear.
“We’ll see about that, Navarro.”