Page 35 of Eight Count Heat
Gray finally looks up. "I made notes in your strategy book. We'll discuss it after warm-ups."
"Sounds good," she replies smoothly.
There's tension in her posture that most people would miss, but I notice everything. Slight elevation in breathing rate, minimal pupil dilation, a micro-expression of relief when Gray mentions only strategy notes. She's worried about something in that notebook beyond rowing plans.
The rest of the team arrives quickly. Beckett still half-asleep but managing his usual smile. Zane bouncing with morning energy, already talking about some weekend party. Cameron silent as always, just nodding acknowledgment.
Jackson arrives last, cutting it close like usual. His eyes immediately find Eli, something unspoken passing between them. Then his gaze shifts to Reese, and I catch it. The slight flaring of nostrils, the tension in his jaw. A reaction worth noting.
As we move through warm-ups, I watch the subtle dynamics between the three of them. Eli positioning himself between Jackson and Reese. Jackson keeping rigid distance. Reese glancing between them when she thinks no one's watching.
This isn't a simple situation anymore. It's a complex system with multiple variables affecting each other in ways I can't predict.
We get on the water, and for a moment, all the complications fade. There's just the rhythm, the synchronized pull, the bite of oars in water. Reese's voice drops into that commanding pitch that even I respond to instinctively.
"Power ten in two," she calls. "One, two—drive!"
The boat surges forward, eight bodies working as one. This is what I love about rowing, the clean precision of it. Inputs andoutputs. Cause and effect. No messy emotions or designation drama, just physics and physiology working together.
But as we cut through morning mist, my mind keeps calculating. If Reese is an Omega, how long before others figure it out? What happens to team dynamics when they do? What about Gray, our traditionalist captain with his legacy family expectations?
And Eli and Jackson. How does their relationship factor into this? Last night's intensity suggests emotional complications, not just physical release.
Too many unknowns. Not enough data for accurate predictions.
When practice ends, I hang back, watching interactions with new awareness. Gray returns Reese's notebook, their fingers brushing briefly. She flips through it immediately, tension visible until she reaches the back pages. Relief crosses her face—whatever she was afraid Gray would find, he apparently didn't.
Or didn't mention.
Eli approaches her as we rack the boat, their conversation too quiet to hear. Jackson watches from a distance, expression unreadable but body language tense.
Bo notices too. "What's up with Reed today?" he asks me quietly. "More broody than usual."
"Don't know," I reply. "Hard to tell with him."
Bo gives me a look. "You notice everything, Wu. Don't play dumb."
I shrug. "Complex situations take time to figure out."
"If that's your way of saying 'mind your own business,' just say so," he laughs, clapping my shoulder hard enough to make me stumble forward.
"Mind your own business, Strickland," I say dryly.
"Where's the fun in that?" He grins, then gets more serious. "But something's off with the team today. You feel it too, right?"
I nod reluctantly. "Variables realigning."
"English, professor."
"People are acting differently. It's throwing off the usual patterns."
Bo's eyes track to where Reese stands with Gray, reviewing notes in her notebook. "Because of her?"
"Maybe," I answer honestly.
"Save the maybe. My gut says she's changing things."
"Your gut has no cognitive function."
