Tom is a quiet guy who doesn’t say a lot as I show him around. We go by all the usual places on the tour, but I still can’t get a read on him until we get to the last stop.

“And this is the hype room.” I do my best Vanna White as he stares into the darkened room with wide eyes and an excited smile. Upbeat music already pumps into the space, and with the press of a button, the TVs come to life with the standard Welcome to Valley message splashed across the entire room.

Tom walks in, slowly giving it the appropriate amount of awe. “This is so dope.”

“Right?” I follow behind him and close us inside.

I cue up the hockey team video and scoot to the back to let him enjoy the five-minute segment in as much privacy as I can.

The hype room is still my favorite part of this job. I could sit in here all day. Even I feel like a badass after watching the videos and I did not inherit the athleticism my brother did.

I wait for the bits with Heath in them, having practically memorized when his face or an action clip appear.

Things have been great. While I don’t love keeping it from my brother, it’s been nice to spend time with Heath without the judgment or questions from anyone. I love my brother and I understand why he wants to protect me, but I don’t need it in this scenario, and I’m not willing to gamble that he’ll be cool with it. Heath and I are having fun. A lot of it. And yes, maybe my feelings have gone beyond that, but I refuse to get swept up in analyzing it. But as Heath’s face displays on the screen, flashing a cocky and disarming smile, my body melts.

Fine, I like him a lot. Who knew dating could be so much fun? I’ve never laughed so much or felt so wanted. And I don’t mean his obvious appreciation for my body. We spend a lot of time together and only half of that is naked. Seventy percent tops.

As it gets to the end sequencing, I step closer and get my tablet ready. It’s the last tour of the day, and there’s a whole different set of steps for shutting down for the night that I haven’t done before. Dakota’s shown me a few times and she texted me instructions earlier today as a backup.

This room is worth a very pretty penny to the university and I don’t want to break anything.

When it finally freezes on the end frame, Tom turns to me.