Page 24 of Tight End

Fuck.

Those pants are skintight, and her tank top, while a littlelooser, doesn’t leave much to the imagination. Or at least mine, since I’m intimately familiar with everything she has under those clothes. Her hair is up in a high ponytail, a few wisps loose around her face. Her cheeks are pink and she looks ... anxious. Frazzled.

“June? Is everything okay?” I glance behind her, waving at Oliver, who tentatively returns the gesture, and I lower my voice. “Is something wrong with Oliver?”

“Nothing like that.” She shakes her head, her eyes going back and forth between Oliver and me. “I’m so sorry, but I didn’t realize you’d be here so soon. I’m going to have to cancel our plans for today. I just got a call from the apartment manager, and it seems that the place above mine was flooding. The owner is on vacation, so I guess it had been filling up for a while.”

“That doesn’t sound great.”

“It’s not.” She runs a hand along the length of her ponytail and sighs. “The water was so bad my ceiling caved in, and their apartment is now in my apartment. They’re still trying to find the leak, but the damage to both places is pretty extensive.”

“Do you need help? Do we need to go there? See what’s salvageable?”

June shakes her head again, blowing out a long breath. “They’ve got the whole apartment blocked off. They’ll call me when I’m allowed to return, but I have no idea what to do or where to go. All our clothes are there. Our food. Oliver’s toys.” She groans, a hand going to her temple, and she closes her eyes. “I’m going to have to call my mom.”

“You can stay with me.”

The words are out before I can process what I’m saying, but I don’t want to take it back. It would give me a chance toget to know them, to get to know my son, and I have plenty of space. The stuff for Oliver is en route to my place, and while I may not have an official guest room set up for June, it wouldn’t take much to get one of my two extra rooms furnished.

Most importantly, they’d be comfortable, safe.

June’s brows raise to her hairline, and she stares at me like I just grew a second head out of the side of my neck. “What?”

Oliver points to the flowers, a shy smile on his face. “Did you get those for my mom?”

“I did.” I hold them out to June, and as her gaze flits to them, her eyes flash with surprise. Not sure how she missed them, considering I’ve been holding the bouquet between us since she nearly face-planted directly into them. I guess the last few minutes have been a lot. Finding out your entire life has been destroyed in the blink of an eye would be unsettling. “And this is for you, little man.”

“For me?” He takes the bag, immediately digging into it, yanking the decorative paper from the top and tossing it on the floor behind him. He gasps, pulling out the large stuffed T. rex I got for him yesterday, and holding it above his head. “Mom, he got me a Tyranno ... Tyrannosaurus. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I murmur as June takes the flowers, humming to herself as she smells a few of the pink roses. “Those reminded me of you. Bright. Happy. Beautiful.”

“Thank you, Ryan. This is really sweet.” Her words are soft, a pink blush spreading across her cheeks. “But I don’t know ...”

“Come stay with me.”

“We hardly know each other. I have work, you have football. This is a terrible idea.”

She’s right, it is, but it might also be the best opportunityto get to know my son. “Which makes this perfect. Look, you need a place to stay for probably a couple weeks, and I have plenty of room. I’d like to get to know Oliver and try to make up for some of the time I’ve missed. Please let me do this for you. For him.”

TEN

June

I must be losingmy dang mind. That’s the only explanation. There’s no other reason that would explain why Oliver and I are standing outside the door of a virtual stranger, waiting for Ryan to let us into his place.

Apparently I lose all common sense when a man gives me flowers.

But it’s fine. Everything is okay. It’s not like this is permanent; my apartment will be all fixed up at some point. And I sure as heck don’t have a truckful of extra money stashed away so I can get myself a hotel room for the foreseeable future.

The apartment is willing to waive rent until the space is livable again, but I’ll have my rental insurance deductible to pay and the rent coming up on the yoga studio. Not to mention I’ve got to replace some clothes before I get the insurance payout. Oliver and I can’t wear one outfit for months, and he’ll need toys, books, and things to color.

It really was nice of Ryan to help us out, and if things get weird, it’s not like I can’t go to mymother’s house. You know, my mother who is going to kill me when she finds out that not only did I let a football player impregnate me, but I moved in with him instead of coming to her.

It would’ve been the smart thing to do.

She has a room already made up for Oliver, and I could stay in one of her several guest rooms, where I’m sure she has another set of LSAT study guides waiting for me.

But I owe it to Ryan to try. He wants to get to know Oliver and make up for the three years he missed. I get it. It’s a big deal. Unless he gives me a reason, I can’t take that away from him.

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