Page 20 of The Check Down

“Let me show youmyMemphis.”

Her breath catches the tiniest bit as she fiddles with an earring. She’s interested. “What do you mean?”

“What do your Tuesdays look like?”

She frowns. “Tuesdays?”

“My day off.”

“Oh.” Her skin flushes pink again, but she clears her throat. “I have two morning classes. And then an office hour from ten to eleven.”

Hands laced on the table, I smirk. “So you’re free after eleven on Tuesdays?”

“I—yes.”

“Cool. I can show you what you’ve been missing.”

“The Memphis magic?”

“The Memphis magic.”

She pulls her lower lip between her teeth. “I don’t know…” she hedges. “I mean, Jack…” Her voice trails off, and her eyes dart here and there, avoiding my face.

Her hesitancy is about Cockburn. I can handle this.

“Brynn,” I start, ignoring the way my heart double-times when I say her name.

She drags her attention back to me, blinking, still gnawing on that lip.

I give her the hard sell. “Regardless of what you decide about your boyfriend—whether you kick his ass to the curb or you give him another chance—we can still be friends. We’d be doing cool stuff together on Tuesdays asfriends.”

“Just as friends?”

I nod. “Just as friends.”

She gives me a soft smile, but I swear there’s a flash of something in her dark eyes. Disappointment, maybe? Or maybe I imagined it, because in a blink of her lashes, it’s gone.

“He’d be cool with you having a guy as a friend, right?”

She hums, then in a muted tone, says, “I don’t think he’d notice, honestly.”

Not wanting her to sink farther into sadness about that asswipe, I clap my hands so loud, she flinches. I’m not lettingher say no to this. “It’s settled then. Tuesdays after eleven. You and me and Memphis magic. Friendship and good vibes. You can call itTuesdays with Griffie.”

That earns me another eye roll, but there’s a smile, too. One so bright, it’s like she’s been plugged into the sun.

One so brilliantly beautiful, I wonder if I might be the biggest dumbass in the history of dumbasses.

In fact, little cartoon Griffin’s holding up a sparkling trophy that readsWorld’s Biggest Dumbass.

I brush an imaginary piece of lint off my shoulder, visualizing the motion sending the tiny dude flying off into oblivion.

Fuck him. What does he know?

Friends. I can absolutely bejust friendswith this woman. She’s still in a relationship, for one thing. But even if she gets rid of his ass, I’ve got to keep my focus on the game. This team, this season. I promised myself from the start that I wouldn’t let any outside forces distract me from giving this season my damn all.

If this is the end of my career, I’m determined to go out on top.

Brynn and I will be friends, and I’ll show her why Memphis is a great place to live, all while I’m kicking ass as the starting tight end for the Blues.

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