Page 29 of Unrivaled

Its not u. its philly

Sorry bud

Bristling on Philadelphia’s behalf, Grady gritted his teeth and responded.Don’t blame this on Philly.Then, a minute later,And don’t call me bud.

Tell u what tho, Max went on, ignoring Grady’s messages,its such a shame for ur dick to go to waste. So ill make u a deal.

There was a 100 percent chance Grady was going to regret this, but apparently he was a glutton for punishment.What kind of deal?

I will go on a practice date with u & tell u how ur fucking it up.

Grady frowned.What do you get out of it?

I pick the date. U pay.Then, a moment later,also u have 2 tell me all about all ur other shitty dates so I can laugh at u.

That seemed… reasonable. Semi reasonable. Worth the risk, at least. Grady didn’t want Jess to miss out on her trip, but she wouldn’t go if it meant he was alone at Christmas . He didn’t want to die of mortification either, which was what would happen if it ever got out that he’d gone to Max Lockhart for dating advice. But if Grady could trust anyone on the planet to give him the unvarnished truth about what was wrong with him, it was Max.

Fuck.

Deal.

EVENTUALLY THEYsettled on the Wednesday before the season opener for their “date.” Max booked the facility and sent Grady a Venmo request ten seconds later.

Grady sent him one back—six bucks for the bottled water Max drank in his hotel room. Max texted him a middle-finger emoji, but they both paid, so that was all debts cleared. Frankly he was impressed Grady had gone along with it. Max hadn’t exactly picked a cheap date option, and he’d been cagey about what they were doing. On top of that, while Maxhaddated some, he didn’t have the smoothest track record with relationships either. Getting someone to like him and have sex with him was easy. Connecting with them on an emotional level was a skill he hadn’t mastered.

Grady must really be desperate for his help.

Max wasn’t above taking advantage of that. It was just that the advantage he wanted wasn’t financial.

If Grady got overly competitive about mini golf, Max couldn’twaitto see what he made of this.

Wednesday morning, Max parked in the lot at the gym and got out of the car to enjoy the crisp fall day. He was a couple minutes early, which he wasn’t going to analyze. There’d been less traffic than he anticipated, that’s all.

Grady pulled in exactly on time. He made it a point to park a couple spots over from Max in the deserted lot. When he got out, Max saw he’d taken Max’s instructions seriously—he was wearing a T-shirt and shorts and carrying a bag with his sneakers, same as Max. Though was it really necessary to show up with his facial hair perfectly groomed, just to highlight the sharp lines of his jaw and cheekbones? Max had made it clear they were going to be sweating, but he wasn’t supposed to be sweating aboutGradyyet.

Oh well. He could hardly complain about the eye candy.

Grady shut the car door and shouldered his bag. “Did you bring me out here to kill me?”

“Don’t be dumb. I’d hire a professional for that.” Max hit the Lock button on his remote. “Now, no more smart remarks. We’re here on adate, remember? How can I fix your form if you don’t play along?”

Grady’s pained grimace would sustain Max through so many ugly losses. But to be fair, he added, “You can still back out.”

Grady squared his shoulders. “No.” He schooled his features too, the furrow of his brow smoothing out. “I’m game. I can do this.”

Because now that Max had offered him an out, his pride demanded he not take it. Max knew how to handle him. “Cool,” he said breezily and gestured toward the gym. “So, how about I tell you where you’re taking me on our date.”

“That sounds like a good place to start.” Grady cut him a sideways look. “You know, since this is the most expensive first date I’ve ever been on.”

“Bzzz.” Max backhanded him gently in the gut. “First offense. No talking money on the first date.”

“What? Come on, you set me up—”

Max raised his eyebrows. “You gonna argue with me about the criticism?”

Grady’s shoulders slumped. “You’re enjoying this way too much, aren’t you?”

“Oh bud, we’re just getting started.” Pointedly, Max stopped at the door to the gym.

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