Page 26 of The Tryout

But the best reaction comes from Murphy. He does a full on double take, almost skating into the glass instead of making a turn. He shoots me a questioning look and a thumbs up which, looking like a moron, I shoot back at him. The smile he shoots me is worth it.

As I join the defensemen for the footwork drill, I can’t help but be grateful that at least two of us are glad I’m sticking around.

After practice, I find a message on my phone.

Tony Lawson 11:48 AM

Got you $65k after all.

Let me know if we’re good to finalize

Avery Lawson 12:04 PM

Damn.

Now I owe you 5%.

Sounds perfect.

The locker room is starting to clear out, but I notice Finn is still drying off from his shower.

“You, uh, texting Jamie?”

Shit, I probably should.

“Nah, my Pops. Just working out some details.”

He nods, slipping a t-shirt over his head.

“Hey, were you for real about your extra bedroom? That I could rent it from you?”

He looks a little surprised, but nods his head mutely.

“Do you wanna grab lunch together? Maybe talk details?”

He looks a little hesitant, and I’m not really sure why. At the Vietnamese place the other night, I know he said he hadn’t eaten a lot of different foods. Maybe that’s it?

“We could just eat at the apartment? So you can see it before we discuss?”

That’s a great idea.

“Awesome. I’ll swing by that Mexican place on Court before I head over; what do you want?”

His face falls, but I’m not sure why.

“I, uh, whatever you’re having?”

Before heading out, I get the address from him, typing it into my phone. At the taqueria, I order a variety of things, thinking once more about his uncertainty. I might like birria, but who knows – he could prefer carne asada instead.

About thirty minutes later, I pull up to the address in my maps app. The apartment is, as promised, close to the arena – though perhaps not close enough for me to want to walk every day. It’s on a quieter side street, which makes finding street parking a lot easier than I thought. Finn mentioned that a space in the garage comes with the apartment. If we decide to do this, I’ll have to figure out the details of that.

I approach the door and ring the buzzer for apartment 302. Within a few seconds, the door unlocks and I enter the vestibule. The building seems pretty standard, not dissimilar to the one Jamie and I used to live in.

I’m glad to see there’s an elevator as well as stairs; as much as I hope it never happens, if my injury flares up again, that may be necessary. On the third floor, I find two doors, and knock on the one marked 302. Finn opens it, dressed in the same t-shirt and sweats from the arena. He smiles, eyes widening as they drop to the bags in my hands.

“Did you…get enough food?”

I walk into the space, following him into the kitchen. The living area is open concept , with a kitchen island and bar separating the kitchen from the rest. There’s a small sofa and a dining table, along with a hallway that must lead to the bedrooms.