8. Courtney

COURTNEY

Jaxand I hang out at Zack"s until just after eight. I still need to get him home, into the shower, and off to bed. "Time to go, buddy. We have an early morning tomorrow, and it"s almost bedtime."

"Okay," he grumbles, but helps Sawyer start to pick up the hockey stuff.

"I"ll walk the two of you out," Zack says once we both have our shoes on and are ready to leave.

"Thanks," I tell him as he holds the door open for us. We walk through the garage and out to my car in the driveway. "Thanks for having us over. It was a great time, and dinner was amazing."

"Of course, thanks for coming. Did you have fun tonight, Jax?" Zack asks him.

"Yes," he says just before a yawn slips from his lips.

"You look tired, buddy. I"ll let the two of you get going so you can get home and into bed."

"Okay," Jax agrees as he rests his head on me. I pick him up and place him in his booster seat in the back seat. I help him get buckled since he"s so tired. I close the passenger door and step forward to the driver"s door.

Zack beats me to opening my door. "Thanks for everything," I tell him.

"My pleasure. Let me know you"ve made it home safe?" he asks.

"Of course," I tell him before slipping behind the wheel. I"d love to have kissed him good night, but I"m not ready to cross that bridge around Jax quite yet.

Courtney

Favorite brother of mine…

Ryan

Oh god, what did you do?

Courtney

I didn"t do anything (sticking tongue out emoji) I have a question for you. How much do you love me, and, well, your nephew?

Ryan

That was two questions. I"d do just about anything for that kid. You? Eh, depends on what it is. (Big smile emoji)

Courtney

I see how it is. I make you an uncle, and I"m just chopped liver now.

Ryan

Pretty much. So what"s up? What do you need?

Courtney

What would it take to convince you to take Jax for next weekend?

Ryan

The entire weekend? Where are you going?

Courtney

If you"re up for the entire weekend, then yes. If not, then at least most of Saturday until Sunday, maybe noonish? I"m trying to plan a date. I met someone, and we"ve been talking for a while. We"d like to spend the weekend together without kids. He won"t have his son next weekend, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity.

I knowI"m being vague, but I don"t want to spill that I"m talking about Zack just yet. I know he wanted to talk to him this weekend and be the one to break it to Ryan that we"d like to date one another.

Ryan

Do I get to meet this asshole who thinks he"s good enough for you before you spend a weekend with him?

Courtney

I"ll get back to you on that.

Ryan

To answer you, yes, I can take Jax for the weekend. I"m proud of you for getting yourself back out there. Just don"t be shocked if I give him the older brother shakedown at some point.

Courtney

I wouldn"t expect anything less from you. I"ll get back to you on specifics. I can probably have them nailed down by tomorrow night when we meet up at Topgolf with Zack. I"m super excited to meet Allison!

Ryan

Sounds like a plan.

I close out my text message with my brother and open up the one I have with Zack.

Courtney

Just asked Ryan about next weekend. He"s willing to keep Jax for me all weekend. His only request was getting to meet the guy I"ve been talking to and going out with. I told him I"d see what I can do and will let him know for sure tomorrow night.

Zack

Fuck yes. Be ready for me next weekend. (Smirking devil face) I"ll head over to his place after practice tomorrow and chat with him.

Courtney

I can"t wait. (winky face) Please don"t do anything rash.

Zack

I"ll be just fine. I can withstand the big brother stick.

Courtney

How"d it go today with the deadline?

Zack

We got a shocking trade that came through this morning. We picked up a pretty big player from San Francisco. His name is Camden Rowe. Was definitely a shock. I know he was a fan favorite out there.

Courtney

I take it that was a good addition.

Zack

Yes, very good. He"s a top player in the league. I"m excited to get to know him once he gets here. Probably will arrive sometime late tonight or maybe tomorrow. They"ll give him a little bit of extra time since we don"t have another game for a few days.

Courtney

I find it fascinating learning how your world works. I don"t think most people realize just how much goes on behind the scenes for a professional athlete.

Zack

You are correct. Most people just see the game part, but there is so much more to it.

Courtney

I forgot to tell you, but I got a message from Erin Monroe. She needs me to come in next week so we can go over some stuff. She said she has until late next week to submit our answers, so I"m meeting her on Monday.

Zack

Do you want me to come with you?

Courtney

That isn"t necessary. It will be just her and me from what I know.

Zack

Well, if that changes, let me know, and I"ll see what I can do to help you out.

Courtney

I"m also going to submit my day off request for Saturday at The Burger Shack. I don"t want anything in our way for next weekend.

Zack

Perfect

Courtney

I have to go. My lunch break is over.

Zack

Call me once you"re off work.

Courtney

Sounds good. Talk soon.

I slip my phone back into my pocket and clean up my lunch mess. I toss stuff in the trash, then return my container to my lunch box so I can take it home and get it washed up.