9. Zack

ZACK

I pullinto Ryan"s driveway, parking along the outer edge. I kill the engine and head up to the house. I left Sawyer with my parents for a few hours. They wanted some grandparent time, and I needed to come take care of this.

I walk into his house, much like he usually just walks right into mine. I hear music coming from out back, so I snag a drink from the fridge, then make my outside.

"What"s up, man?" he asks as I walk out the sliding glass door.

"Not a whole lot. Just got some time to kill before picking up Sawyer from my parents" at four."

"He excited about Topgolf tonight?" Ryan asks.

"Yeah, you can say that again. He"s been pumped since I mentioned it to him earlier this week."

"Were you trying to meet Allison early?"

"Not exactly," I tell him, pausing to take a swig of my drink. I"d call it liquid courage, but this isn"t alcohol, so there"s not much courage to be found in this sports drink. "I wanted to be the one to tell you that Courtney and I have been seeing one another."

"Ah," he says, and I can tell he"s connecting the dots. "So you"re the asshole I need to read the riot act to, huh?" He smirks and gives me a once-over.

"If you think that"s truly necessary." I don"t back down. He knows the kind of man I am, and that isn"t the kind who plays with a woman. I"m a straight shooter when it comes to relationships. If things are working, then great, but if they aren"t, then I bow out. No need to deliberately hurt the other person.

"I"m just giving you shit. I"d wondered a while ago if there might be something going on, but then I wasn"t so sure. You"ve got my blessing, but I"ll fuck you up if you hurt her. She"s already been hurt enough."

"I"ll help you myself if I was to ever hurt her."

"Fuck, that means that it"s you I have to be thinking about with her next weekend?" He groans. "Please don"t ever give me details about y"all"s escapades. I don"t think I can stomach knowing that about my sister." He mimics dry heaving, and I can"t help but laugh at the antics.

"I don"t kiss and tell," I say.

"Thank god," he says. I hold out a fist for him to bump, which he does. I knew he"d be cool about this, and now that it"s out in the open, I want to run to Courtney, pull her into my arms, and claim her for the world to know.

We shoot the shit for a little while longer. It feels good to spend time with my best friend. We don"t get enough of it during the season.

"I should get going. Sawyer has already texted to ask when I"m picking him up so we can go to Topgolf."

"Impatient kids." Ryan chuckles.

"Just wait, my man. You"ll have one of your own one day, and they"ll end up running everything."

"Looking forward to it," he says.

"Things getting that serious with Allison?" I ask.

"I could see it getting there. Not trying to rush anything, but she"s amazing. I"m ready for her to meet those important to me."

"Happy for you, brother," I tell him as we stand and give one another a man hug. "I"ll catch you in a little bit," I say before I head for my truck.

Before I pull out of the driveway, I shoot a text to Sawyer, letting him know I"m on my way to pick him up, then I hit the call button on the dash screen to call Courtney as I pull out and point my truck in the direction I need to go.

"Hello." Courtney"s sweet voice fills my truck.

"Hey, beautiful. How"s your afternoon going?"

"Good. I just finished getting ready after my shift. Didn"t want to go out tonight smelling like burgers and fries."

"How was Jax"s playdate?"

"He"s been talking my ear off since I picked him up. It went really well."

"Glad he had a good time."

"What have you been up to today?" she asks.

"Just left your brother"s house. We had a good talk."

"So he knows?" she asks, and I can tell she"s nervous.

"Yep, and he gave us his blessing. He did threaten to kick my ass if I ever hurt you, but I"d expect nothing less. He also told me I"m not allowed to tell him about our sex life." I chuckle.

"Please tell me he didn"t actually say that?" she groans.

"Maybe not those exact words, but he definitely said something about not being able to stomach any details. But just to be clear, and I told him the same thing—I don"t kiss and tell. What happens between the two of us stays between the two of us."

"That makes me feel a little better." She pauses. "Oh, I got the green light to take next weekend off."

"Perfect. So that means I have you the entire weekend?"

"Guess so. What will we do with so much alone time?" She laughs, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Oh, there"s plenty I plan to do to you."

"I look forward to it."

"Fucking tease," I growl. "I"m trying to drive here, woman. I don"t need all the blood in my body rushing to my dick, at the moment."

"Sorry," she singsongs but also laughs her way through it.

"You"re going to pay for that."

"Mm-hmm," she hums.

"Do you want me to come pick the two of you up once I leave my parents" house?" I ask as I pull into their neighborhood.

"Sure, that"ll work for me."

"I"ll be there in a half hour."

"Looking forward to it," she says before we disconnect the call.

I hop out of my truck and look down to make sure the hard-on isn"t tenting my pants. Thankfully, it isn"t, so I"m good to walk into my parents" house and pick up my son without having to conceal my situation.

"Hello," I call out as I walk inside.

"In the kitchen," my mom calls back, so I head that way. The smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies hits my nose a moment later, and my mouth is already watering as I enter the bright kitchen, where I find my mom and son.

"Smells wonderful in here," I say before pressing a kiss to my mom"s cheek.

"Had to make some sweets for my favorite grandson."

"I"m your only grandson," Sawyer says as he rolls his eyes at her.

"Hey now, that"s no way to treat your grandmother," I scold him, but there"s humor in my voice as this is a normal occurrence, and it isn"t something he does out of disrespect.

"Love you, Grandma," he tells her and pulls her into a hug.

"I know you do, squirt."

"I"m not a squirt anymore. I"m a peewee," he retorts.

My mom laughs at his comeback. "I wasn"t referencing the level of hockey you play. It"s just a term us old people use with you youngins."

"Oh," he replies.

"You ready to head out? We"re going to stop and pick up Courtney and Jax on our way to Topgolf."

"That"s dad"s girlfriend," Sawyer tells my mom, using air quotes when he says girlfriend.

"Your girlfriend?" Mom asks, quirking a brow.

"We"re talking and taking things slow," I tell her.

"Courtney, as in, Ryan"s sister?"

"Yes. She moved back a few months ago with her son, Jax."

"You should bring her over for dinner some night. I"d love to see her. It"s been ages."

"I"ll see what I can do, but no promises for anything in the next few weeks."

"Alright, well, you kids have fun. Thanks for spending a few hours with me today," Mom tells Sawyer.

"Thanks, Grandma."

"Thanks, Mom," I say as she hands me a container of cookies to take home.