Page 114 of The Check Down
Because there’s a presence behind me. One I recognize without turning around.
I cover my mouth with a hand, and Mom bobs her head in the tiniest nod.
He’s here.
When I spin on my stockinged toes, I come face to face with an NFL heartthrob standing in the hall entry.
I drink in the sight of him like he’s an oasis. Eyes the color of the cloudless sky outside. Dark hair and brows and a beard that covershis chiseled jawline. Broad shoulders and large hands and muscly thighs.
His throat bobs, his swallow audible. “You’re not going to the interview?”
I shake my head.
He takes a step closer.
“You’re coming home?”
I nod, and he takes another step.
“To stay?”
This time, I move toward him. “To stay.”
With only a foot separating us, he gives me a once-over. On his way back up, his attention catches on the little plastic figure I’m clutching to my chest.
He steals it from my grasp, holds it up, and clears his throat. “Hardy and Celeste, did you know you can order a package of two hundred mini dragons for like fifty bucks?”
A sob escapes me, and then I’m hauled into his chest. He holds me so tight, it’s hard to breathe. I vaguely register the sound of my parents slipping out the sliding door.
“I’m so sorry about the game.” The words stutter out as I cling to him. “And I’m sorry I wasn’t there. And about the interview.”
“Shh,” he soothes. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You had to figure it out.”
“I did figure it out.” I pull back, and when he cradles my face and kisses my cheeks and lips, I bask in the affection. “I don’t want to be anywhere you’re not. You spent months showing me the magic of the city you love, hoping I’d learn to love it, too. And I do—the food and people and music and soul. But for me, the real magic of Memphis isyou, Griff.”
“Love you so much, baby.” His lips brush mine. “You’re perfect.We’reperfect.”
That night, after my parents treat us to dinner at their favorite seafood restaurant, we lay awake in my childhood bedroom, talkingfor hours about the future. Eventually, we fall asleep in each other’s arms.
There’s another tearful airport goodbye with my parents the next morning, but we part knowing we’ll see each other again in a few weeks. Seth forwarded their travel itinerary after Griff called him last night.
As we hustle through the concourse to make our flight, he asks, “Excited to go home, professor?”
“Excited to go anywhere with you.”
He smiles at me over his shoulder, then reaches back, fingers fluttering. Grinning, I link my fingers through his and let him lead me home.
Epilogue
Griffin
The extra suitcase is the first thing I notice when I sneak upstairs.
“Ba-by! I’m home!”
Footsteps pound on the stairs from the third floor, and before I can say another word or drink in the sight of her, she leaps into my arms, locks her legs around my hips, and presses her lips to mine.
Home.