Page 73 of The Score

"Yeah, Leon told me that's why he knows so much about the country." Tamara's accent reminds me of my parents'.

"How long have you been here for?" I ask.

"A couple of years. I'm halfway through my PhD."

"That's how you met, right?"

She nods. "Leon was doing some of his community outreach stuff with my team—"

"What is your PhD in again?" I gaze at her.

Sigh. She's very pretty. She has a freckle on the bridge of her nose. Who can compete with that for cuteness?

She smiles with her eyes. "Oh, don't press play on that button, or I'll give you a short dissertation on my research project."

"It's so cool," Bear says.

"If you must, go right ahead," I offer.

When I smile, I'm not sure it reachesmyeyes.

"No, no," she laughs. "I won't bore you with the details. I want to make a good first impression on you! But I do neuropsych research. You know how football players can have a lot of trouble with head injuries? I'm looking into that a bit."

"You're too humble." Bear shakes his head.

I sip my coffee and watch him watch her. His statement may have been a light attempt at scolding her, but his eyes tell a different story. Ugh. He's so into her. More than I've ever seen him.

He smirks. "She met me while I was wearing a funny rubber hat, full of cables shooting out of my skull and into a weird machine. She still accepted when I asked her out. No matter the mood killer attire. No matter the grumpy face."

"You're not grumpy," Tamara and I say at the same time.

She laughs it off. I try to do so as well.

"What would you call it?" Tamara asks me.

"Stern?" I say.

She nods. "Kind of bossy."

"So bossy."

"Stop that now," he utters.

This time, we both laugh genuinely.

"You're forbidden from teaming up against me," he adds.

"You can take it," I say.

He raises an eyebrow. "But I won't enjoy it."

"That only makes it better." Tamara grins. "Isn't that the whole point?"

Bear's voice goes deeper. "Are you trying to tell me this is how you two are going to bond?"

My hands grow cold, and I wrap them around my coffee cup. It makes sense, really. When he finds— if he found the love of his life, he'd want us to be friends, too. A little disconcerting to think about, but also strange that I had never considered it.

Is this… is this an expansion of our friendship to include someone else?