Page 75 of The Tryout

Shit. Anxiety brews in my stomach as I nod.

“I didn’t buy any of this specifically for you, us, or this apartment. It’s all stuff I had from college, I just asked if they would bring it, okay?”

I nod again.

“If you’d rather it stay in my room, that’s totally fine, and if you’d rather it go back to California, that’s okay, too.”

Well, now I’m curious. I roll off the bed and walk over to the bag, unzipping it and peeking inside. What I find is sort of…anticlimactic?

“It’s a Nintendo Switch.”

Avery nods, keeping an eye on my face.

“Didn’t you…already buy one here?” I distinctly remember the red and blue packaging from the day of the Couch Meltdown.

“I returned it.”

That surprises me, a smile dawning on my face.

“Do you even know how to return something?”

“I figured it out.”

I laugh.

“This one isn’t the newest model, but it’s plenty. And I’ve got some games. Figured we could get you practicing for the next time you’re in Minneapolis.”

I smile at him, happy that he heard what I meant through everything I said that day. It wasn’t that we can’t have nice things – although that’s still something I’m getting used to. It’s that I can’t treat money as though it isn’t real, as though I haven’t spent years worrying about it.

“I think we should keep it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. My Mario Kart skills are extremely lacking.”

An enormous smile breaks across his face and I know I’ve made the right decision.

At breakfast the next morning, I am once again greeted with hugs. This time, though, I’m expecting them and almost enjoy the tight squeezes and back pats. As we wait to place our order, Tony asks about the status of my agent.

“Oh. I actually got an email from him yesterday when we were driving to the airport.”

Avery’s head turns abruptly toward me and the tips of my ears glow. With everything that’s been going on in the last twenty-four hours, I had forgotten to tell him about this latest update. Eyes wide, he holds out his hand for my phone. I pull up the email and let him read, nodding when he asks to show it to Tony, too.

“Huh. This is…good, right? He’s ceding all claims to your representation?”

I blush and nod.

“Yeah. I forwarded it to Jack. He said it’s enough for him to begin negotiations on my behalf.”

“What?! Finn, that’s amazing!”

The entire café is aware of how amazing it is, as Avery’s exclamation is by no means quiet. Honestly, though, it is amazing, and a real relief to finally have someone competent in charge of my career.

“We’ll see what he can do. There’s still a chance they won’t want to renegotiate until my contract’s up this summer. Jack is cautiously optimistic.”

Daniel’s the first to react to this.

“Aren’t you putting up, like, a point per game so far this season? They better get a move on if they don’t want an unrestricted free agent on their hands this summer.”