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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

CHARLIE

It’s now April, and it has been a few weeks since the combine. We’ve seen Archie very little since he’s been back, but when he is here, he’s either eating or sleeping. We did get to say goodbye to him before he went back to Texas to be with his family for the draft. He opted to be at home instead of going to the draft ceremony. But we’ll still get to see him on TV.

He’s FaceTiming with Beck and Casey right now. He’s in the kitchen at his parents’ home. From what I can see, there is a ton of food there. A whole crowd of people circling it, laughing, patting Archie as they walk by.

And Archie is the same ol’ Arch. He’s calm and smiling.

“I’m pumped, man. I just want it to start already.”

“Do you know where you’re going yet? Or can you not say?” Beck asks him.

Archie winks at him in response.

“Okay, so you know or no? Come on, brother. You’re killing me!”

Archie laughs. “How about this? You’ll find out in about thirty minutes or so. Along with the rest of the country.”

“Dude! You suck. That’s so mean. I thought we were your friends. Pssht.”

Casey pops in. “That is cold, Arch. You could give us a little hint. Not like we’re gonna tell anyone.”

“Oh, yeah, right. Just the dozen or so sitting with you in the house. Ha!”

I take the phone from Beck. “Don’t listen to them, Arch. We’ll be watching the whole time. We’re so excited for you! I can’t wait to see where you’re going. But tell me, for reals, are you happy?”

“You know, Chuck, I am. I really, really am.” He winks at me.

“Good enough for me. Have fun! We’ll call you later so you can give us the details.” I blow him a kiss and hang up the phone.

“Babe, why did you hang up? I wanted to ask him one more question.”

I put my hands on Beck’s face. “Beckham, this time next year, when you’re in the same spot he is, the last thing you’ll want to be doing is talking on the phone, avoiding spoilers with your buddies. And don’t even act like that’s not true.”

“Well, no, because I will have you, Case, my family, and yours with me. That’s all I need.” He lifts me up and kisses me.

He starts to deepen the kiss, but I pull back.

“Uh-uh. Later. We have to watch the draft!”

He sets me down and smacks my butt as I walk away into the family room. A few of the guys are here from the team, including Bo Callaway. He’s been super sweet and polite. Arbor is sitting next to him on the couch, but she’s deep in conversation with Lily. Bo looks at me as I come to sit next to Lily and smirks and nods to the girls. He must hear their conversation. He’s likely getting some juicy bits.

The guy Lily was upset about back in February begged her for another chance, and they’ve been together since then. She was a virgin before they started dating. Now … she is not. And she wants to tell us about every little detail of her sex life.

“And then he slipped his finger?—”

“Lil!” I stop her. “There are other people in the room with us. Who can hear you.” I nod toward Bo.

He doesn’t look at us, but he does smirk. He totally heard the whole thing.

“Ohmigod,” she whisper-yells. “Do you think he heard me?”

“Uh, yeah, I think he did.”

Then the three of us start laughing.

Beck comes into the room with a beer in hand. He doesn’t drink much, and when he does, it’s usually only a few beers. I always wondered why he never got carried away like some of the guys do, but now it all makes sense.

He sits down next to me, then lifts me up and sets me on his lap.

“Was that necessary?”

He kisses the tip of my nose. “Yep.”

I kiss him back. On the lips.

We hear the commissioner come on the TV, and I turn to watch. He says a few things about congratulating all the players and then dives right in.

The first two picks are called. The first is from Ohio, and the next one is from Southeast, who we beat in the championship game.

The guys are still talking about the skills of the guy from Southeast when the commissioner comes back on. He introduces a man who’s representing Dallas.

The guys stop talking, and we all watch. I see Bo’s left leg bouncing up and down.

“You anxious there, Callaway?” I ask.

He looks at me and nods once. “I’m good. I’m just hoping to see Archie come up here in the next few rounds.”

As soon as he says that, we hear it.

“With the third pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Dallas Cowboys select Archie Griffith, tackle from Walker University.”

The camera cuts to Archie in his family home. He’s sitting on the couch, next to his mom, who I recognize. On his other side is a girl with sandy-blonde hair. He hangs up the call he’s on, puts a Cowboys hat on his head, then stands. He hugs and kisses his mom on the cheek. Then he hugs his dad, and some of his brothers pile in and slap him on the back. Then he walks over to the girl who was next to him on the couch.

He takes her by the hand and pulls her up gently. He kisses her on the lips and hugs her. His body is covering her, so we can’t really see a close-up of her face yet. But when the camera zooms in as Archie takes a seat, we see it.

Casey jumps up from his seat in the chair, hands flying on top of his head. He looks at Beck. “What the actual fuck? Did you know about this?”

I look over my shoulder at Beck, who is shaking his head. He looks just as surprised as Casey.

“Holy shit. I know her.” Bo points at the TV.

Casey pulls out his phone. “Okay, we’re about to get some answers up in here. What the fuck?!”

Archie is on TV, talking, but we’re all too stunned and speaking over one another that we don’t hear anything that he says, and then it cuts to a commercial break.

I look over my shoulder at Beck. “Don’t get any ideas.”

He just smiles at me and kisses my lips. “Not yet, Boss.”