Page 64 of Take Care, Taylor

I laughed and pulled into a gas station. “Mind if I stop here for a second?”

She shook her head.

“Audrey.” I pressed my hand under her chin, tilting her face toward me. “You can’t look at me now?”

“I can’t look atmyself.”

“I’d believe that if you were avoiding the mirror…”

“I wasn’t trying to sleep with you, Taylor.”

“Good,” I said. “Next time, don’t start something you can’t finish.”

Her eyes flicked toward mine—brief, defensive—and for a second I forgot what guilt was supposed to feel like.

“I’m serious.” She blushed. “Dead ass serious.”

“I’ll be right back.” I held back a laugh and stepped out, heading into the mini-mart.

Thankfully, there were no other customers inside—just the cashier, scrolling on his phone.

I grabbed a few snacks and dialed my agent.

“I was just about to call you,” he answered on the first ring. “Are we still on for lunch today?”

“No, I need to reschedule. Something came up.”

“Something with the Bears?”

“Something personal.”

“Well, tell me what it is, and I’ll do whatever I can to push it out of the way.”

“I’m pushing you out of the way, Nick.” I handed the cashier a twenty. “I need today and tomorrow for myself.”

“Preseason starts soon, Taylor.” He sounded like he was about to hyperventilate. “We have commitments, and I made one hell of a transport schedule so you won’t miss a beat between the writing stuff and being on the sideline.”

“I wasn’t asking you about today and tomorrow,” I said. “I’m telling you. I might need a few days after that too, but I’ll let you know when I’m sure.”

“What the fuck? Taylor, don’t you?—”

I hung up and muted his number—along with everyone else’s.

I’d unmute them later, because if what I knew about Audrey held true, she would try to push me away before the end of the weekend.

And I didn’t want that.

No, I didn’tneedthat.

Outside, she was still staring out the window, tracing raindrops down the glass with her finger.

And for the first time in a long time, football, deadlines, and everything else felt small compared to that.

TRACK 26. IT’S NICE TO HAVE A FRIEND (2:02)

AUDREY

The salt air hit me the second we stepped onto Gayle’s patio—sweet, heavy, and far too calm for the mess inside my chest.