Page 1 of The Game Plan

Prologue

Dex

Sweat trickles down my spine. My bones ache, and my legs are wobbly jelly as I slowly walk over the bright green turf, nowmarred by long gashes and deep divots.

Around me other guys amble, their uniforms streaked with sweat, blood and chalk.

Thousands of cheering spectators create a dull rumble that I feel in the pit of my belly.

Welcome to Monday Night Football. Prime-time sports at its finest. And my team has just won. I’ve done my job, and now thatthe adrenaline is wearing off, my high is crashing down. I want a shower, a hot meal, and then devote a few hours to paintingin the small studio I’ve made in my town house. But I have a dinner date and houseguest to meet.

Teammates slap my pads, tell me “good game” as I make my way across the field. A few of the guys from the other team seekme out, shaking my hand. But I’m looking for one guy in particular.

I see him, his head above most others. He catches my eye and grins. But his face is wan, deep circles marring his eyes. I know it’s not because his team lost. We weave through the crowd to come together.

“Dex!” Gray Grayson, my former college teammate and one of my best friends on Earth, catches me up in a bear hug. It’s awkwardwith both of us in pads, helmets in hand. “Good game, man. But we’re totally gonna kick your ass next time.”

“Better tell your D to get their heads out of their asses, then,” I say, giving his head a light tap. “Good to see you, Gray-Gray.”

God, I miss playing with him. He’s the best tight end I’ve seen in years. And our college team had been a well-oiled machine.

The NFL isn’t the same as college. Ego, money, high stakes, all of it is just more.

It’s a job now. I love it, but the carefree joy is gone.

We walk toward the sideline together.

“How’s Ivy and the baby?” I ask. They had a baby about two months ago and named him Leo, after Leonhard Euler, one of Gray’sfavorite mathematicians.

“Man,” Gray says with a slow shake of his head as he grins wide, “I must have done something really right in another life.”

“That good, huh?” I’m happy for him. Even if his exuberant happiness reminds me I have no one.

“Best family a man could ask for.” Gray runs a hand over the back of his neck and squeezes. Despite his declaration, he soundsworn-out.

“Not that I don’t believe you, Gray, but you kind of look like shit. What’s going on?”

His smile is tight. “Only you would notice that.”

We’re almost at the sideline, and he’ll be going to the guest locker rooms.

“Leo hasn’t learned to sleep through the night. Ivy and I are feeling it.” He grimaces. “Mostly Ivy, unfortunately, becauseI’m on the road a lot.”

If Gray is admitting he’s losing sleep, it must be bad.

I brace his shoulder with my hand. “You got a bye week after this, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Me too. Mind me coming over for a visit?”

Gray lives in San Francisco, and though I’ve been meaning to go out there, I haven’t yet done it. While I’m happy to visitGray, I also know I can help him out. Not that I can tell him as much or he’d insist he has everything covered.

Gray’s smile is wide. “I’d love to have you. I know Ivy would too.”

“You sure about that? Ivy might not want visitors when she has a new baby.” It has to be said, because Gray also tends toreact before he thinks.

“Naw, she’s been kind of lonely.” His brows gather. “Neither of us likes solitude very much.”