Sam points toward the bleachers, “You can sit up there. They’ll be done soon.”
I do as he says and notice a group of younger guys sitting at the opposite end. They are focused on the team bouncing the ball on the court. Bentley doesn’t notice my arrival, of course. His head is in the game, or maybe practice.
Sports have never really been my thing. I would catch a few minutes of a game if I was at a bar with Hazel, but other than that, I’ve never sought out a game to watch. I can see why people gravitate toward basketball, though. It’s fast-paced, and my head swivels from one side to the other trying to figure out what they are doing. Someone blows a whistle. The guys on the court split up into two groups and head toward the side of the court. They are passing water bottles around, and the thought of sharing a bottle with someone sends a shiver down my spine. Their lips never touch it. But I didn’t even share with my siblings growing up. I don’t want their germs mingling with my germs, thank you very much.
Less than a minute passes and they are back on the court. Something on the wall catches my eye, and it’s the scoreboard. There are literally seconds left in the game. I wish I had gotten here sooner to see Bentley play more. He obviously wanted to share this moment with me. Wanted me to see this part of his life and how passionate he is about it.
The buzzer sounds, and the players split up again. The group Bentley is with give each other high fives and are talking smack to the other team. His eyes lift up and search the bleachers and he smiles wide when he sees me. He holds a finger up, letting me know he’ll come over in a moment. The man with the whistle waves his hand toward the young men sitting on the bleachers and they rush the court. They are wide-eyed and murmuring to each other. This must be their first time seeing them, too.
Bentley pulls one of the guys away from the group and stalks toward me. He looks hot, and not because he just finished playing. His arm muscles are on full display thanks to the sleeveless shirt he’s wearing. I’m almost certain the temperature in here went up ten degrees. I lift my hand to fan myself, but force it back down. It’s too early for him to know that he has this effect on me. Hell, it’s too early for me to even be feeling this way toward him. Shit. This man is already working his way into my emotions and we’ve only been on one proper date.
Seventeen
Bentley
My sole focus is on her. It has been since I caught her walking into the gym. Jordan and Derrick should be able to handle things for a minute. They get to see their girls every day. This is the first time I’ve seen Serena in almost two weeks.
As much as I want to run to her and spin her around like in one of those stupid romantic movies, I don’t. I can’t have her knowing she’s the one person I’ve been thinking of more and more lately. At least, not yet. “You made it.”
“Yeah,” she smiles and takes in the group of basketball players on the court. “Is this some sort of game, or something? I’ve never been to any kind of sports game.”
What? That seems crazy to me, but not everyone is into sports the way I am. “Not really.” I wave my hand to the guys. “It’s a mini practice, but also a teaching opportunity.”
“Do you do things like this often?”
“Sometimes. But it’s usually with youth sports programs, not college kids that have lost their mojo.” I grab her hand and bring her into a hug. She doesn’t shy away from my sweaty body and I’m relieved. Most of the women I’ve dated in the past are grossed out by sweat. They didn’t want to touch me until I cleaned up. The fact that Serena has zero qualms about it has to mean something, right? If anything, it shows that she’s willing to accept me, even when I’m disgusting.
“I’m guessing these are the guys from your university. The ones you gave a pep talk to?” Her breath is soft against my neck and the guys on the court are the last thing I’m thinking about.
I slowly pull away to keep myself in check. “Uh yeah, that would be them. I wish you could see more of our practice, though.”
“Sorry,” she winces. “I had to change after we landed, and I thought Hazel was going to interrogate your driver for a minute.” She scrunches her nose, and it’s adorable. “By the way, why do we have a driver?”
“Oh, Derrick,” I point to him standing next to Jordan, “picked me up on the way here. He wanted pointers and to see what I thought about the rest of the season. I didn’t want to have to drive back to my house and force you to deal with his constant questions. Sam usually only drives for the important people on the team, but he agreed to drive us around, so I’d have more time with you. And because I’m his favorite player on the team.”
He’s standing nearby and rolls his eyes at the last comment. “You’re all a pain in my ass.” He shakes his head and moves closer to the team. “Don’t forget, you’ll need to come over for a photo before we leave. The owners aren’t going to miss a good PR moment.”
Crap, I forgot about that. We probably should have done that before we started. “Let me go wrangle these guys together so we can get out of here.”
“Sounds good. I’ll just be right over there,” she points to the bleachers. She probably wants to sit after being on her feet for who knows how long. I know I would if I had to stand nonstop during a flight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her sit while she’s working.
“I’ll make it quick.” Jogging over to the guys, I see Ross shake his head, and I shoot him a glare to not open his mouth.
He obviously doesn’t heed my warning, or thinks I’m playing around. He walks over to me and grins. “I see she’s gotten under your skin. I thought y’all were dating for fun.” He raises an eyebrow in question.
“We are. But it’s difficult to date someone when you live in different states.” I don’t know why I’m so defensive. Maybe it’s because he’s acknowledging things I’m not ready to accept. I mean, we aren’t completely serious, even though we aren’t seeing other people. But it’s not like we’re proclaiming our undying love for each other. Hell, we haven’t even been intimate yet.
“All I’m saying,” Ross continues, “Is that nobody else brings their girl to practice unless they are married, or ready to take things to the next level.”
“Stop giving Bentley a hard time,” Jordan says from behind me. “He’ll realize for himself, eventually.”
Great, now they are both on my case. “Whatever. Let’s get this over with so I can take Serena on a date before she has to fly off again.” I immediately wish I would have picked a better phrase. Let’s be real, that’s how this is going to end. She’ll constantly be flying off to her next adventure and I’ll be the one waiting for the next phone call, or visit, wondering if she’s going to leave forever.
I shake the thought from my mind. “All right guys, let’s get this show on the road. I’ve got things to do.” A series of whistles sounds around me, and I glance up at Serena. Her cheeks are bright pink, and she knows she’s the reason for the sudden noise. “Shut up and let’s do this thing.”
Derrick stands next to me with a knowing smile. “Don’t say a word,” I warn. He still looks up to me and lifts his hands in surrender.
The rest of the guys gather around us with Coach standing on the end. Normally, he’d be in the middle with all the players surrounding him, but he doesn’t like being the center of attention. Sam grabs his phone out of his back pocket and holds it in front of him. “Okay guys, smile big. I’m going to take a few shots and they can figure out which one they want to use.”
