“No, you two enjoy your night,” Ariana said.
“Okay, I’ll be home tomorrow,” Cameron said.
Ariana smiled and left the gym. Cameron stayed over at her boyfriend’s place most nights, but she usually came home the night before a game. They’d have a good dinner, play a few video games, and get plenty of rest before travel and the game the next day.
Once Ariana got home she was so excited about how Nicole’s little tips had made practice so much better that she grabbed her phone to send a text. She stared at the phone for a moment then decided to call her instead.
“Hey, Superwoman.”
Ariana chuckled. “I don’t think so. I haven’t worked on my landings.” She could hear Nicole laugh into the phone.
“How was practice?”
“That’s why I’m calling. You’ll never guess what happened.”
“Uh, your coaches encouraged you to shoot more?”
“Ha ha. I thought about what you said and paid attention to my teammates' cues and oh my God! It was like a whole new game! The coach even noticed and commented on how good my defense was.”
“Good for you,” Nicole said.
“Then when I was on offense I noticed my own mannerisms and tried to change it up,” Ariana said.
“Ariana, don’t take the fun out of the game,” Nicole said. “If you’re so focused on finding these little keys all the time it might mess up your performance.”
“That’s just it,” Ariana said. “It was fun! It was like a game within the game. I don’t know how to explain it.” She sighed. “I thought of it like a mystery that I was trying to solve. When I figured it out it was like I knew something the others didn’t and I got to the ball before them or found an open shot. It was so cool!”
Nicole chuckled into the phone. “That does sound like fun.”
“All thanks to you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Are you blushing right now, Nicole? Come on, take the win. You deserve it!”
“Okay, okay,” Nicole said. “I’m glad it helped.”
“What have you been doing?”
“I’ve been watching the replay of Atlanta’s opening game, but I also watched a little of Washington’s as well. Kia’s still doing the same thing I told you about today,” Nicole said.
“Oh, I remember.” Ariana sat back on her couch and smiled. “I really had a nice time today, Nicole. I know we mostly talked about basketball, but it’s different talking about it with you instead of my teammates.”
“It is?”
“Yeah, I don’t know why, but thanks.”
“Maybe it’s because of all those things you said we have in common.”
Ariana laughed. “It could be. The list is growing. Let’s see, it always starts with pretty brown eyes, nice jump shots, Stuart’s bar…”
“Playing with kids,” Nicole added. “And loving the game.”
“I’m sure there’s more,” Ariana said. “How many points am I going to have to spot you when we play one-on-one?”
“You haven’t seen if my suggestion works yet,” Nicole replied.
“Oh, I can already tell it’ll work.”
