Always!
Nicole watched the teams run onto the court and noticed Ariana wasn’t among them. A few moments later Ariana appeared and joined her teammates. Had she been texting Nicole and was late for warm ups?
Nicole shook her head. “Come on, Ari. Focus,” she said softly.
The game began and sure enough when Ariana was on defense for the first time, she stole the ball and put it in for a layup. Nicole laughed and clapped her hands. The broadcasters commented on Ariana’s eagerness and catching the other team off guard.
“Just wait,” Nicole murmured.
As the game went on Ariana flew around the court, batting balls away from the other team and making crisp passes to her teammates. She scored ten points in the first half and also had six assists. New York was leading by eight at half time.
Nicole got up to refill her drink and her phone rang. She saw Shealyn’s familiar face on the screen.
“Hey, Shea.”
“Are you watching—duh, of course you’re watching the game.”
Nicole chuckled into the phone.
“Ariana is killing it! What did you do to her at that youth event?”
“Nothing!” Nicole exclaimed. “We talked about how to catch signals of what the other players were going to do.”
“She certainly listened to you!”
“She is having a great game. I’m glad for her.”
“Uh huh… Is there something I need to know?” Shealyn asked.
“Like what? We’re two people who love the game and talked about it a lot on Saturday.”
“Be careful, Nicole. She’s single and so are you.”
“What does that matter?”
“It’s widely known that Ariana is all business about basketball. She loves to party and doesn’t date. If you know what I mean.”
“Shea, it isn’t like that.”
“Maybe not, but you know we have to be careful with perceptions of our friendships with players.”
“That’s just it. Some players are our friends, but we’re also professionals. We know the score. Why are you bringing this up?”
“Because you sound different.”
“Different?” Nicole echoed.
“I can hear excitement in your voice.”
“Yeah, because we’re starting a new season. Aren’t you excited?”
“Yes, but there’s a difference when you’re talking about Ariana. Just be careful.”
Nicole scoffed. “Come on, Shea.”
Shealyn gasped. “Oh my God, maybe I made this happen.”
“Made what happen?”
