“There’s someone out there who’s right for you, Nicole,” Shealyn said. “If you won’t try and find them then I will.”
Nicole groaned. “It’s not Maggie Patterson.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t right here among us,” Shealyn said, spreading her arms wide as they walked down the hallway and into their changing room.
Nicole sighed and began to change clothes. “Maybe you’re trying too hard, Shea.”
“Mmhmm,” Shealyn murmured. “She may sneak up on you. Ohhh, that would be fun.”
Nicole giggled. “You’re too much.”
“No, I’m not,” Shealyn replied. “I just want you to have the happiness that I do.”
“How do you know I don’t?”
Shealyn tilted her head. “Because I know you. That heart of yours has a lot of love to give and there’s one lucky woman out there waiting.”
Nicole smiled and shrugged. It wasn’t that she wanted to be alone, but who would want to share this life she loved? It could be a lot and right now, in her career, she couldn’t make any compromises.
Ariana took a sip of her drink and turned up the volume on the TV.
“What game are we watching?” Cameron said, sitting down next to her with a bowl of chips. “Oh wait, let me guess—um, your crush is calling which game?”
Ariana chuckled. “She and Shealyn are in Atlanta. Why wouldn’t you want to listen to that beautiful voice?”
“That’s not the only reason you want to watch her games.”
“You’re right, she knows a lot about basketball,” Ariana replied. “We might learn something. She’s smart and maybe she’ll share something that will give us an edge.”
“Mmm, maybe,” Cameron murmured. “There’s more to her than basketball. You could find out since you’re friends now.”
Ariana shrugged. “I don’t know that we’re friends,” she said hesitantly. “She can’t show favoritism.”
“We both know you’re one of her favorite players,” Cameron said.
“She likes you, too.” Ariana paused as they waited for the pregame to end and the network to switch to Nicole and Shealyn courtside. “I did find something out about her when I fell into her lap.”
“Yeah?”
Ariana glanced over at Cameron and smiled. “She has pretty brown eyes.”
Cameron chuckled. “Thank God you noticed. You’re so focused on basketball during the season I sometimes wonder about you.”
“That’s why if I have a girlfriend I usually lose her during the season,” Ariana said. “It’s better that I’m single for now.”
“Ah, it’ll all work out when you find the right woman.” Cameron waved her hand. “Just look at me and Terrance. He understands compromise during the season and I make it up to him in the off season. You find ways to make it work.”
“There she is,” Ariana said.
“Look at Shealyn’s hair,” Cameron exclaimed. “That’s real! She must have a stylist before the game.”
“Your hair is real.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t look like that,” Cameron said. “It’s hard to keep it that way with two and sometimes three games a week. I’m telling you, Ari, black women's hair can be a lot.”
They were both quiet while Nicole and Shealyn welcomed the TV audience and talked about the key players.
“Oh, they’re talking about JJ,” Ariana said. “I wish she still played here with us.”
