“Yeah, but it shouldn’t be like this.”
“But it is and we have to be honest.” Shealyn grinned.
Nicole nodded and when Keeley sent it back to them Nicole said, “I’m not sure what the ref was doing there or what kind of message they’re trying to send. If you’ll remember last season there was a lot of controversy on how physical the referees allowed the players to get. I hope that’s not what we’re seeing again this early in the season.”
The game resumed and no other questionable calls were made. Ariana found her other open teammates and let them do the scoring. Later in the game Ariana lulled Connecticut into thinking she was not shooting and before they tightened up their defense, Ariana scored three three-point baskets in a row.
Nicole and Shealyn were both excited in their commentary, but still remained professional. The game ended and Nicole hoped to talk to Ariana after the game. She watched her run off the court and knew she couldn’t follow her.
“I’ve got this,” Keith said. “You go change.”
“But…”
“No buts,” Keith said. “I’ll give you your laptops at the truck.”
Nicole looked at Shealyn and shrugged. They usually packed up their laptops and left the rest of the equipment for Keith.
As they walked down the hallway to their dressing room, Nicole looked around the corner to the visiting team’s locker room but didn’t see Ariana or any of the other players nearby. She’d have to wait until tomorrow to talk to Ariana about the game. Once again she would be apologizing to her. Nicole sighed because it seemed like she did that often.
Chapter Fifteen
Ariana quickly changed and slipped out of the locker room. She wanted to catch Nicole for a quick word before they went back to New York.
As she rounded the corner and went down the hallway towards the exit, she saw Nicole step out of a room.
“Hey,” Ariana said, hurrying up to her.
“Hi,” Nicole said, her face brightening. “I was hoping to talk to you.”
Ariana looked down the hall to make sure no one was watching them. “Are we still on for tomorrow afternoon?”
Nicole nodded.
“Could we talk about the game?”
“Of course.” Nicole smiled as Shealyn walked out of the room Nicole had come from.
“Hey there.”
“Hi, Shealyn.”
“I wanted to apologize to you for that silly call Maggie made on you at the beginning of the game. It wasn’t a foul,” Nicole said earnestly.
Ariana smiled. “I could see you were mad, but why apologize?”
“If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine because I tried to set Nicole up with her on Tuesday night in Atlanta,” Shealyn said. “It won’t happen again.”
Ariana shrugged and tried to look surprised. She wasn’t sure Shealyn knew how often she and Nicole talked.
“What did she say to you?” Shealyn asked.
Ariana chuckled. “I asked her what her problem was. She said I got too close.”
“Too close?”
Ariana nodded. “Yes, according to her I was too close to the defender and her opinion is the one that counts,” she said haughtily, mimicking Maggie’s tone.
Nicole groaned and Shealyn shook her head.
