“I told her it might be her business on the court but not off,” Ariana said, raising one shoulder.
Nicole raised her brows. “She was just being a bitch because we were laughing and having a good time before the game. Her dinner with us in Atlanta didn’t go well.”
“She was setting the tone with you tonight, as she explained to us at that dinner,” Shealyn said. “Sorry you got caught in the crosshairs. I’m glad she left Cameron alone.”
“I didn’t have any problems with her after that,” Ariana said.
“I hope you don’t later in the season,” Nicole said. “I feel horrible about this.”
“Why? It’s on her. She obviously can’t take rejection,” Ariana said. “But I get it.”
Nicole looked at Ariana and tilted her head.
“That’s right, Nicole,” Shealyn said. “I know I promised to stay out of your love life, but you’re one hot mama.”
Nicole groaned and shook her head. “No, I’m not! You’re the mother around here.”
“I have to agree with Shealyn.” Ariana chuckled. “I’d better go. I don’t want to miss the bus home. Have a safe trip back.”
“You, too,” Nicole said with a smile.
Ariana walked away, but couldn’t resist turning around one more time. When she did Nicole was watching her as Shealyn walked away. She smiled and gave her a little wave.
Ariana took one more look both ways down the hall and was relieved to see it was empty. No one else saw them talking. She was determined that this friendship was not going to be a liability to Nicole.
Tomorrow they’d get to talk about basketball and maybe even play a little. Ariana couldn’t wait.
Riding the bus home with her teammates had given Ariana’s excitement a place to go. They had celebrated another win and even though it was early in the season they were undefeated. Ariana had had another good game and adjusted to their defense which made her able to find her teammates just like she was supposed to do.
She was surprised how easily she fell asleep. Terrance had made the trip to the game and picked up Cameron at their practice facility so Ariana was alone at their apartment.
Now, she was up early and couldn’t quite believe it. Her regular routine had her sleeping in on mornings after a game, but she’d woken up and knew she was too excited to go back to sleep. It had nothing to do with the win last night; she was looking forward to spending the afternoon with Nicole. She couldn’t wait to go over the game with Nicole because she knew she’d learn something that would only make her better going forward.
After getting dressed she put her shoes, shorts, and shirt in her backpack. She decided to go out for breakfast. She could takeher laptop and go over the stats from the game. There was a little diner Ariana loved to go to occasionally but it wasn’t in her neighborhood. It would be the perfect place to hang out until she heard from Nicole.
The weather was beautiful so Ariana decided to shoulder her backpack and make the walk to the diner. She noticed there weren’t a lot of people out on this Sunday morning and imagined they were sleeping in like she should be.
A smile crossed her face because she could feel this was going to be a good day. As she turned on to the block where the diner was located she looked ahead and was shocked to see Nicole walking towards her talking on her phone.
“Hey, Emily,” Nicole said, answering her phone. She was walking to the diner where they were meeting for brunch and was almost there.
“Hi, Nicole,” Emily said. “We’re not going to make it for brunch.”
“Oh no, is everything all right?”
“Kate has come down with something,” Emily explained. “It hit her this morning or she would’ve called you last night. Anyway, you don’t want to be around either one of us. We don’t want to get you sick.”
“Ah, I’m sorry she’s feeling bad,” Nicole said. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, so far I’m okay and I’ll take care of her,” Emily said. “She said to tell you that she’ll call you tomorrow to talk about any ideas you have for your contract.”
“Okay, but tell her not to worry about that,” Nicole said. “Let me know if I can help.”
“I will. Sorry, we were looking forward to seeing you.”
“Me, too.”
Nicole ended the call and felt disappointment wash over her. She was near the diner and almost turned around when suddenly she recognized a woman standing on the sidewalk smiling at her.
