Nicole thought back to when she’d formed friendships with other players over the years. She’d felt a connection with other players who had become friends just as she had with Shealyn.Nicole knew that sometimes she just hit it off with certain people. It sounded simple, but not with Ariana. They definitely had a connection, but Nicole felt a spark with Ariana and tried to suppress it. She’d explained it away in regular conversations with herself. God, maybe she was losing it! The back and forth in her head felt like a basketball dribbling between hands.
When it came down to it, Nicole had never been tempted like this with a player. She was always careful where friendship was concerned, but none of her friendships had felt like this. It was new, however she was confident she could navigate this budding relationship and keep it where it belonged: in the friendship zone.
Sighing, Nicole turned her attention to the court in front of her. The players were warming up as game time approached and she took the opportunity to check her phone again for any photos from Toronto’s pregame. She’d looked earlier and had seen videos from other games.
She smiled as a reel of several New York players appeared on her screen. Then she saw Ariana and her smile widened. She was wearing wide legged pants with a sleeveless top that showed off her muscular shoulders and biceps. Nicole would have to add Ariana’s shapely arms to her “what’s sexy” list.
“That’s making a statement,” she said under her breath.
“What’s got you smiling so?” Shealyn asked.
Nicole hadn’t noticed Shealyn walk up in front of her and she quickly lowered her phone. She shrugged and met Shealyn’s gaze. “Oh, I was just looking at the tunnel walks from around the league,” she said, hoping to sound casual.
Her heart had jumped in her chest as she’d watched Ariana confidently stride down the tunnel wearing that outfit. Now it was pounding because Shealyn had caught the smile Ariana put on her face.
Shealyn quirked an eyebrow. “And?”
“Some of these outfits.” Nicole chuckled, trying to hide her reaction to Ariana.
“Let me see.”
Nicole pulled up the reel and watched it again with Shealyn.
“Look at your friend Ariana,” Shealyn commented.
“My friend?”
“Come on, you know what I’m talking about,” Shealyn said.
Nicole shook her head, wishing Shea would back off.
“That girl wants to be your friend and I can tell you like her,” Shealyn said.
“It doesn’t matter. You know how hard it is to be friends with players,” Nicole said. “You’ve done it with JJ and a few others, but you had history with them before you stepped behind the mic.”
Shealyn shrugged and stared at Nicole for a moment. “Friendships with players are hard, especially during the season, but you have friends who are players too.”
Nicole nodded. She did have several friends who still played in the league, but none of them were in her thoughts like Ariana. And she certainly didn’t play one-on-one with them.
“Be careful, partner,” Shealyn said. “Ever since that girl landed in your lap I’ve seen something between you two.”
Nicole looked over at Shealyn and furrowed her brow. “When? We’ve only called one game of hers since then.”
“Yeah and look what happened. That’s when Maggie called that bogus foul on Ariana. Maybe she saw it, too.”
Nicole smirked. “That was Maggie on a power trip.”
“Okay, call it what you want.” Shealyn pursed her lips. “Just remember, you can look but don’t touch.”
Nicole’s mouth fell open in surprise. Shealyn had known her for years. Maybe she could see the friendship growing between her and Ariana, but surely no one else had noticed.
“We’re almost ready,” Keith said from behind their desk.
Nicole reached for her headphones and carefully put them over her ears, drowning out the crowd. She needed a moment to ground herself and focus on her job. One final thought of Ariana drifted through her head: she hoped she had a good game.
Nicole walked into her apartment and immediately turned down the hallway. She stopped in her office to set her bag and purse down then continued to her bedroom. She was glad they had flown back to New York after the game tonight. It had been a long day, starting with their early flight this morning, talking to players at shootaround, then calling the game this evening.
She hung her garment bag in her closet and would deal with it in the morning. A quick shower would wash the weariness of the day away so she stepped into her bathroom and started the water. It streamed down and pattered over the shower floor as Nicole quickly undressed.
