Nicole chuckled and nodded. “We do.”
“It sounds to me like you have a lot in common. You’ve found someone who loves the things you love. Can you trust her to be discreet?”
Nicole nodded. “She knows what a risk I’m taking.”
“You can’t talk to Shealyn or Kate about this, can you?”
Nicole shook her head. “Actually, they’d both love it because they are always trying to set me up. But they wouldn’t love that Ariana is a current player in the league.” Nicole fell back against the couch, a sinking feeling in her stomach. “God, the repercussions if anyone found out.”
“Honey, you knew all of this before you let Ariana into your life. Your heart is trying to tell you something.”
“I’ve never known anyone like her,” Nicole said, smiling at her mom.
“Maybe it’s time to adjust your career goals, take on a new challenge. Then you can act on what your heart is telling you.”
“Oh, I don’t know…”
“One other thing. Be careful when you call her games. That smile of yours.” Lori chuckled.
“Oh, Mom,” Nicole said. “Slow down.”
“We’ll see.”
The second half started and Nicole couldn’t keep her eyes off of Ariana. Her mom was definitely getting way ahead of where she and Ariana were. Yes, they had a lot in common, but again, their schedules made it hard to see each other. She did get flutters in her stomach and her heart sometimes jumped in her chest, but was it the same for Ariana?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ariana walked onto the court and grabbed a basketball. She looked around the arena and saw several Washington players warming up on the other end of the court. The officials at the scorer’s table were getting their equipment ready and a few random fans were sitting in the stands.
Her heart dropped and she sighed. She was hoping Nicole would come to shootaround and they could steal a few minutes together before she had to change for the game. She noticed movement across the court and saw the tech people for Nicole’s network preparing their monitors and such. Just then Shealyn walked up and exchanged a few words with her coworkers.
Ariana wanted to ask about Nicole, but that might alert Shealyn that there was something going on between them. Wow, was there ever. She couldn’t get Sunday out of her head. Kissing Nicole had now become one of her favorite things. Ariana dreamed of kissing those soft lips again.
“Hey,” she called to Shealyn. “Are you taking a few shots with us today?”
Shealyn smiled and walked towards Ariana. “I don’t want to get in your way. Besides, my partner is the one who likes to show off her jump shot.”
Ariana chuckled. “She does have a nice shot.” She looked around and turned back to Shealyn. “Is she not joining you?”
“She’ll be here soon,” Shealyn replied. “She was visiting her folks and her flight was late. Don’t you worry, your favorite sportscaster will be here.”
Ariana scoffed. “What makes you think you’re not my favorite?”
“You didn’t fall into my lap.”
Ariana smirked. “Like I planned that.”
Shealyn chuckled. “Have a good game, Ariana. You’re killing it. Keep up the good work.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll tell Nicole you were asking about her because you needed a soft spot to land.”
Ariana laughed. If she only knew. That may well turn out to be the best play she made all year.
Her teammates joined her and Ariana went through her warm-ups. At least she knew Nicole was okay. The last text she received from her was this morning from the airport. They’d talked on the phone for quite a while last night. Nicole told her a few things about her visit with her parents along with the big news that Ariana was now her niece’s favorite player.
It had been nice to hear Nicole share parts of her day and her life with her family. Ariana didn’t know how this thing between them could be anything but a fling; however, every time they talked or texted it felt like more than that.
