I rake my fingers through my damp hair, my mind replaying all the NBA games I attended as a kid—and the way I always wanted to be able to rep my home state if I went pro. I should be jumping up and down with joy that I’ve caught their eye, but…
Nicole.That’s the problem.
My phone buzzes as I pop the back passenger door of my dad’s truck. I toss my bag into the middle seat and then pull my phone out of my pocket.
Nicole:I watched the game! You guys totally killed it. Should we celebrate when you get back?
My heart skips a few beats. I want to celebrate with her, but suddenly, I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“Who ya talking to?” Mom asks, spinning around in the seat in front of me as the truck pulls away. “Your brother said you have a girlfriend.”
My jaw drops, and I look over at my brother. “Are you serious? I don’t have a girlfriend.”Not officially, anyway.
“She might as well be,” Derrick snorts, buckling his seatbelt.
I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve ridden in the backseat of my parents’ vehicle with my brother, but I suddenly have the all-too-familiar urge to sock him in the shoulder, just like I’m ten years old again.
“So, who is she?” Dad meets my eye in the rearview as he turns onto the highway. “Seems like it would take someone special to interrupt your career.”
Oh boy, here we go.
“I don’t think anyone is gonna interrupt my career.” I deadpan. “Actually, Nicole has helped me settle into the city and find my routine. She makes life way better. Tonight is the best I’ve played in a long time.”
“It’s true,” Mom jumps in, siding with me and playfully poking my father in the shoulder. “This is the best he’s played. I think it’s good that he’s considering settling down. He’s not getting any younger.”
“Hey, I’m twenty-six, not anywhere close to senior citizen status.”
“Close enough,” Derrick quips. “You’re practically thirty.”
“Actually, thirty is the new twenty, according to someone I know.” I keep the reference to Nicole out of it. I don’t need to be given that hard time. “It’s all good. When I find the right person, I’ll settle down.”
I can feel my entire family’s eyes on me, and heat creeps into my face. I’venevertalked about meeting the right one. I never talk about meeting anyone. And they know it.
“She’s it.” Derrick bursts into laughter. “She has to be the one.”
“Maybe she could move to Texas, too.” Mom perks up, her eyes growing wide. “Then all the grandkids would be close.”
Grandkids?
I scoff. “Are you already planning my kids right now?”
“Look.” Derrick pulls out his phone, scrolls, and then hands it to my mother. “This is his girl.”
“Oh my gosh!” My mother’s volume level jars me into bumping my elbow on the window. “She is…” Her voice trails off as she scrolls through all the pictures on Nicole’s social media, and I brace myself for her reaction.
“She’s what?” I think about the Glow Girl thing that Nicole likes to worry about and wonder if my mother has any idea…
“She’sgorgeous!”
Okay, she has no idea.Or maybe my mom just doesn’t care about something trivial like that.
“She has the cutest dog, too,” Mom continues, still scrolling through all the posts. “Hang on.” She hands my brother’s phoneback to him and then picks up her purse from the floorboard. She jostles around through the contents until she finds her own phone. “What’s her username again?”
“Mom…” I begin.
“NicoleandCocoa25,” Derrick answers.
“Mom,” I say more firmly, as I watch my mother’s little fingers go back to tapping on the screen. “What are you doing?”
