“Good morning, Bet,” Sidney smiles before turning his attention to me. “Good to see you again, Zhuri.”
“You, too, Sid.”
“Am I chopped liver then?” Cameron smirks.
“I’d prefer chopped liver,” I huff under my breath, but it must not have been quiet enough.
“And I’d prefer literally anybody else,” he shrugs. “But here we are, stuck together.”
“I’m not happy about this, Kovacic.”
“You think I am?” Cameron laughs derisively. “Spending time with you is my idea of torture.”
“So charming,” I reply sarcastically, and his light brown eyes sparkle with mischief.
“Charming women isn’t something I’ve ever had a problem with.”
Before I can retort, Sidney interjects. “So, the team…”
“Right,” I say. “We’re here to talk about the team.”
Cameron sighs. “Can we even fucking do this? We clearly can’t get along.”
Elisabet pipes in. “You don’t have a choice. Sid and I may have been your alternate captains before, but we don’t hold those titles now. This comes down to the two of you learning to co-exist and lead the team.”
I take a deep breath and look at Cameron. “For the sake of the team, we need to leave the past in the past. None of our teammates will respect us as captains if we can’t even respect each other.”
His next words take me by complete surprise. “I do respect you, Zhuri. You’re one of the best left wingers I’ve ever seen. That doesn’t become less true because I don’t like you.”
“Oh,” I reply softly. “Thank you. I didn’t realize you actually watched me play at all since college.”
He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah… I’m kind of a Dragons fan. Well, Iwasa Dragons fan. My mom has lived in Boulder most of her life, and I like supporting women’s sports.”
I look at him curiously. “You’re… surprising.”
Cameron lets out a light laugh. “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever had to say to me.”
“Don’t ruin it.” I roll my eyes.
He readjusts the hat on his head, flipping it backward.
Apparently, that’s hot even when it’s Cameron.
I can’t stand him, but fuck if he isn’t exactly what women dream about at night. Tan skin, eyes the color of caramel, tattoos covering every bit of his muscular arms.
The reason he has no problem charming women is very clear when you look at him.
I right myself and move along. “Do you have any ideas for the team?”
“Getting the team together outside of practice is always a good start. When we were still the Lizards, we’d go out to the bar. We also had team dinners as often as we could to help build that camaraderie.”
“I like the idea of team dinners,” I chime in. “The Dragons would get together, but we never did team dinners. I can see that going over really well.”
“Everybody brings something, so everyone is involved. Homemade or store-bought, just as long as something is provided. Except Wes. Wes isn’t allowed to cook, so he buys something.”
“Wes isn’t allowed to cook?”
Sidney throws his head back and laughs. “Wes could burn a pot of water. Blake’s told us about how he tries to help her in the kitchen sometimes, and she always has to push him away.”
