CHARLI
I wake with a dull headache,but it’s not too bad. I have vague memories of drinking water before going to bed, and thatis no doubt helping me recover from the excessive shots we all had last night.
My memories are a little fuzzy. There was definitely a lot of laughter, and that’s the part that has me smiling as I roll over and take in the morning light. It’s coming through the curtains and giving every surface a soft yellow glow.
Nix is in the bed opposite mine, and I watch her for a second. Her breathing is loud, and she’s making this adorable purring kind of sound, like a happy kitten curled up to sleep.
I grin.
She’s the best, and it was cool seeing her have fun with us all last night.
A very good sign, if you ask me.
She definitely needs a place in the house.
So that’ll make it me, Darian, Sawyer, and Nix. A great starting lineup. Now we just have to find two more people to make this the ultimate house for my sophomore year.
Sophomore. I like the sound of that.
Not a newbie anymore.
No more getting lost on the way to class—Nolan U campus is huge, okay?
And no more “newest girl in the locker room.” Last season, there were only two freshmen starting on the women’s basketball team, and the other one dropped out after only a couple of months, so it was just me. And man, did the girls let me know it. I was treated like the most junior member of the team in every way.
The only good thing about it was it made me work my ass off to prove myself.
I’ve earned their respect, and this season will be a much better start. I’m also determined not to treat any freshman players the way I was treated.
When I first envisioned starting at Nolan U, I thought I’d be welcomed to the team with open arms. We’d all become best buddies, and it’d be the experience of a lifetime.
But my dreams were shot down pretty fast.
Sure, I’m one of the team and I’m respected now, but I haven’t become friends with the other players like I thought I might.
I’m the shorty, the newbie, the one they all assumed barely knew anything about basketball.
I’ve proven them wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m the smallest player with the most to prove. Nor does it change the fact that I never get invited to social, non-basketball-related events.
Thankfully, Sawyer and my bro have never minded me tagging along to anything, so I’ve been able to fit in with their friend group easily enough, but it always bummed me out that my own team hasn’t pulled me in. They’re just not like that, I guess.
It’s not a super-cohesive setup.
There are a few friend groups within the team, and I don’t belong to any of them.
The basketball guys seem to all like one another and hang out socially all the time. Thank God for them. And thank God for Nix.
I smile at my petite little friend again before slipping out of bed and tiptoeing down to the bathroom. I have no idea who’s up and who isn’t, so I stay as quiet as I can. Sneaking back to the bed, I wrestle on an oversized hoodie that I stole off Darian months ago and walk downstairs in bare feet.
Adonis and Ben are lounging on the couches drinking coffee, which smells so freaking good! And… oh wow. My eyes are drawn to the shirtless man outside on the deck. It’s Jimmy, and he’s doing some kind of slow-motion, martial arts thing. Damn…he looks good! His movements are smooth and controlled, his back muscles rippling as he sweeps his arms in these fluid circles. He raises his knee, then steps forward, slowly pivoting to change direction before raising his other knee and extending his arms out.
It’s like a real-life version ofThe Karate Kid, and I can’t stop watching him until Adonis snorts at me and tells me to stop perving on the poor guy.
“I’m not perving,” I mutter, spinning into the kitchen. “I was appreciating his karate skills.”
“It’s called Tai Chi,” Ben softly corrects me.
I roll my eyes, grabbing a mug and placing it under the machine. Selecting a pod, I pop it in, then spin back to keep watching the Tai Chi action.
