“And yet I still got a feelin’ you bouta show me how it’s done,” I whispered back with a smirk that only had Selena glowing even brighter as she moved to take the middle seat between her teammates to take questions while I posted up in the back to listen.
Like Sugar, Selena was a natural at dealing with the spotlight, with enough charisma and charm to carry all three of them since the other two looked like they’d rather be anywhere else than here. Selena seemed to revel in it though, all smiles until a reporter asked how she felt about me being added to the coaching staff.
Because of what I’d walked in on yesterday in Kat’s office, I wasn’t surprised to see her light dim a little bit when she took a quick glance at me before she answered, “Even though Coach Leonard’s career here as a Trojan didn’t end on good terms, he still knows this court. He knows this city and what winning a title would mean to it since, well, he’s already been there and done that. And he knows the game, which to me is the only thing that really matters.”
I couldn’t help the way my eyebrow piqued in shock as Selena took another glance my way and gave a pleasant smile while the reporter followed up, “Well we found a clip on Youtube of an interview you did senior year before the McDonald’s All-American game. And in that, you called Dre your favorite player. Is that still true?”
Teasingly cocking my head to the side to ask the same question, I couldn’t help but chuckle once I saw Selena’s nose and lips twist when she replied, “I mean… he’s aight,” making everyone else chuckle too as she admitted, “In all honesty, I can say my game changed for the better because of his example. And I feel lucky to now have access to more… hands-on lessons.”
The shit was wrong as fuck, but I couldn’t help the rise I got out of her word choice, adjusting in my stance as Selena gave me another quick glance just as Kat put an arm to my elbow to say, “Dre, we need you over here for pictures.”
Before I could really respond, she was already tugging me in that direction. And it was a good thing she was since I wasn’t sure how quick I would’ve been ready to move otherwise, completely enthralled watching Selena work her magic on the press - watching Selena, period - which was the absolute last thing I should’ve been doing.
“You can’t afford that, bruh,” I reminded myself as I posed for my individual shots, then posed for a few shots with Sugar and the rest of the coaching staff. And as we waited for the rookies who were now taking questions from reporters, Selena came over to do her individual shots, forcing me to find something to keep myself busy since I couldn’t get caught up in watching her again.
With my phone in my hand, I scrolled through Twitter to see I’d already been tagged in random pictures and soundbites from today. And once I refreshed the feed, I saw someone had just shared the clip of Selena talking about me, clicking to view it like I hadn’t just heard it live and smiling to myself as I watched her speak confidently about my abilities to get the job done.
Did she even believe the shit she was saying?
I wasn’t sure.
But after yesterday, her being able to give me a compliment without choking on her words was enough to satisfy me as I peeked up from my phone and was immediately drawn in by her practically flirting with the camera as she dribbled the basketball and loudly joked, “Anything for ticket sales, y’all!”
Everyone in listening range started to laugh, including Sugar who moved a little closer to me to say, “Sometimes it’s hard to believe that silly ass girl is actually a savage.”
With a shake of my head, I disagreed. “Shit, it ain’t hard for me at all after I caught a glimpse of her savage ass yesterday when she chewed me out to Kat.”
That made Sugar laugh. “I heard about that. Don’t take it personal, Dre. Selena’s just very… protective of our organization; very protective of our game overall.”
Knowing what I knew about how the general public viewed the WNBA, I could totally understand why she’d be that way, the thought alone making me nod as I replied, “Yeah, I get it.”
“And between you and me, I think part of that animosity is because she has a little crush on you,” Sugar added, the shit catching me off-guard as I coughed up a, “What?”
Again, she laughed. “Don’t act all surprised, Dre. You may not be all that dark, but you’re still tall and handsome. And if you were a few years older, you’d be easy bait. Don’t go runnin’ to HR with that, though.”
Now I was the one chuckling, turning her way to tease, “Thee Sugar Daniels said she’d get at me if I had a little more mileage on me, and I’m supposed to be offended by it?”
Instead of answering the question, she reached up to give me a pat on the shoulder and said, “I think we’re gonna get along just fine, Coach Leonard.”
“I think so too, Coach Daniels,” I agreed, calling after her to add, “Oh, and Coach? Thanks for that save earlier. Your answer was a helluva lot better than mine.”
Sure, mine would’ve been sufficient. But hers made me truly feel supported in my role, a feeling she only doubled down on when she replied, “You’re one of us now, Dre. And if nothing else, we take care of our own.”
I gave her a nod of acceptance that sent her on her way just as a journalist approached and asked, “Dre, if you don’t mind. We’d like to get a few shots of you and Selena for a piece we’re doing based around that Youtube clip.”
Once again, I found myself nodding as I followed him onto set, Selena shooting me a playful side eye the second I joined her in front of the lights then leaning over to whisper, “You don’t have to stand so close to me, ya know.”
“I think that’s kinda the point of them doing pictures of us together, Ms. Samuels,” I told her with just as much tease as we waited for more instructions from the photographer who returned to set with a stool in his hand.
“Dre, we’re gonna have you sit on this, and Selena we’ll have you kinda lean in and rest your forearms on top of his left shoulder,” he directed, the two of us doing our interpretation of his request as he returned behind the camera to do a few test shots that eventually turned into real shots where he asked us to loosen up a little bit.
With Selena over my shoulder, I couldn’t really see what she was doing. But I knew she wouldn’t be able to keep a straight face when I joked, “All that dribbling from earlier got you kinda musty.”
Immediately, she busted out laughing in my ear and squealed, “Oh my… shut up!” as the photographer cheered, “Yes! Perfect! Keep that up!” And I suppose now that I had broken the ice, Selena was ready to do the same, doing a little joking of her own when she said, “Don’t be using these pictures with me to get your likes up on Instagram.”
Shaking my head without totally disrupting the perfect lighting, I told her, “Nah, the ladies don’t tend to “like” when I post women who aren’t them on my page.”
One of the photographer’s assistants passed me a ball to add to the shots as a prop. But before I could adjust it myself, Selena leaned over my shoulder to do it for me, making sure the new WNBA logo was front and center while also replying, “I’m not talking about from women, Dre. I’m talking about the men who are guaranteed to come through with a “like” and hit you with a, “I see you, bro” in the comments that you’ll have to correct them on.”
“Or will I?” I asked, not even really realizing how wrong the question could be taken until I saw the surprised look on Selena’s face as her candid smile turned anxious.
“Wait. I didn’t mean it like…” I started; though it fell on deaf ears since Selena was already stepping away to ask the photographer, “You got enough pictures, right?”
“Plenty,” he happily replied, giving Selena all the permission she needed to rush off set. And since it was clear I’d made her uncomfortable, I started to go after her until Kat caught me by the arm with a groaned, “Nope. Not letting you do that.”
“What are you talkin’ about, Kat?” I asked with a frown, knowing my intentions were only to clear the air and explain w
hy I preferred not to give the trolls in my comments any attention at all.
But Kat already had her mind made up about the interaction, being sharp and direct when she answered, “Leave her alone, Dre. That’s all I’m gonna say about it. Do your job and leave that girl alone.”
Shaking my head, I sighed, “It’s not even like that.” And, for the most part, that was the truth.
Though from the displeased look on Kat’s face, she clearly didn’t believe me at all, stepping closer to keep the conversation between us when she challenged, “Dude, I stood behind the camera during those shots y’all just did together. And the way you looked at her? It’s definitely like that. And it can’t be like that unless you wanna cause a PR nightmare for all parties involved. Understood?”
She was right.
It was only my second real day on the job, and the last thing I needed was a bunch of rumors about me circulating already; especially rumors involving the damn star player of the team. So instead of continuing to defend myself, I only nodded. “Yeah, I hear you.”
My response must not have been enthusiastic enough for her since she got right in my face to emphasize, “Dre, I’m not kidding. I need you focused on basketball and basketball only. And I’ll be sure to have this same conversation with Selena.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I insisted, knowing I’d already creeped Selena out enough on my own.
But again, Kat wasn’t leaving it up to me, quick to reply, “Oh, but it’s happening anyway. And you wanna know why? Cause I saw the way she looked at you too.”
My eyebrow piqued on its own since… how did she look at me?
I mean, sure we’d found our groove and joked around a bit for the purposes of the photoshoot, but I hadn’t necessarily caught a vibe from her. Then again, why would Kat make it up?
Instead of wondering, I decided to put it all in the back of my mind and focus on the task at hand of finding my spot in the back row for team pictures, being sure to stand opposite of where Selena was sitting in the front so my boss would know her message was received. But not even that was enough to stop Kat from whispering to Selena about something that I had a feeling involved me.
Three
When Kat asked me to stop by her office before I left the arena, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I damn sure wasn’t expecting her to indirectly tell me to stay away from her man under the guise of keeping things “appropriate” with Coach Leonard as if I’d done anything to even hint otherwise.
She called herself being polite about it too, with her hands interlocked on top of her desk and a pleasant, professional smile on her face when she explained, “It’s important for you guys to have a good working relationship. But we’d hate to give fans the impression that there’s… something more going on between the two of you.”
No matter how she packaged it, I was still annoyed when I defended, “I literally just met the man, Kat. Where is this even coming from?”
“I’m just making my… the organization’s expectations clear, Selena. That’s all,” she replied, her professional smile intact as if she hadn’t let that “my” slip.
“Yeah, this is definitely not about the organization or the fans,” I thought as I leaned forward in my chair to ask, “So, wait. Yesterday, you wanted me to be more supportive of the new hire. And now, because I’m not going at his neck, you’re accusing me of being too supportive?”
With a slow glide of her tongue across the top row of her teeth, she cocked her head to the side and straight up asked, “Is flirting with your coach in front of the camera really what you consider support?”
No lie, the question had me a bit shook since I hadn’t expected her to be so bold about it. And even though I could admit Dre and I had maybe gotten a little more comfortable with each other on set, my face still scrunched when I repeated, “Flirting? Are you being serious right now? Cause I feel like you’re tryna play me.”
“Look at these preliminary shots they got of you two for that feature, and ask me that question again,” she insisted, sliding her iPad my way to show me what she was talking about. And honestly, with the pictures in my face, I could see why she felt the way she did.
I mean, Dre and I looked disgustingly cute together, every picture somehow looking better - and more adorable - than the last. Though I still tried to play it down when I scrolled nonchalantly and commented, “The photographer did a great job.”
“Selena…” she groaned, my eyes flashing up to hers as I snapped, “What? I can’t help that we’re both fine.”
“Oh, so you do think he’s fine?” she asked with a scowl that told me this conversation had officially crossed over from professional to personal.
Still, that didn’t mean I was going to lie about it, shrugging when I answered, “I mean, I’m not blind, Kat. But just because I think he’s fine doesn’t mean I like, want him. Is that what you think? That I want him?”
Instead of answering my question, she pressed, “Well… do you?”
Without even letting a beat pass, I firmly replied, “I do not.”
Maybe in my past life, I would’ve been all over him.
But right now?
I didn’t really have time for that, especially since it was clear Katianna already had her claws in his tattoos by the way she demanded, “So act like it. That’s all I… we’re asking.”
Since any confrontation beyond this was unnecessary, I only nodded as I told her, “I got you, boss,” standing up from my seat to ask, “Can I go now?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she replied dismissively, the whole thing making me roll my eyes the second I turned away from her to leave. And as I continued my way towards the parking garage, I pulled out my phone to shoot Ari a text.
“Whew, shit. Kat just went full Nivea on ya girl.” - Selena
By the time I made it to my truck, I had a response.
“Nivea? Like the lotion?” - Ari
“No, fool. The singer. You know, “Don’t Mess With My Man” Nivea.” - Selena
Just the thought of the song had me pulling it up on my phone so I could blast it through the Bluetooth speakers on my drive home, laughing to myself as I sang along with the same conviction I used to sing it with back in the day even though I had no man then - or now.
Damn.
Being a good driver, I waited until I hit a red light to check Ari’s latest message.
“So she actually claimed Dre?” - Ari
“Basically. Accused me of flirting, asked me straight up if I wanted him, told me if I act up, I’ma get smacked up.” - Selena
“SHE SAID THAT?!” - Ari
Because of the light turning green, I didn’t get a chance to respond right away. And apparently that delay built too much anticipation for Ari since, when I finally checked my phone at another red light, I found she’d sent the exact same message again, this time with extra question marks.
“SHE SAID THAT?!?!????” - Ari
“Not that last one. But the first two, yes.” - Selena
“Still wild. I can’t believe she really came at you like that.” - Ari
Honestly, I couldn’t believe it either, the whole thing feeling out of character for Kat who was usually so put together. But then I considered the circumstances, and it all started to make more sense, something I was sure to address when I finally made it home and responded to Ari.
“Girl, I don’t know what his dick did to her. But if a dick makes me act like that… I WANT IT! LMAO just kidding, just kidding.” - Selena
“LOL! You’re definitely not kidding...” - Ari
Leaning against my kitchen island, I keyed an honest reply.
“I am though. Kat’s usually so badass. So for her to come at me on some woman-to-woman shit claiming that it’s only business is kinda wack.” – Selena
“Maybe it really is just business, Selena. I mean, from her perspective, the star player fuckin’ around with the new assistant coach would definitely be bad optics.” - Ari
&n
bsp; Because I knew for a fact we weren’t - and wouldn’t be - fuckin’ around, it was hard for me to see it her way. But after taking a moment to get over myself, I understood it a little better; though that still didn’t stop me from reminding Ari of my theory when I responded.
“And the chairman/owner of the team fuckin’ around with the new assistant coach is somehow better?” - Selena
“Not better. But not as bad as situation A.” - Ari
I hated to admit it, but Ari had a point; especially when I thought about some of the other inter-organization relationships currently happening around the league.
“You’re right. Cause the VP and the head coach up in Minnesota are definitely married with a son and no one cares. Hell, two teammates in Chicago just got married too. So basically all of this could be avoided if I was into women. Maybe I should consider it.” - Selena
“Girl... Goodnight!” - Ari
I thought about sending her the scissors emoji to fuck with her, but decided I’d already gotten on her nerves enough for one night, leaving my phone on the counter as I went to take a long, hot shower then spent another fifteen minutes on my nighttime facial routine since being overseas up until three weeks ago had did a number on my skin. It was really an unfair schedule, playing in the states four months out of the year and then spending another seven playing in a foreign country. But it was what was expected and what kept my bank account happy, so I did what I had to do, luxuriating in the expensive skincare products I was able to afford because of it before calling it a night.
One Last Shot (Nymphs & Trojans Series Book 2) Page 3