“And in his first season at Eastridge Heights, starting at Forward, a Junior, number 22, Drew Tho-mpson!”
Taking a deep breath, I ran under the outstretched arms of my teammates and met the officials with damp handshake and a polite smile, which I hoped covered up my nervousness, but I doubted it.
Finally, I was beside Mateo and we waited for the announcer to introduce, “Starting at Center, a Senior, number 45, A.J. Bradsh-aaaw!”
And it was done. We circled up at mid-court, put our hands in the middle and yelled ‘Team!’ before making our way to the bench for last minute instructions from the Coach.
“Thompson, you’re gonna tip-off. Noah, be ready.”
I nodded. I would tip-off since I was taller than A.J. and had a much higher vertical. I knew the compromise to getting to play the more versatile role of forward meant being willing to help out where the team needed me. I’d be snagging my fair share of rebounds as well.
Kicking my heels up to wipe the soles of my shoes on my hands, I got into position and the world faded away. It was just me, my team, and the ball.
The whistle blew and I jumped.
It was thirty seconds until half-time. Eastridge had the ball. Noah dribbled slowly, pointing with his other hand to guide the rest of us where he wanted us to go. I knew what he was doing. We’d practiced this move all summer long. Coach hadn’t seen it yet and it would send us into the locker room with a bang. I ran to the left wing. A.J. paused at the top of key. Jared drew the defense away from the basket.
Noah passed the ball to A.J. and I ran in to catch the alley-oop, slamming the ball through the hoop in a backwards dunk. The buzzer sounded announcing the end of the half, but no one could hear it over the roar of the crowd.
“Yeeee-ah!” Noah jumped a foot and a half off the ground and punched the air before pouncing on me. I was surrounded by all my teammates who’d jumped off the bench.
“Andrew, what brought you to Indiana?”
A camera snapped in my face.
“Andrew-”
“Andrew, why’d you leave Colorado?”
“Are you at Eastridge Heights because of your father’s friendship with Coach Tillman?”
Cameras snapped everywhere.
“Andrew, did you know, you’re already the top candidate for Indiana’s Mr. Basketball?”
“Holy shit, Drew, what is going on?” Luke asked, eyes wide as he took in the media mayhem I never expected to follow me from Colorado.
“Dude, get me out of here.”
Luke must have seen the panic on my face because he nodded. “Right. Guys let’s get to the locker room.”
The team surrounded me, pushing through the crowd on the court. The on-duty security began pushing the crowd off the court. Glancing into the stands, I easily spotted my family. My dad stood, rooted to the spot, watching the circus with surprise. Mom held onto his arm, her expression just as stunned. Kittie hid behind them both.
Dad met my angry gaze. His brows rose almost to his hairline as he shook his head, signing It wasn’t me.
Shaking my head, I ducked into the locker room and headed straight for a bathroom stall.
Damn.
Piper
What was happening? I’d been watching the game when the space at the end of the basketball court began filling with reporters, their cameras flashing and microphones poised. The gym erupted when Drew dunked the ball and the buzzer announced the end of the half. The reporters flooded the court despite the efforts of security who was not at all prepared to deal with that kind of mob.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying or what questions they were asking, but it was obvious they were trying to get to Drew. Why would every newspaper and news station in Central Indiana be interested in Drew? He’d never played a single game in this state. He didn’t even commit to playing until a two weeks ago.
What was going on?
“I Googled him. His name is Andrew Thompson.” To my right was Miranda. She was surrounded by her usual groupies. I wanted to punch her in the face for even saying Drew’s name, but I was too anxious to hear what she had to say. “It says here, two years ago he was the only freshman to ever be voted Colorado’s Mr. Basketball.” She was reading from an article on her phone.
What?
I felt dizzy. Short of breath. Without knowing where I was going, I raced from the crowded gym. Before I knew it, I stood in a back hall near a rear exit to the boy’s locker room. I wanted to see him. And almost as much as I wanted to see him, I wanted to know the truth.
I pulled out my phone and typed ‘Andrew Thompson’ into the browser. Several articles popped up, he even had his own Wiki-pedia. I tapped on the screen.
Andrew Thompson
Born February 13, 2001
Parents Charles and Celestine Thompson
Siblings (1) Mary
Andrew Thompson was born in Fort Collins, CO. His freshman year of high school, he started varsity for Fort Collins High School. Andrew was the highest scoring player in the state and was voted unanimously by a panel of Coaches as Colorado’s Mr. Basketball.
During Andrew’s sophomore season, he began where he left off as a freshman, continuing to outscore his opponents, and leading his team to their first State Championship win in school history. In unprecedented fashion, Thompson was voted Mr. Basketball for a second consecutive season, another first for Colorado. Media attention and pressure from college recruiters forced the Thompson family to lock down on security in their upscale home in Fort Collins and after winning the Championship, Andrew finished his sophomore year through correspondence.
I stopped there. I didn’t need to know anymore.
“Piper.”
He materialized out of nowhere. I braced myself to face him, taking a deep breath.
“Drew. Or should I call you Andrew?”
He recoiled at the accusation in my tone. But I couldn’t help it. I thought I could trust him.
“I thought I could trust you.” I held up my phone and his eyes flicked to the article still displayed on the screen.
A muscle jerked in his jaw as the almost panicked look in his eyes turned to hardened indifference.
“Right.” He spun on his heel and walked away without another word.
With my mouth hanging open, I watched him, debating whether to follow him or not. He burst through the locker room door with so much force, the sound echoed down the hall and I wondered how it didn’t break off its hinges.
That took care of the follow or not to follow debate.
“Argh!”
Spinning around, I marched back into the gym, filled with righteous indignation. How did he have the right to be angry with me? I wasn’t the one lying about my identity. My past. Or the fact that I was the most sought-after Men’s Basketball player in the nation! Why would he lie about that? Had he just been messing around all along? Why would he say he wasn’t going to play? He’d been adamant about it!
And then he just changed his mind! It didn’t make any sense. He said it was because of me, but was that just an excuse? And why didn’t he want to play in the first place? If he was as good as the article said he was, why wasn’t he the first one out there playing on the only stage that would get him noticed, or more noticed, by scouts?
Back in the gym security had managed to get the media under control. The court was clear and the opposing team was already shooting around. The timer counting down to the start of the third quarter had two minutes left, but the Eastridge Heights team was still in the locker room. I could only imagine the conversations going on right now. Surely, Drew, or Andrew, had some explaining to do. For myself, I was dying to talk to Luke about what I’d learned- and to hear what happened in the locker room with the guys.
The crowd began cheering when the team emerged from the locker room. For his part, Drew kept his head down during shoot-arounds. I was sitting in the same spot I had been earlier, when he’d caught my eye more than once, but he didn’t glance my way even once. My heart hu
rt.
Drew had scored twenty-five points in the first half with eleven rebounds and nine assists. He was one assist away from a triple-double and the second half hadn’t even started yet. Eastridge Heights was ahead 55-37 and Drew was back at center court for the tip off.
It was hard, even with the revelations at half-time, to be distracted from watching them play. Where our team had been good before, solid contenders for the State Championship, now they played like they’d been playing together for decades. Drew made them better and, not that I had anything to judge against, but I think they made him better, too. In the end, the Bulldogs won 106-89. As soon as the play clock ticked down to zero, Drew was off the court, once again with his head down as he headed straight for the locker room.
The gym was slow to empty. I stayed in the stands. Mom had come to cheer us on, sitting with a group of other parents. She’d given me a hug and a congratulations before heading home. I was going to wait for Luke.
Coach Tillman followed his team into the locker room but was quickly back out on the court to answer questions from the news stations. People were interested in finding out what all the hype was about and so they stayed to listen to the Q&A which was plugged into the PA system so everyone could hear.
“Coach Tillman, is it true Andrew Thompson from Fort Collins, Colorado has joined your team?”
“Yeah, Drew came to me a couple of weeks ago and said he wanted to play for the team and we’re real glad to have him,” Coach answered.
“I bet you are. You say he didn’t commit to playing until a couple of weeks ago? Is there a reason for that?”
Coach shook his head. “All I know is in our previous conversations, Drew wasn’t going to play. When we talked a couple of weeks ago, he didn’t give me a reason one way or the other and let me tell you, I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I wasn’t worried about his reasons.”
“And do you know what brought the Thompson’s from Colorado?”
“You’ll have to talk to the family. I don’t know the answer to that.”
The reporter asked a few more questions, but nothing was revealed that I didn’t already know.
A few of the guys were out in the hall, bypassing the gym and all the chaos. Luke walked by the door and I hurried out to meet him. I scanned the crowd for Drew, but didn’t see him and he was hard to miss.
“You ready to go?” Luke snagged my arm when I would have walked passed him because I was looking over my shoulder instead of where I was going.
“Oh, yeah. I am. Let’s go.” Each with gym bags over our shoulders, we exited the school. The parking lot was busy with people leaving but we’d parked in the student section, furthest from the main doors. Trying to not be obvious, I glanced in the direction of Drew’s usual spot for his car.
“He’s gone already.”
“Oh, it’s okay.” I shrugged, a nervous pit weighing in my stomach. “Did he say anything to you?”
“You mean about that fact that he was more upset when he came back from looking for you than he did when he left? No.” Luke’s voice was tight with anger.
“What is your deal, Luke? He lied to us! All of us.” I yanked on the strap to his bag and pulled him to a stop.
“So, he hid some details about his past, Piper. Big deal. Have you told him everything there is to know about you?”
“All the big stuff I have! And I never deliberately kept anything from him!”
“You don’t know what he’s been through, Piper. You don’t know where he’s coming from. Did you even give him a chance to tell you?”
His words brought me up short. He was right about that, but that didn’t make it all fine. “I suppose he told you?”
“No, but he’s my friend and I trust him. The guy was by my side beating the shit out of Jack Fawcett to save you! I don’t care what skeletons he has in his closet; Drew Thompson is my friend for life for that.” Luke jerked his bag out of my hand and headed toward the Jeep. “I can’t believe how easily you forgot.”
Chapter 29
Piper
Ugh. Why did he have to be right? Damn Luke! I couldn’t sleep. I’d been tossing and turning for hours after the game. It had been a quiet ride home and it sucked being at the disapproving end of Luke.
And Drew. Everything Luke said was true. I’d let my own insecurities blind me to what I knew about Drew. The anxiety and worry over how I might be able to fix this was keeping me from being able to get comfortable.
I’d texted Drew so many times. Asking, no begging him to talk to me. Apologizing for being rash. Admitting he was the better person in our relationship. He was the strong one and I’d been weak.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to go to our basketball court. I couldn’t even think of it as belonging to the neighborhood, it was ours. Mine and Drew’s.
I’m going to the basketball court. I don’t know if you will come and talk to me, but I’ll be waiting just in case.
He responded almost immediately.
Don’t go anywhere by yourself in the dark!
It lifted my spirits that he cared enough to be worried about me.
I can’t sleep. I can’t think. I have to go.
It took him a little longer to respond this time. I used it to throw on a pair of sweats and a hoodie and to slip into a pair of toe socks and flip-flops. By the time I was ready to leave, my phone dinged again.
Don’t go. I will pick you up in five. I’m already pulling out of my driveway.
I wouldn’t leave, but I couldn’t rest, either. Instead, I quietly made my way out the door onto the front porch and paced. And prayed Mom and Luke wouldn’t wake up to find me missing.
Almost exactly five minutes later, Drew’s car pulled up in front of my house and after a split-second hesitation, I ran out and jumped in.
As soon as my door closed, he zipped away from the curb and headed away from my neighborhood. It was cold out and I was thankful his heater was turned up full blast. It hadn’t snowed yet, but I felt like it was in the air.
Drew didn’t say a word as he drove. He didn’t even look at me and I was afraid I was going to be sick. Was it just last night that we’d kissed on the basketball court and he’d asked me to be his girlfriend? How could things have gone so wrong so quickly?
He drove until we were surrounded by empty fields, away from the lights of the city. Finally, he pulled off the road. We weren’t far from home, but we were well away from anything else except a few farm houses and an abandoned barn. After throwing his car into park, Drew pushed his door open and got out. He slammed it shut so hard, it made my ears hurt.
I waited, not knowing if it was a good idea to approach him yet. His shoulders heaved as he struggled to control his emotions. I wanted to go to him. To comfort him. I didn’t have to wait long. Drew turned to face me through the windshield. The pain in his eyes propelled me out of my seat and around the car until I was in his arms.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I whispered over and over as he crushed me to him. I kissed every part of his face and neck that wasn’t hidden in my hair and neck.
“Pipe, I didn’t want to lie. I was going to talk to you about it.” His voice was gruff with emotion.
“I should have listened earlier. It threw me off and I didn’t handle it well-” I needed to see him. I needed to look into his eyes. Gripping his face in my hands, I lifted his chin off my shoulder.
“I’m sorry for not trusting you.”
His blue eyes found mine and held.
“You’ve been there for me and when you needed me, I let you down.” I was sick about it.
Drew sighed, his body sagging like he just couldn’t keep it upright. He grabbed my hand and led me to his car. He leaned back against the side, bracing his feet wide before pulling me close to his chest.
“I forgive you. But I need your forgiveness, too. I should have talked to you.” He shook his head. “I’ve wanted to tell you everything, but there were a lot of things standing in the
way. The biggest being my own insecurities and inability to trust. But I don’t want to be like that anymore. I promise you, when I went to Jack’s house and saw you there-” His voice cracked and he paused to clear his throat a couple of times. “When I saw you there, it changed me, Piper. Deep in me, I changed. And it was because I realized I love you.”
What?
I would have stumbled to the ground, but his arms held me up. Did Drew Thompson just tell me he loved me? I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I wasn’t sure I wanted to. Wasn’t sure I wanted to get my hopes up.
“Did you just say what I think you just said? Because if you didn’t just say that, I don’t know-”
He interrupted me with a kiss, his lips curved up in a smile. “I did say it.”
“Well, do you think you could say it again. Please.”
He laughed outright at that, but then he framed my face in his strong hands and his eyes studied my face like he never wanted to forget it. “I love you, Piper.”
“Oh. Wow.” I was melting. “I wasn’t expecting that.”
Drew huffed. “I was hoping you’d have a better reaction, to be honest.”
That gave me pause. I stopped thinking about my own reaction to his declaration and considered what he must be feeling. It had been so easy for me to think he was above me, that I was the one who was lucky to have him, and it was true, but the vulnerable look in his eyes told me that maybe he felt lucky to have me, too.
“Are you kidding me,” I breathed. “You are my knight in shining armor. I thought it was a given. Of course, I love you. How could I not?”
“Piper,” he groaned, folding me into his arms.
We had more to discuss, but that could wait. We had more important things to do and we did.
Dating: One on One: Eastridge Heights Basketball Book 1 Page 18