Dating: For the Assist

by Stephanie Street

  Mom stared at him for a long time before nodding. “Okay, but please sit down. Both of you.”

  Across the table, our eyes met. My brother. My twin. We’d just been told everything we’d ever believed about our mother was a lie. Luke’s nod was almost imperceptible.

  Luke moved so that he was between Dannika and I. Drew sat on my other side and Mom and Dr. Hines were across from us. I grabbed my brother’s hand.

  “Okay. We’re ready,” I said for the both of us.

  Mom took a deep breath. “The story I told you isn’t true.” She shot Dr. Hines a look before continuing. “I never went to a sperm bank.”

  Dr. Hines dropped his head into his hands. Mom reached out and briefly touched his forearm.

  “When I was in high school, I began dating a boy named Robert Hines. We we dated for two years.” Mom stopped. Dragging in a ragged breath, she closed her eyes for a moment, then focused her gaze on Luke and I as though she couldn’t bear to look at the doctor. “On the night of graduation, we went to a party. I was never one for drinking, but that night I decided to let loose a little. Robert and some of the other boys from he basketball team were playing outside in the driveway at our friends house. I got tired and went upstairs to lie down. I’d been drinking and things were a little fuzzy.” She stopped there and tears filled her eyes.

  I still held onto my brother’s hand, but I needed Drew. He must have sensed it because his arms wrapped around me and held me close. Dr. Hines never took his eyes off my mother, but I could see the pain in his expression.

  “You see, Robert and I were very much in love. So when he came to me in the night, while I was a little surprised,” her voice broke then. “While I was surprised, I didn’t push him away. We’d talked about getting married and well, things happened.”

  “But Mom, you told us-” Luke started to say, appearing just as bewildered as I felt.

  Mom waved her hand. “I just told you that. I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to say. I never was interested in anyone else,” she shot a glance at Dr. Hines. “When you two were younger you were always after me to find a husband, it was the only way to get you off my case about it.”

  Nobody said anything for a moment, but then, Luke blew out a breath. “Well, I for one am so glad to hear that.”

  My eyes bulged, but then we all started laughing. Except Dr. Hines who seemed confused. Mom put her hand back on his arm. “I’ll tell you later.”

  “So, what happened?” Dannika interjected for the first time since we sat down.

  “Well, after-,” Mom cleared her throat, her face full of regret as she turned to Dr. Hines. “Oh, Robert, I’m so sorry. After all these years, I’m just so, so sorry!”

  To our surprise, Dr. Hines wrapped our mother in a tender hug and held her as she cried into his scrubs. “It’s okay. That’s all in the past,” he murmured into her hair, holding her until she regained her composure. Sort of.

  “I’m sorry.” Mom sat up straight and wiped her eyes with a tissue from a box on the table. “It’s just so hard to talk about. Even now, all this time later.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “We were asleep. The door burst open and Robert stood in the doorway.”

  Our mouths fell open again. Drew’s arms tightened around me and I was so thankful for his strength. Luke and Dannika held strong to each other and I was so glad he had her.

  Mom continued. “I looked to the man beside me and it wasn’t Robert. It was his brother. His twin brother, Michael.” Mom stopped then, tears pouring down her cheeks.

  Dr. Hines rested his arm across her shoulders and looked to us. “We were identical. I never knew it but Michael was jealous of my relationship with Bella-”

  “Bella is my first name. Lilly is my middle name,” Mom said through her tears.

  “Anyway, Michael had seen Bella go into the bedroom alone and he knew I was outside with the guys. He took advantage of the situation.” Dr. Hines stopped, his eyes on the table in front of him. “He was my brother and he’d-”

  “It’s okay.” This time it was Drew who spoke up. “I don’t think anyone here doesn’t understand what that meant for you. You don’t have to say it.”

  Dr. Hines cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

  Mom picked up the story again. “As you can imagine, I was heartbroken. I’d betrayed my love without meaning to, but Robert did feel betrayed and, well, we broke up.”

  “We’d all just graduated. I decided to join the Air Force. I needed to get away.”

  “I found out I was pregnant with you two. When I told Michael, he suggested that we get married. Robert was gone, and- well, I agreed.”

  I could tell by the look on his face that Dr. Hines didn’t know this part of the story any more than we did.

  “Michael had enlisted before Robert. They shipped out within days of each other. We’d been married for a week.” Mom paused then, lost in her own thoughts before she went on. “Michael was gone for twelve weeks. When he was finished with basic, he was stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. I went with him. We were only there for a few weeks when he found out he was going to Kosovo. When he left, I went back home to live with my parents. Michael was killed five months later, four weeks before you both were born.”

  Mom had stunned us. She offered a few more details but the bottom line was that Dr. Hines was our uncle and Mom’s first and only love. We would have many more conversations about how things had come to be but for now, we needed a break. And we needed to see how the newest member of our extended family was fairing in his first hour of life.

  Grayson was coming through the double doors leading back to the labor and delivery rooms with a small bundle in his arms just as we emerged from the conference room where we’d been talking. Coach Tillman and Michelle were absent. I figured they were back with Mia while Grayson introduced us to his son.

  Everyone stood at once and converged on Grayson.

  Grinning ear to ear, the new dad turned the bundle so we could all see a tiny, beautiful, red, squishy face topped with a baby blue knit cap.

  “Oh, he’s just beautiful,” Tierney murmured, her eyes filling with tears. Noah smiled as he pulled her close to his side. I was so happy for them, too! In a few months Noah would be the one bringing out a baby to show off to us.

  “Everybody, I’d like to introduce you to Ridge Dennis Levitt.” Grayson couldn’t stop smiling. “Dennis for Mia’s dad and the man who’s been the biggest influence in my life other than my mom. And Ridge for Eastridge Heights, the place where we met and where we have so many memories with our friends. We couldn’t name him after all of you, so we decided on the next best thing.”

  It was perfect.

  29

  Drew

  Six months later

  Pulling out my phone, I sent Piper a text. We’d barely been apart for more than a day since Luke and Dannika’s wedding. Once her season ended, we both flew to Indiana to attend her mom’s wedding. She finally got her happily ever after with Robert. Dannika and Luke came back from Europe in time for the wedding. It had been a small ceremony, fitting for their relationship, but it was beautiful, too. I’d known Lilly for a long time and I’d never seen her look so lovely as she looked in love.

  After the wedding, I’d had to fly out to California. Piper had opted to stay behind to spend some time with her family and our friends while her mom and Robert went on a week long cruise to the Caribbean for their honeymoon. A gift from Piper and I.

  Negotiations had taken longer than I expected, but as of that very day, I played for LA instead of Boston.

  I hadn’t told Piper yet. Our first game was next week against Dallas.

  My plane landed late. A car waited for me at the airport. I gave the driver directions to the neighborhood basketball court. Just as the car pulled up to the curb and I got out, Piper came into view across the grassy field beside the court.

  Her long legs ate up the grass. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as I handed the driver a wad of cash and said, “T
hanks.”

  It was chilly out. I’d worn jeans and a pullover sweater on the plane. Piper had on a pair of jogging pants and an Eastridge Heights sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that swung back and forth as she walked, a basketball wedged between her arm and her side.

  “Hey, hotshot.” She dribbled the ball once she reached the asphalt.

  In two long strides I had her in my arms. “I missed you.”

  Piper laughed. “It was only a couple of days, babe.”

  I buried my face in her neck. “A couple of days too long.” I wasn’t even joking around. I hated being away from Piper. Her season had been difficult enough, but the women’s teams didn’t have as many games as the men’s. The next few six months were going to be hard.

  “How did it go?” She knew why I’d gone to California. Piper’s position on her team was solid. I’d been wanting to get out of Boston for the last two years. LA was the only option for me or I was going to have to stop playing basketball. I could admit I wasn’t ready to do that, but I also wasn’t ready to be so far away from the woman I loved and hoped to make my wife. And I’d never ask her to stop playing.

  “Four years.” I hadn’t wanted to commit to more than that.

  Piper nudged my thigh with her knee.

  I whispered a dollar amount in her ear.

  She pulled away from me, her eyes wide and an incredulous grin pulling at her lips. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded. I’d been a little surprised myself. I was good at my job. I put in the hours practicing and I was a good teammate. LA needed someone like me if they were going to be competitive this season. We’d had a lot of power sitting down at the table with them. I had one of the best agents in the industry. And he got the deal done.

  Piper threw her arms around my neck. “Holy smokes! That’s a lot of money!”

  I had to laugh at her excitement. It was unfair, really. Piper was a great player. Her team won a lot of games and had made it to the semi’s this last season. She didn’t make a fraction of what I made in one year let alone on a four year contract. I hated that for her, but I was glad she could be happy for me. For us. Because the most important team I wanted to be on was the one that consisted of just the two of us. At least, to start.

  “Endorsements will be rolling in. We’ll be rolling in it.” I didn’t really care about the money, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

  Piper’s eyes sparkled. “Wanna play?”

  My eyes got heavy at the flirtatious tone in her voice. “Do you even have to ask?”

  Basketball was still our favorite form of flirting.

  Before long she had me riled up and I knew it was time to call it quits before the neighbors called the cops on us for indecent behavior in a public place. But before we could leave there was just one thing I had to do.

  “Pipe.” I caught her hand in mine.

  Her smile brought me to my knee.

  “Drew?” Her hands found her cheeks as she stared at me.

  Reaching into my pocket, I removed the small square box that I’d been holding onto for a long time. Flipping open the lid, I held it out for her to see the two-carat solitaire. It was simple and bold. A lot like Piper.

  “Piper Hines, I love you. From the moment I first saw you on this very basketball court, you’ve held me captive in the palm of your hand. I can’t go another day without knowing that you’ll be mine for the rest of our lives. Will you marry, Piper? And make me the happiest man alive?”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “Yes!” She nodded. “Yes, I will marry you.”

  Leaping from my knee, I caught her in my arms. “I can’t wait to spend forever with you.” Our lips met in the sweetest kiss yet.

  “Hey! I thought we were going to play some ball?”

  We broke apart at the sound of Luke’s voice. All around us, our friends grinned. Grayson and Mia with little Ridge bundled in his stroller. Noah and Tierney, who was getting bigger every day. Dannika and Luke. Jared and Kara. Kitty and James. Even Lilly and Robert were there.

  Piper turned to me, her cheeks red as tomatoes. “What is everyone doing here? It’s ten o’clock at night!”

  “We’re here to play some basketball!” Noah picked up the ball and tossed it to Piper. “Luke and Piper are captains!”

  Piper tossed me a saucy grin. “Shirts!”

  “Piper chooses first!” Grayson shouted as Mateo and Will jogged up to the court.

  Shaking my head, I gripped the hem of my pullover. It might be October, but we’d keep warm. And there was no way-

  “Jared!” my bride to be called out just as I whipped my shirt over my head.

  Grabbing Piper around the waist, I twirled her around. “I think you just like it when I have to take off my shirt.”

  She threw back her head and laughed. “Took you long enough to figure that out!” And then she kissed me.

  Author’s Note

  If you liked Dating: For the Assist, please consider leaving a review. Author’s love to hear feedback! If you have a comment about structure or typos please contact me via email at stephaniestreetauthor@gmail.com rather than leave a negative comment. I can always revise the manuscript but the negative comment stays forever!!

  Thank you so much for reading my book!

  Best regards,

  Stephanie

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  Also by Stephanie Street

  The Perks Series

  The Perks of Dating You

  The Perks of Hating You

  The Perks of Kissing You

  The Perks of Waiting for You

  Eastridge Heights Basketball Players

  Dating: One on One

  Dating: On the Rebound

  Dating: For the Block

  Dating: For the Block

  Standalone YA Books

  Save Me

  Us at the Beach