"True. But we have practice today. It'll probably be a long one," she advised.
"You have to practice on Saturday?" Jamie sounded absolutely horrified at this development.
"Yep. Especially when we have a Sunday game." Ryan had a chagrined look on her face as she said, "I think the schedule's gonna be pretty tough. Coach Hayes seems like she expects a lot more from us than Coach Placer did."
"I don't like it," Jamie grumbled, "but I guess I don't have a choice. Can I come?" she asked, her voice still cross.
"No, you can't come this afternoon," Ryan said as she started to kiss a wet path from her ear, down past her collarbones, around one perky breast, down to linger at her tempting navel. "But you can definitely come this morning," she growled as she climbed on top of her giggling partner to fulfill her prophesy. "Several times."
When Ryan got home from practice, there was a definite slump to her shoulders.
Jamie looked up from her book and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I went by the volleyball office to check on the NCAA selection results. We didn't make it," she added needlessly.
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry," she said, as she got up and offered a hug.
"Yeah, it kinda sucks. If we were in any other conference, I'm sure we would be in, but they took four PAC-10 schools, and it just looks bad to take half the conference." She unzipped her jacket and started to strip for a shower. "I'm disappointed, but Jordan's gonna be devastated. She needs the exposure for USA Volleyball to see how good she is."
"I think it's so sweet that you are more focused on Jordan's disappointment than your own," Jamie said softly.
"I'd really love to play in a NCAA tournament, so I am disappointed. I know we won't go in basketball, so this was my best chance. But this is Jordan's future. It's a very big deal for her."
"You gonna call her?"
"Yeah. After I take a shower and wash my disappointment down the drain," she said, a half-smile curling up one side of her mouth.
Just after Mass on Sunday, Ryan ran downstairs to change clothes while Jamie helped Martin make brunch. The O'Flaherty kitchen was bigger than the one at the Driscoll house, and since all of the unmarried children now lived together, the newly married couple found themselves automatically drifting into eating their meals with the boys. No one complained, of course, since the boys were more than happy to have a pair of built-in cooks.
A few minutes later Ryan was back in her new "Cal Basketball" warm-ups. The unveiling was a little anticlimactic--the new suit was identical to the old save for the legend, since Adidas was the sponsor of all of the women's athletic teams.
"Ohh, you look so cute," Jamie said fondly, ignoring the fact that only one word had changed.
"I've really gotta go," Ryan said as she looked at her watch. "Is there something I can eat on the run?"
Martin shook his head, but he immediately started to make her an energy shake. He added a couple of spoonfuls of protein powder as the nutritionist had recommended, and Ryan gulped it down without complaint. Jamie went to the cabinet and got out some energy bars that she placed in Ryan's generously sized pockets. "Is that enough to keep you going?"
"Yeah, I think so. I had two bowls of oatmeal before Mass, so this should do it."
"Did you take your vitamins?" the smaller woman asked.
"Yep. Every one-even the big one that makes me gag," she said proudly.
"Okay, you're released," Jamie decided. Martin smiled at his daughter as she kissed her partner goodbye.
"I could have used you around the house when the lass was young, Jamie. You certainly have a way of handling her."
Ryan replied by raising one eyebrow to dangerous heights, causing her father to blush fiercely. "I didn't think that one through," he admitted.
The mostly completed Haas Pavilion was the site of the game, and Jamie was excited to see the new building. The men's team had, of course, received the honor of opening the gym, but there was still a little excitement for the first women's game. She was pleased to see a decent crowd streaming into the venue, but quickly realized that there were problems at the gate that made the crowd seem bigger than it was.
Even though the court had been ready for some time, and the offices an even longer time, the staff had not been properly trained or equipped to deal with a crowd, and it took almost fifteen minutes to finally enter the building.
Because most of the O'Flahertys had attended the volleyball game the night before, many of them decided to skip today, since Ryan warned she would not play much, if at all.
Catherine, however, was right on-time as usual. She found Martin, Maeve, Caitlin, Conor, Brendan, Rory and Jamie without too much trouble, and she looked around excitedly while the band played. "This is very lively, isn't it?"
"Yeah, there's more excitement about basketball than there usually is for volleyball. It's kinda cool to have the whole band here."
"Don't forget the full complement of cheerleaders," Conor added with semi-lecherous grin.
Jamie was shocked but enormously pleased when she turned around in response to a tap on her shoulder to find Jordan, Mia, and the entire volleyball squad grinning down at her. "You are so sweet!" she cried as she hopped up and hugged each woman. They all knew Martin, Maeve, Brendan and Catherine by now, and most of the girls had been chatted up by Conor, but Rory was a new face to many of them. Jamie made the introductions as the team grabbed the empty row right behind them.
Turning around, Jamie patted as many legs as she could reach and said, "I'm really sorry you guys didn't get the NCAA bid. You deserved it."
The women mumbled their thanks, obviously not in the mood to talk about the disappointing news.
The teams came out to warm up just as the spectators got settled. They were wearing a different type of navy blue warm-up outfit, and Conor told Jamie they were practice warm-ups. He explained that there were snaps all the way down both legs so they could be ripped off without trying to get them over their shoes.
Mia was sitting right behind Jamie, and she leaned over and said, "She looks pretty cute in that outfit."
"Yeah, she does," Jamie agreed. The solid color and roomy cut made Ryan look even bigger than normal, and Jamie was always in favor of more of her lover--even if it was an optical illusion.
As game time drew near, the cheerleaders took the floor and stood at attention as the band played the Star Spangled Banner. Introductions began for the visiting University of Nevada, and Catherine commented that they were distinctly perfunctory. The announcer reported each starting player's name, class, height and her hometown, but he did so in a near monotone.
As soon as their introductions were finished, the cheerleaders formed a long phalanx that the players would run through to reach the middle of the court. Now the announcer came to life, as he intoned dramatically, "And now…your University of California Goooolden Bears!!" The crowd cheered heartily as he began to introduce each of the players. He called out each of the players by number with the reserves introduced first. Since Ryan wasn't a starter, and she had the lowest number, she was called first. "A 6 foot 3inch senior forward from San Francisco, California…Number 5…Ryan O'Flaaaa-her-ty."
Martin shot Jamie a smile as he asked, "Is that the same announcer from volleyball?"
"Yep," she replied as she spotted the red haired man at the scorer's table. Ryan's personal rooting section got to their feet and cheered loudly. The volleyball team chanted "Boomer…Boomer…Boomer," until Ryan looked up and gave them a tiny wave.
Jamie had not met any of the basketball players yet, and Ryan didn't have much to say about them since she had been working almost exclusively with Lynette to get ready to play. Jamie noticed that there were only two people taller than Ryan, a very large black woman named Janae Harris from Inglewood, California, and a woman with a tongue-twisting, unpronounceable name from Croatia.
The starting players ripped off their warm-ups, and Jamie laughed when she heard the gasp that came from her mother as she spied
the uniforms for the first time. "Oh my!" she muttered. "That is the most unfortunate outfit I've ever seen."
Jamie had to admit that the uniforms were dreadful. They were the very bright gold that normally accented the navy blue of most of the Cal gear. Gold was a fine color as an accent, but a little bright gold goes a very long way, and these uniforms were past any reasonable limit. Jamie mused that very few people looked good in gold, and it was clear that only the darkest black women on the team could pull it off. Unfortunately, only three members of the team were very dark skinned, so the rest of them were doomed to look jaundiced for the rest of the season.
Ignoring the color, which was very hard to do, the cut of the uniforms was absolutely horrid. It looked like the uniforms of the Golden State Warriors had been delivered by mistake, but the team had decided to wear them anyway. Most of the players had their shirts hanging out over their shorts, and it looked as though they were men's jerseys, since the tails were quite tight around the women's hips. But as bad as the shirts were, it was the shorts that were the true tragedy. If a woman had a 30-inch waist, it looked as though she wore a 40-inch pair of shorts. They were so outrageously baggy that they would have been comical, if they weren't so dreadfully unattractive.
As tip-off drew near, the starters pulled their jerseys down as far as they could go, then they pulled their pants down very low on their hips. Next they pulled the jerseys out until they bloused down over the wide waistband of the shorts. After another bout of tugging the shorts down, they were set, until they had to run or jump--which necessitated another round of adjustments.
Mia leaned over and whispered to Jamie, "You have to make her quit this team! She could ruin her whole reputation if she's seen in that monstrosity!"
"Maybe she doesn't look as bad in hers," she said weakly, almost afraid to have Ryan take off her warm-ups.
Once she was over the shock of the uniforms, Jamie paid attention and really began to get into the game. She had spent a lot of time in football stadiums when she was growing up, but her father wasn't a big basketball fan, so she wasn't either. It was enjoyable and educational to have the volleyball team behind them, since many of the girls had played basketball in high school, and they knew a lot about the game. They also provided contagious enthusiasm as they cheered wildly for each play.
The band was located in the section right next to theirs, and Jamie noticed that the drummers rapped their sticks on the rim of their instruments every time Cal scored a point. They began to anticipate the noise, and after a few minutes the volleyball team began to chant with the drummers when a point was scored. After the first three-pointer they all cried, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" as the drums rapped out the crisp staccato.
Cal was clearly the superior team, and by halftime they were leading by 15. Ryan did not play, as predicted, but Jamie noticed that she was very intent on watching the game. She sat next to Lynette, and Jamie noticed that she talked to the coach incessantly.
The second half began in the same lop-sided fashion that the first half had presaged, and with five minutes left Cal was leading by 25. The woman from Croatia hit the floor hard while fighting for a rebound, and after the trainer checked her out, Coach Hayes sent her to the bench. Jamie saw the coach turn and point to Ryan, and the O'Flaherty rooting section went wild as she stood up and shucked her warm-ups. The girls shouted "Boomer, Boomer" until time was called and she ran onto the court.
Much to Jamie's disappointment, Ryan looked a little worse than her teammates did. Her golden tanned skin was singularly unsuited to the garish gold color, each being just exactly the wrong shade to compliment the other. Her weight loss made her look absolutely lost in the huge uniform, hiding every attractive element of her lovely body. As Jamie stared at her partner in puzzlement, Mia leaned over and pointed out the missing ingredient. "Where are her breasts?" she whispered.
"I don't know," Jamie murmured. "I'm certain that they were there this morning…"
She wasn't sure how her lover had accomplished it, but her breasts were practically non-existent in the colossal jersey. And given that the shorts hid every hint of her hips and rounded butt, she had to admit that every ounce of her sex appeal was very well hidden. Oh well, at least Ms. Oski bear will stop hitting on her, she mused. Once her shock at seeing the uniform had passed, Jamie allowed her eyes to roam down and notice that Ryan wore black high-top basketball shoes with short black socks that barely showed above the ankle, a look that Jamie fervently hoped Ryan did not copy when in civilian clothes. The tall woman reached into her sports bra and extracted a mouth guard, and as she slipped it into her mouth, Jamie noticed that it was a bright blue color. Oh, that will help, honey. Blue teeth are just the right touch!
Even though Ryan didn't look hot, she played hot. Cal played an aggressive style of man-to-man defense, and Ryan played her opponent so tight that they could have both gotten into the same mammoth uniform together. She was obviously annoying the poor woman, as the overmatched player tried in vain to get away from the pressure. Her opponent wasn't a very good ball handler, and she was obviously surprised when she tried to hold the ball above her head to make a pass, and Ryan jumped in the air and smashed the ball from her hands. The volleyball team started yelling, "Spike, spike, spike!" as the ball skittered across the floor and landed in the hands of Cal's point guard. Ryan took off for their basket as soon as she slapped the ball away, and two passes later her teammate fed her the ball for her first two points-an uncontested lay-up. As Ryan ran back up the court she couldn't keep the smile off her face, while she pointed dramatically at the teammate who passed the ball to her as the announcer called out. "Ryan O'Flaaa-her-ty. Thank you, Amy Sumitomo."
Coach Hayes left Ryan in for the rest of the game, and even Catherine could tell that she caused the intensity of the game to increase measurably. "She's quite the little fireball," she mused as she smiled at Jamie. "Would it be terribly rude to see if you could have that outfit tailored for her?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea," she replied, wrinkling up her nose. "Although the fashion police should be handing out fistfuls of citations today."
"Well, ask her to make sure that any photos they take of her will be from the neck up-and with white teeth," she added, giving Jamie a wink.
Ryan was not given many more scoring opportunities, but she was a potent force on defense. Her lightning-quick body was a blur as she flew around the court, and she managed to block two shots and snag two rebounds in her limited play. Just before the buzzer, she had the ball, and Jamie could see her dart a glance down for the three-point line. She dribbled back a foot and launched a beautiful shot that flew through the hoop as she was fouled. "Four point play!" her rooting section cried as Ryan went to the free-throw line. She went through the same routine that Jamie had seen the day Ryan had tried out, but Ryan added one little twist. Using her index finger, she made a quick X over her heart, then concentrated and lofted the ball cleanly through the net.
The final score was 99-69, and somehow Ryan's gaze landed on her partner as soon as the buzzer sounded and she threw Jamie a blown kiss.
As the announcer summarized the game totals, he once again went through Nevada's numbers perfunctorily. When he announced the totals for Cal, the band got involved once again by rapping out the point totals for each player. Even though she had only played a few minutes, after Ryan's name was called the drums banged out six thumps. "Well done, eh, Jamie?" Martin asked.
"Mighty!" she agreed with a big grin.
Since Jamie had the team all together, she said, "We're having a big party on Tuesday after your last game, guys. Bring dates or friends, or family, if you want. Thanksgiving break starts the next day, so you've got no excuses!"
Jamie was waiting right outside the locker room holding a squirming Caitlin when Ryan emerged. "My two favorite girls!" the dark woman smiled, accepting the lunging baby.
"You did so good," Jamie enthused. "You're gonna be starting in no time!"
"Thanks," she said
with a shy grin that charmed Jamie to the core. "Hey, did you see the sign I gave you?"
"When you were shooting free throws?" Jamie asked. "I saw it, but I'm not sure I understood it."
"I made a little X over my heart," she smiled. "You know, like the sign for a kiss."
"Ooo, you're such a sweetheart. Were you born so cute, or do you just keep getting cuter all the time?"
"Mmm," Ryan paused to consider the question. "I think it's an ongoing process. I don't think I'm done yet, either. There's plenty of unexplored cuteness for you to tap into."
"Now that's something to look forward to," Jamie decided.
"You know, you didn't comment yet, Jamers. Did you like our outfits?" she asked with an innocent smile.
"Um, they were very, very…bright," she replied, believing in the maxim 'if you can't say something nice…'
Ryan tossed her head back and laughed at Jamie's faltering tries to compliment her. "I know they're dreadful," she admitted, "but that's how the rest of the team likes to wear them, so I don't really have a choice."
"Well, the uniforms are bad enough, but where did your breasts go?"
"I can't stand to have them bouncing around, so I wear a sports bra that's one size too small, and then a compression top over that."
"Well, it was very effective," she chided her. "I couldn't see one inch of movement from any of your body parts."
"I'm sorry you don't get to see jiggling," she said as she wrapped her arm around her partner to go find the rest of the family.
"Me too," she whined. "Now I'm gonna have to actually watch the game!"
On the way back home, Jamie asked, "Did you have a meeting after the game?" She sniffed delicately and teased, "You sure as heck didn't take a shower."
"Yeah," Ryan smiled. "Coach likes to review the game as soon as it's over. Then at the next practice she goes over it in detail…minute detail, from what I've heard. We did get a little good news, though."
"What's that?"
"We can all go to the airport on our own on Thanksgiving. Apparently, she likes the team to travel together on the bus, but since so many of us will be with our families on Thursday, she's not going to make us come to Berkeley first."
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