Falling in Fast

by Danielle Arie

  Waverlee’s eyes bulged as Coach came over with his tablet set to the image of a basketball court and started illustrating a play.

  “We’re going for the outside game at the start, ladies. Hit those threes hard, and we’ll switch back to an inside game in the second quarter.”

  Bella nodded, green eyes narrowed into slits. “Are you calling the plays, or am I?” she asked Coach.

  He nodded. “It’s your call tonight, kid. I want to see you orchestrate. Everyone else be on the lookout. These girls are known for playing dirty. We’re going zone for defense.”

  We stretched our arms in.

  “Eagles on three,” Bella shouted. “One, two, three—”

  “Eagles!”

  We set up around center court for the tip off, and Waverlee shook hands with the tallest girl on their team, bending her knees as the ref lowered the ball between them.

  He tossed it straight up. Waverlee and her opponent jumped for it, her opponent tipping it out to their guard before Waverlee could get her hands on it.

  “Back on ‘D’! Back on ‘D’!” Bella shouted.

  We hustled to the Valley Pacific side, and set up in our zone —three guards around the perimeter of the three-point line, forwards taking anything that came through the key.

  My heart pounded as the ball went from one side of the three-point line to the other. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to break formation to go after it.

  But Coach was the boss, and this is what he wanted.

  The guard in front of me got the ball and my blood rushed through my veins.

  “Ball! Ball! Ball!” I shouted, getting all up in her space.

  She tried to dribble past me, but Waverlee came up to double-team her and she tried a bounce pass on my left side. I swept my hand in her path, knocking the ball off its course, and into the space behind her.

  “Go, Hudson!” Coach yelled.

  I hustled around her and got to the ball first, dribbling it all the way to the opposite hoop, breaths pounding through my lungs like thunder.

  “Stop her!” their coach yelled behind me, but I was already mid-layup, and there was no stopping me now.

  The ball rolled off my fingertips as someone shoved me from behind, knocking my feet out from beneath me, and the whole crowd gasped.

  It was like I was falling in slow motion on the way back down. The only option was to stick my arms out to break the fall, or land straight on my back. There wasn’t enough time to decide. My left arm met the ground with a sharp crack and a searing pain that shot from my elbow to my shoulder in a cycle. My vision blurred.

  -Tucker-

  A collective gasp sounded around me as the ref blew the whistle. Emery rolled over, writhing in pain.

  June grabbed my arm. “Tucker?”

  I swallowed, shaking my head. “Come on, Emery,” I whispered, but she didn’t get up. The trainer ran over from the sidelines, setting a hand on her back as she crouched beside her to assess her injury. She turned to the paramedics by the entrance and waved them in. They ran to grab their stretcher and moved her onto it, strapping her arm to her body as they flashed a light in her eyes and rolled her out, the crowd standing in applause.

  I couldn’t take it. “Sorry guys,” I said, to June and Philly as I stood and darted down the bleachers, throwing all of my doubts to the wayside. I followed the paramedics out and ran to my truck, starting it up and following the ambulance to the hospital.

  I parked it in the lot and ran into the Emergency room, asking about Emery.

  “And you are?” the woman behind the counter asked.

  “Her boyfriend.” If she hated the idea, she could be mad at me later. “Name’s Tucker Garcia.”

  The woman behind the counter nodded toward the lobby. “Find a seat and we’ll call you back when they’re ready.”

  I followed her instructions, my phone blowing up with a million texts from June.

  I texted her back and set my phone down, trying to calm the mania, but this was bad. I had to know how she was doing.

  Help her, God.

  I prayed it like a chant, because it was the only thing I could do. Walker texted next. I texted him back, and waited longer.

  “Tucker Garcia?” a nurse called from the doors leading to the Emergency room.

  I stood, nodding.

  “Right this way.” I followed her through the doors and she glanced at me over her shoulder. “Your girlfriend just got moved back to OR for emergency surgery.” She stopped at the elevator, pressing the button by the door. “Floor 2. There’s a waiting room to the left.

  Surgery?

  Dang, this wasn’t just bad. This was major. I waited on the second floor, wondering what this meant for her career. How she’d function if she couldn’t play the same again.

  She’d be crushed.

  The thought killed me. I tried to push it away. Injuries like this happened all the time. Athletes were the ones that defined their comebacks, and Emery was one of the most determined athletes I knew.

  And, I loved her. I’d help her however I could.

  Wait.

  I loved her.

  Dang. That thought scared me to my core, but it was true. I loved Emery and I’d do whatever it took to prove it.

  THIRTY-FIVE

  -Emery-

  “Hi Emery,” a nurse said, hovering over me with a bright smile. Something beeped on a cycle behind her, the ceiling tiles above her head blurring and coming back into focus. My left arm felt like a dead weight. “Your surgery went well. We’re going to keep you back here in recovery for a few hours just to make sure your body’s responding the way we want it to, okay?”

  I tried to nod, but it felt like I was on a ship in the middle of an ocean, tilting and falling with the swells. “Okay,” I said, my voice more of a croak than anything else.

  “Perfect.” She lowered her mask and nodded toward the curtain at the foot of my bed. “Your boyfriend’s right outside this curtain waiting to see you. I’ll go get him.”

  I tried to swallow, blinked a couple of times, and frowned. “My boyfriend?”

  She nodded, a knowing glint in her brown eyes. “He’s a cutie.”

  I blinked again, my eyelids sticking closed every time I did. At some point, I let them stay that way.

  When I opened my eyes again, Tucker was in the chair next to my bed, one warm hand covering mine, the other clicking through channels on the TV.

  I wasn’t sure what form of meds they had me on, but I could definitely live with these ones if it meant I got to see Tucker like this.

  “Boo,” I said, grinning as I waited for his image to disappear.

  He jumped instead, returning my smile as he shifted in his seat to face me.

  That was weird.

  “Hey, Superstar. How’re you feeling?” His thumb ran in patterns across the back of my skin, and he felt so real, and he smelled so real, too . . . I was afraid if I answered him, he’d disappear.

  I had to figure out if he was real first, so, I slid my hand out from beneath his and reached to touch his nose. “Boop.”

  He laughed and grabbed my hand again, drawing it to his lips. But they didn’t feel stiff or cold. They felt warm, and soft, and real.

  I frowned.

  “Sorry. I should’ve asked before I did that.” Some of the light in his eyes faded. “I probably should’ve asked before I came back here, too, but I couldn’t handle not knowing if you were okay.”

  What was he saying? It didn’t make sense. “But, you’re in Bridgeport right now . . . ”

  His eyes searched my face and he shook his head. “I came to your game tonight. I was planning to surprise you after. Ask you if you’d still want to try and make it work. But when you went down and they wheeled you off . . .”

  Wait. Was this the real Tucker?

  “I realized I couldn’t breathe until I saw you again.” His eyes glossed and he cleared his throat, back to tracing patterns over the back of my hand. “I realized I w
ant you more than anything, Emery. And I do. I want this. I want us.”

  Everything cold in my body heated at those words, and maybe it was the overhead fan making my eyes sting, but I had a sneaking suspicion it was the sports-ad hottie sitting next to me, and everything he was saying.

  “I mean, if you’re still in—”

  “I’m in,” I said, past the burn in my throat.

  Please, God. Let this be reality.

  He blew a heavy breath, perfect smile widening as he stood and stooped over me, crouching down until his lips brushed mine, warm, and tender, and more than addicting, and I knew.

  This thing between us was more real than anything I’d ever had in my life.

  EPILOGUE

  -Emery-

  The season’s change at Bridgeport was indescribable. Magentas and golds popped in the treetops around campus, like a private, autumn kaleidoscope. The chilled breeze rustled through the leaves, and I pulled my scarf tighter, waiting on the women’s lodge porch for Tucker.

  He’d kill me if I walked down to breakfast without him. I couldn’t imagine being without him ever again.

  The past couple months had been beyond amazing. Everything in Tucker’s life seemed to have mellowed out, and his family was on the mend. I’d even had the chance to meet his parents a few weeks ago. I couldn’t help but melt at the hope in his eyes when he looked at them, and the hope in theirs when they looked at each other.

  He met my family, too. The first time was in the hospital. He met the whole crazy bunch. My brothers were over-the-top hard on him, but he handled it like a pro. He was at my house to visit every weekend while I recovered from my surgery, and he made my gimpy nineteenth birthday so much better than it would have been without him.

  Coach gave me a fight when I told him my plans had changed. But when I showed him the stiffness in my elbow after the cast came off, and the hitch it put in my game, he understood. It would take me at least another six months to get back to where I was before, and I didn’t have the heart to get there anymore. Not when I knew what I was meant to do.

  When I told Pastor Gregg about my dream to run a basketball clinic for at-risk kids during summer camps, he recommended the new ministry training program, and encouraged me to talk to him again after I was through.

  Mom didn’t talk to me for three days after I told her I’d quit the team. Dad was disappointed, but when I told him about Walker, and my plans to run the basketball clinic, and hopefully get a counseling certification too, he got that proud-dad glow in his eyes and told me he was behind me all the way. Mom came around when I explained that I was positive I was doing the right thing. That this dream had been burning in my heart for a while, I just didn’t know what it meant until the injury. Now that I knew, my mind couldn’t be changed for anything.

  I came up to Bridgeport the second my doctor said go.

  “Hey.” Tucker’s voice hit my ears and his boots scuffed the cement as he walked the path up to my porch, hands stuffed inside his pockets, strong body hunched against the chill.

  I grinned and rose to meet him, pulling my backpack over my shoulders as I drew a deep breath. As much as he smiled at me, you would think I would get tired of it by now. But my heart still did that cliché middle school swoony thing every time his lips hitched at the corners.

  “Hey,” I said, and he opened his arms. I stepped inside, breathing him deep, savoring the spicy smell of his cologne and the warmth of his grasp.

  “Did you sleep okay?” he asked, rubbing my shoulders.

  I let out a nervous breath. “Yeah. You?”

  “Only because you were in my dreams.”

  I scoffed. “Okay, creeper.”

  His smile widened and he dipped down to plant a soft one on my lips. “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered.

  There it was again. That fluttery thing.

  I sighed and tightened my grip on him. “Good morning.”

  He nodded toward the cafeteria and broke his grasp on me to offer his gloved hand. I took it, wishing we weren’t wearing gloves, but late September was deceptive for how cold it could get in the mornings up here.

  “You’re sure this is what you want?” He lifted a brow at me, drawing a deep breath. “I’m positive your coach’ll take you back the second you ask.”

  I poked him in the ribs, frowning. “I’m sure this is what I want, Tucker. How many times do I have to tell you?”

  He slid an arm around me and pulled me closer. “You’re crazy to give up on your dream.”

  “I’m not giving up on anything.” I didn’t understand why he felt the need to question me again. “My dream kind of turned into a nightmare and then God replaced it with something else. Basketball’s still in it.”

  “You keep saying that.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.”

  He grinned. “Your observation skills are impeccable.” He pulled me even closer and pressed another kiss to my head as we stopped beside the courts.

  I could envision so many kids out there, realizing their worth. “I’m positive this is why God brought me up here in the first place. It just took breaking my elbow to realize it. I couldn’t see it before, but I can see tons of kids out there on those courts, realizing their futures matter, like Walker. It’s like it’s already happening right in front of me.”

  “As long as you’re not doing it for me,” he said, all gravelly.

  I shook my head, resting my hand on his chest as I held his perfect, brown-eyed gaze. “I’m doing this for Jesus, Tucker. The fact that you’re here is a definite perk, but this is happening either way.”

  “You’re incredible,” he whispered, lifting my hand to his lips.

  We turned back toward the cafeteria where June and Philly met us, both of them staying for the ministry program, too. It was crazy, being here like this. With Tucker. I definitely never would have guessed it at the start of summer. But then, who ever really imagines dating a Tucker in real life. When we were done eating, Philly and June split off from us, and Tucker walked me to the chapel, which was doubling as a lecture hall for the program.

  “Ready to pray?” he asked, stopping by the front doors.

  I nodded.

  Tucker bowed his head and I bowed mine. He gripped my hands in the space between us, and just like he did every morning in Maintenance, he lifted up a prayer. He prayed for my day and for his. He prayed for our families, and our wisdom, and safety, and in the end, he prayed for our futures, and he prayed for us. I offered a prayer of my own, echoing his.

  We said our amens and he pulled me close, kissing my forehead and rubbing my back. He glanced down at me and I held his searching gaze, my heart bursting when I thought of all he’d been through, and the man he was becoming, and the way he protected what he cared about most, and the pride that came with witnessing it all first-hand.

  “I love you, Emery,” he whispered, dropping his brow to mine again. “I know it’s kind of early to tell you, but I don’t want you to have any doubts.”

  My lips curled in response and my eyes stung, my breath catching in my chest. I swallowed hard. “I was wondering when you were going to say that.”

  “Yeah?” He tucked my hair behind my ear, before he cupped my cheek.

  I nodded, covering his hand with mine, hoping for a million more mornings just like this as I set my eyes on his, and released a contented sigh. “So, are you saying I get a rose?”

  He shook his head, grinning. “You get the whole dang garden if you want it, Chuck.”

  My chest warmed and I nodded, my eyes watering as I held his gaze. “Tucker, you have to know . . . I love you, too.”

  Two Months. Two Friends. One Nostalgic Kiss.

  Best friends to lovers never works. Especially not for polar opposites like straight-laced Mila Rose and her carefree bestie, Nolan. But when Mila’s life falls apart and Nolan realizes it’s his last chance to prove his love for her, he decides to take the plunge.

  Overly cautious Mila’s bound for a Nur
sing Residency in Colorado after her last summer working at Bridgeport Lake. If she can get her CEO fiance’ to finally commit to setting a date, she’ll be planning a wedding too. But when her Grandma’s health declines, and her engagement dissolves, every reason she has to stay suddenly disappears … every reason except for Nolan.

  Even carefree Nolan would rather die than watch Mila marry the wrong guy. But, Mi and him decided a long time ago they’re better off in the friendzone, and he’s not about to break their agreement. At least, that was the plan. But when Mila’s life starts unraveling, and a moment of weakness leads them to an impulsive kiss, her idiot fiance’ disappears, and Nolan decides to take one last stab at convincing her she belongs with him.

  He never expected she’d actually agree to let him try. But will a two-month trial period be long enough for Nolan to convince his skittish it-girl she’s all he’s ever wanted, or is Mila’s heart too far crushed for even her closest friend to reach?

  Keep Reading for a Sneak Peek from Falling In Deep, Bridgeport Lake Series Book 2 (please note, this preview has not been edited, and is subject to change.) Enjoy!…

  ONE

  -Mila-

  My heart raced as my weekend home from Bridgeport Lake came to a close. Normally, I’d be looking forward to getting back up the mountain to work in the camp clinic, but this time was different.

  Please, God. Keep her safe while I’m gone.

  Grams shuffled the cards in her weathered hands and set them off to the side, shaking her head. “Would’ve thought you’d be better at Uno by now, Mila Rose. You can’t let me whoop you so bad.”

  I grinned. “Games aren’t my strength, Grams.”

  She nodded, her clear green eyes sparking behind her thick lenses. “You’re too serious for your own good, you know?”