by Lynn Stevens
“Thanks.” He shifted beside me, and I glanced up into his eyes. “I thought maybe I’d work here someday. You know? It’s one of my favorite places. And they let me volunteer whenever I can, which isn’t much, but I ... love it.”
“You want to be a botanist?” I asked, handing him back his precious art.
“Maybe. Mom says I’ve got a green thumb. She can’t keep a houseplant alive, but I just know what to do.” His eyes darkened, and he lowered his gaze. “You think it’s stupid?”
I lifted his chin so I could meet his gaze and tell him the truth without any doubt. “Not at all.”
“Really?”
“Why would I think it’s stupid? If this is what you want, then go for it.” My fingers trailed up his jaw then down his neck to rest on his shoulder. “Why would you assume I’d think that?”
He swallowed hard, but I didn’t need an answer. Someone else had once told him it was stupid. Sometimes, that was all it took to destroy a dream. I lifted on my toes and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek.
“It’s not stupid,” I said against his skin.
Adam turned his head and met my lips. His kiss was sweet and full of promise. It wasn’t like any of the others we’d shared. It wasn’t for show. This meant something. It was a true first kiss with the need for more.
I pulled back, smiling because I couldn’t help it. My heart ached for this to become more than what it was meant to be.
But a rebound only gets the guy until he’s ready to move on. Adam would be gone soon, and I’d be alone again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Finally. It was the weekend of the tournament. Tisha, Vina, and I had worked hard for this all summer. After last year’s semi-final knockout, we wanted revenge. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh, but we were pumping up for our first game. I’d met the girls at the park at six-thirty in the morning, and we climbed into my car for the two hour drive north to Quincy. Vina fell asleep in the backseat, while Tisha tried to do the same in the passenger seat. I’d gone to bed early with the help of melatonin. Nobody else was driving my car. Even though I was groggy, I was rested and, with the help of two shots of espresso, awake.
The first games started at nine, but ours was at nine-thirty. As long as I didn’t stop, we’d be in Quincy by eight-thirty. That gave us an hour to park, find our first court, and warm up. More than enough time.
I turned up the Sirius XM sports station to listen to an interview with Dwayne Wade, one of the NBA’s all-time best players. I’d preferred music, but Vina worked her job at the grocery store last night until one in the morning and Tisha was stuck babysitting her nine-month old brother. Neither one probably slept well. Besides, I could drive in complete silence if I wanted. I didn’t mind the quiet.
The drive was, thankfully, uneventful. Tisha dozed off and on, but Vina snored solidly for the entire ride. Only when we were crossing the Mississippi River, did I bother to wake her up. Tisha laughed as Vina stretched her arms above her head.
“About time you joined us,” Tisha said as I maneuvered my way through the streets toward the mall.
The tourney was held in the parking lot with two more courts on Broadway in front of the massive building. Vendors stretched out around the courts selling crafts, food, and whatever else they wanted. The Jason Andrews Tournament wasn’t just a basketball thing, it was a major event.
“Yeah, you work until one in the morning, see how you feel the next day,” Vina said. She opened a soda from the cooler and chugged half the can. “I need more caffeine than this.”
Tisha turned as much as her seatbelt would allow. “You gonna be okay?”
“Shut it,” Vina snapped. “I’ll be fine.”
I stayed out of it. If anyone was ready, it was Vina. She worked two jobs. Besides checking at the store, she babysat for five families in her neighborhood. I found a parking lot charging ten dollars and promising security. Vina huffed when we pulled in, but she wasn’t paying so I didn’t care. I gave the guy a twenty and waited for the change. He pointed to the back of the lot, but there was a place right up front by his station. I held out the ten-dollar bill he gave me.
“There,” I said, nodding my head to the spot.
He glanced at it, then back to me and nodded. Vina huffed again and mumbled something about throwing money around. She was being a grouchy bitch. It wasn’t unusual for her though, so I ignored it. I parked, and we all climbed out. With another twenty hidden in my hand, I walked up to the guy again. I’d seen my dad do this a million times. Tip someone and they’ll take care of you.
“Hey,” I said to the guy. He turned around and gave me goofy grin. “Are you here all day?”
“Yeah, sure am.”
“Watch my car,” I said, slipping him the twenty.
He glanced at it. “Sure thing.”
“Thanks, my dad will kill me if anything happens to it.” I added a little flirtatious hip flick to the too sweet tone of my voice. It made me want to throw up a little, but shit like that was effective.
He peered over my shoulder at my Mercedes. “No doubt with a sweet ride like that. Daddy would probably be pissed. Don’t you worry. I’ll keep my eye on it.”
It wasn’t as reassuring as I wanted it to be, but it felt better than parking it in the back where it was surrounded by other cars and an empty building. I walked toward my teammates and grabbed my bag from the trunk. Hitting my alarm twice, I locked the car.
“Wasting money,” Vina mumbled.
This time she pissed me off. “I get it. My family has money to waste, but I’m damn sure going to spend it if it means we get home.”
“Whoa, slow down,” Tisha said as she got in between us. “There’s no reason to fight.”
“I’m tired of this shit,” I snapped as I spun on my heel and headed toward the registration table. Everything was in my name, and I’d already download the waivers. I pulled them out of the bag and checked us in. I’d paid for us to enter the tournament. I paid for the gas. I paid for the food and drinks in the cooler. They just had to show up and play.
Tisha blabbered as I led the way to the first court. We were playing near the empty anchor store on the eastern end of the lot. There were ten courts total plus the two on the street. Most of the spectators for the first games would be other players and family. As the day wore on, fans would come out. The tournament could go until ten or eleven at night. It was a long day, and if Tisha and Vina didn’t have to be at their jobs the next morning, I would’ve just gotten us rooms at a hotel or an Airbnb. But we were driving home after it was all said and done. And who knew, maybe we’d be out after the initial round robin which determined our standings for the final bracket.
There were ten teams in our division. We played everything in one day, while the older adult divisions were given time to rest. They’d round robin in the afternoon, then they’d play the brackets the next day. They also had more teams sign up, whereas the tournament capped the 16-18 division and the 12-15 division at ten teams. There were also clinics for the little kids who wanted to learn from the local college’s coach and stars.
I dropped my bag by a bench along the court and set up our cooler. Vina did the same, but Tisha stopped between us.
“Stop it, both of you,” Tisha demanded. She’d rarely raised her voice even during a game, but this time she was loud.
“I sense discontent. Should be easy pickings, girls,” someone said behind me.
My head snapped around to see who spoke. A girl with long dark hair and a good inch of height on me strolled by with two of her teammates. They all wore white tanks with numbers in black on their backs. I shook my head. We would be easy pickings if we kept acting like assholes. Our opponents looked like a team. We looked like a couple of girls who just decided to play. I grinned. That was intentional and to our advantage.
“Don’t talk to me, V,” I said quietly as I put my head down to rummage in my bag. “Let them think we hate each other.”
Tisha huffed loudly and threw
her arms in the air.
“Okay,” Vina replied. “Sorry for being a bitch.”
“Yeah, me too.” I almost smiled, but I forced a tight scowl on my face. “Let’s wipe the floor with them.”
Tisha plopped onto the bench between us. “You two are impossible,” she said loudly.
“Let’s warm up and show that we’re terrible.” I stood and Vina followed me. Tisha stayed on the bench, adding to the look that we were disorganized.
While we shot at the basket, we missed on purpose and ran into one another. Tisha joined us, and we nitpicked at each other while the other team laughed. It was a game plan we’d used before, although accidentally the first time. And it was effective. The other team was cocky. They thought they’d be able to walk over us. By the time they realized what was going on, we were eight points up.
“You played us,” the point guard said as she dribbled toward me.
“Nope.” I kept my gaze on the ball and her feet. She deked left, but I was faster. “We really don’t get along. Unless we’re on the court.”
I stole the ball and caught Vina breaking down the court. She smoked the girl defending her for the easy layup. I smiled as I high fived my team. The lingering animosity faded with our first win. We collected our stuff and made our way to the next court for game two.
Exhaustion hit us with our final game later in the afternoon. We’d survived the round robin. Six teams were eliminated when it was all said and done, including our first opponents. We ranked third on the bracket, having lost our last two games. It didn’t matter where we ranked as long as we were still in it. The final games would be played on the street courts. Fortunately, we had a few hours to recharge before our first. If we won the first, we played for the championship. If we lost, we played for third place. Either way, we had two games left in the grueling schedule.
“Game plan?” Tisha asked as we ate grilled chicken skewers and salads from one of the nearby vendors.
“Same as always. Kick ass,” Vina said.
I snorted.
“First team up is the game we squeaked by winning. They’ll be tough.” Vina crumbled the wax paper her skewers game in and dropped it in the bag between her feet. “Point’s fast, but if you can shuffle faster, we can knock them down easier. She’s the key. Tisha can handle her post, and I’ll get the baseline chick with no problem. She thinks she’s better, but she’s wrong.”
I nodded. That point guard had caught me off with her speed but even more so with her skills. Was she better? Yeah, I was woman enough to admit that. I just needed to play smarter. Closing my eyes, I ran through the previous game with that team. I needed to give her more room at the top of the key. Crowding her would leave me vulnerable to get burned. Again.
“Hey, Reg, whatcha doing here?” Tisha asked. I glanced up from my salad to see one of Adam’s friends strolling toward us.
“Getting eliminated. You?” Reggie’s head cocked to the side as he saw me, but he didn’t say anything.
“Going all the way,” Vina said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes. That wasn’t an obvious invitation or anything.
“We’re in the semi-finals.” Tisha elbowed Vina. Clearly there was something going on I didn’t know. Honestly, I didn’t want to know. Reggie seemed like a good guy from what little I knew of him. And they knew I was dating Adam. It shouldn’t have surprised me to see someone from back home here, but it did.
“Maybe we’ll stay and watch. When’s the first game?” Reggie nodded like he already decided he was staying.
“About an hour and a half.” Vina stood and stretched. “Wanna go look at some kicks?”
Reggie smiled. “Sure. Hey, Rachel, does Adam know you’re here?”
I shrugged. Didn’t I tell him? I couldn’t remember. Basketball was special to me, so I may not have. It was a habit to keep it to myself. My friends didn’t get it, just like they didn’t get Vicky’s desire to play baseball. Dad hadn’t seen me play since my freshman year. “Why?”
“Just asking.” Reggie offered his arm to Vina. “Let’s go, V. I’ve been eyeing some new Jordans.”
Vina actually giggled. My eyes widened and I stared at Tisha. She shook her head. Once they were out of earshot, sweet silence descended. I leaned back, soaking up the sun.
“You didn’t tell Adam?” Tisha asked, breaking my reprieve.
Again, I shrugged.
“I thought you guys were tight,” she pressed.
“I didn’t realize this was the Inquisition,” I said, not bothering to look at her.
“The what?”
I opened one eye and glanced at her. She really didn’t know what I was talking about. Maybe history wasn’t her strongest subject. “Never mind.”
“You are still with Adam, right?”
Depends on what you mean, I thought while I nodded affirmative.
“Why didn’t you tell him?” Clearly, she wasn’t about to let this go.
I sat up and turned to face her. “I might have. I don’t remember if I told him or not. We’re still seeing each other, but sometimes...” I decided to go with some brutal honesty, because I never talked about my relationship with anybody. Ever. Even the other guys I’d date, all that information stayed with me and me alone. My reputation as a rebound was well-known in our circle, but it wasn’t known with Tisha. She just knew I was a rich girl who wanted to play ball and would support our team. Other than that, she didn’t know anything about me.
“Sometimes what?” she asked gently.
I didn’t answer. It wasn’t any of her business, and quite frankly, I was tired of the charade. This was supposed to be my escape from the real world. That’s what I loved about basketball. It was just you, your team, the ball, and the hoop. Nothing else mattered.
“Heather?” Tisha shook her head. “I heard about what she did. That wasn’t cool. You don’t stab your friends in the back.”
“Vicky wasn’t really her friend,” I said.
“Maybe not, but she was Adam’s. Heather betrayed him when she sold Vic’s story.” Tisha gathered her trash and mine. “He’s not forgiving. I mean, I get why she did it, but she shouldn’t have.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, more out of curiosity than concern.
“It’s the same reason Vina gets pissed about you spending money like you do. Jealousy. Wishing for something we don’t have. My parents are okay, we get by, but Vina’s mom works two part-time jobs. So does Vina. Sometimes it’s rough, sometimes it isn’t. Heather’s family is worse off. Her dad split, leaving her mom to raise four kids. They don’t have much of anything.” Tisha threw the trash away with a nice jump shot. “It’s hard when the only thing you have is nothing.”
I thought about what Tisha had said. And I understood. If I had to struggle for everything, even lunch, would I have done the same thing? Maybe. Adam’s family wasn’t super rich. They got by. The questions hovered on my lips before it spilled out.
“I don’t understand something. Why didn’t Adam forgive her then?” I asked softly.
“Probably because Vic helped Heather. She’d given her some clothes, and she’d invited her to her house.” Tisha untied then retied her shoe. “If Heather would’ve flat out asked for money, Vic would’ve given it to her.” She glanced at me before retying her shoe again. “You probably would have, too.”
I was there when Vic gave Heather some dresses that were still fashionable and high end, as well as some nice shoes. Vic had brought Daniel, Adam, and Heather over for her mother’s ambush party. We’d all played dress up with her. I should’ve shown more kindness, gotten to know her instead of hitting on her boyfriend.
“Vic’s not like other rich kids.” Tisha lifted her hands. “Neither are you. The only flash you do is your car. Sometimes your clothes. Other than that, you’re not trying to buy people off or throwing money around like it doesn’t matter.”
“Vina thinks I do,” I said, flashing back to our fight from this morning.
“Yeah, sh
e does. I mean, you do flash on occasion, but only when necessary.”
“I didn’t want my car to get stolen or broken into.” I pointed at her. “You have to admit that’s a possibility even though I did give the guy extra money.”
Tisha laughed. “Totally.”
“And Vina never seems to mind that I pay for this,” I waved my hand around the parking lot where games were still going on. “Plus, I never bitch about it.”
“I know.” Tisha smiled sadly. “She does appreciate it.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Even if we don’t tell you, we both do.” Tisha shook her head. “This is depressing.”
“But kinda nice,” I added. “I like hanging out with you guys. Playing ball and stuff. I’d hang out more if you wanted.”
“We’ll work on that.” Tisha stood and offered her hand. After she pulled me to my feet, she said, “Let’s go get some desert. I’m craving cheesecake.”
I never passed up cheesecake.
We made it to the finals, and our opponent was the team we lost to in the round robin. They were good, very good. Vina laid out the game plan as we waited for another semi-final game on the court to end. Take no prisoners, that was Vina’s motto. We were pulling out the big plays from the get-go to throw them off, then we’d settle in and take each point.
“Their point is weak on the left,” Vina said, using a dry erase board she kept in her bag. “Pressure her right and drive her left.”
“I can steal.” I pointed to the X and O that represented us on the board. “Your girl can’t hit a baseline shot. We corner them there.”
“Exactly.” She smiled at me. We worked great as a team. “Tisha’s got the hardest. Her post is solid in the paint and not a bad shot outside it either.”
Tisha shrugged as she chugged some water. “So, I’ll play dirty. An elbow here and there to keep her back.”
“Not too dirty,” Vina chided.
“Let me put it to you this way, I’ll play as dirty as she does. My ribs still hurt from our last game.” Tisha raised her eyebrows as if Vina would challenge that. “Let’s run through the plays again.”