Chapter 13
thirteen
LOS ANGELES, CA
The sound of dozens of basketballs bouncing against the gym floors filled Avery’s ears as she and Caroline, her friend and her father’s assistant, entered the Southside Youth Sports Complex, overpowering the faint rhythm of uplifting pop music being played from someone’s cell phone in the corner.
Going to need to add a blue-tooth speaker system to the remodel budget.
Coach Tony, the after-school program director, was leading a group of kids through a series of dribbling exercises up and down the court.
The gym looked even more scuffed and dull than she remembered, the blue paint lines cracked and faded.
Coach Tony saw them and waved, blowing three short blasts on his whistle.
“Boys and girls, that’s all the time we have for today.
The big kids need their turn,” he said to a chorus of moans and groans.
“I know, I know, but thanks to these ladies over here…” he pointed to Avery and Caroline, “…next year we will have a brand new gym for you guys with double the space and tennis courts, how does that sound?”
A bunch of five-to-seven-year-olds jumped up and down and hollered, tugging at Avery’s heartstrings. One led a little booty shake in response. These kids deserve so much more than thirty minutes of playing time on a beat-up court. I have to raise the money. No matter what.
“You are all dismissed back to the community room,” Coach Tony announced, blowing his whistle one more time, before he greeted Avery and Caroline with an appreciative grin. “Ladies, what can I do for you today?”
“I’m hoping we can get some photos and videos of the facilities to use at the gala. I think if our donors can see where their money is going, it will be more impactful,” Avery said. “Maybe we could interview you on camera to talk about how much this place means to the community?”
“I like where you’re going with this,” the coach nodded in agreement. “But I can do you one better.” He blew his whistle again, “Claudia, Walker, come here please.”
“Yes, coach?” an adorable little boy grinned, looking halfway nervous. Avery knew that feeling, could tell the boy was wondering if he’d somehow gotten himself in trouble. A girl with her dark hair twisted in neat rows of braids trailed behind him.
“I’d like you to meet Ms. Silver and Ms. O’Brien. If it’s okay with you, they are going to ask you a few questions about the new courts and why you are so excited about them?”
The kids nodded enthusiastically.
Avery crouched down and gave them a warm smile, trying her best to put the two youngsters at ease. “You can call me Avery. And that is my friend Caroline. We could really use your help.”
Walker stood up a little straighter and Claudia tilted her head, intrigued. Avery had to hide a smile as she caught Caroline’s eye, who was setting up her camera on a tripod. This was going to work out perfectly.
Caroline nodded, ready to roll.
“I’m going to ask you a few questions, and you can take your time to answer, there’s no rush. And you can ignore the camera behind me, we’re just having a conversation,” Avery said.
“What do you like about coming to the Southside Youth Sports Complex after school?”
“It’s so much more fun than going to my neighbor’s house after school while my dad is still at work,” Walker said.
“We get to learn basketball and other sports, and there’s also someone who can help me with my homework and reading.
Now that I’m in first grade, I need to fill in my reading log every night. ”
“And what about you, Claudia?” Avery asked. “What’s your favorite part of coming here after school?”
“The snacks. They have such good snacks here, like any kind of fruit you want and they always have the good kinds of cereal.”
Avery nodded seriously at the kids. Gold. This was pure gold. Exactly what they needed for their video.
“Why are you excited to have more space here next year?”
“I want to keep playing basketball! More basketball, and I want my sister to be able to play with Coach Tony and the other coaches,” Claudia said, bouncing up and down on her toes.
“A little sister? Will she be old enough to come next year?”
“No, my big sister. She’s in sixth grade and she wants to be on a real team. But there aren't enough courts for the girls’ team and the boys’ team to both have practice after school.”
Avery’s stomach lurched. What the… That’s a completely unacceptable state of affairs.
She made eye contact with Caroline over the camera, who mouthed “WTF?” back at her.
She gripped the hem of her shirt, her palms sweaty, as a wave of nausea passed over her.
It would be her fault if they didn’t have enough space for the girls to practice next year.
She could try and cover some of it with her trust fund, but she only had access to $50,000 per year until she turned thirty.
She took a deep breath and turned her attention to Walker, the little boy.
“What do you want people to know about the Sports Complex?”
“I love it so much. Oh, and the Sports Complex needs some new, real, jerseys for our games. The old ones are gross and smelly.”
Jerseys? Now that was an easy fix. She could take care of that tomorrow with a few phone calls, so long as Coach Tony didn’t mind the back of the jerseys having a Silver Racing logo.
* * *
“Earth to Avery? What’s so interesting on that phone of yours?” Caroline teased. “Do you think I should get off and take Sepulveda?” She quickly glanced sideways from the driver’s seat. They were stuck in traffic driving back to the Santa Monica office from the Sports Complex.
“Just texting,” Avery replied, trying her best to sound nonchalant.
“With Teddy?” Caroline guessed.
“Maybe…” Busted. She was in fact texting with Teddy.
They’d been in daily communication since they’d parted ways in Amsterdam ten days ago, mostly by text, chatting about everything and nothing.
The boring, mundane everyday stuff that only a close confidant would care to know.
It had allowed her to get to know him on a deeper level even from a distance.
He liked oatmeal for breakfast and preferred coffee over tea, despite being a Brit.
She’d FaceTimed one night from the balcony of her apartment to show him the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean and the palm trees swaying in the wind.
“I can’t wait to see it in person with you someday,” he’d said, his lips parted in a way that she’d be tempted to kiss if he weren’t halfway around the world.
“That would be fun,” she’d said, her heart nearly aching for him. I miss you. What if you fly here right now and spend the rest of the break with me?
A new message from him popped up on her screen, breaking her daydream:
Teddy—How did it go at the Sports Complex today?
Avery—It was GREAT. I’m more fired up than ever - we have got to deliver for these kids. Did you see any good apartments yesterday?
She typed quickly, trying to shield her phone from Caroline’s prying eyes.
After a few days at the beach, Teddy had spent the rest of his time in Monaco, where he was considering moving at the end of the year. The majority of F1 drivers had their home bases in the city-state for its tax and privacy laws.
Teddy—Yes. What do you think of this one?
Photos of a sleek, modern black-and-white space popped up on her phone. It was nice, chic, and matched Teddy’s public image to a tee. Exactly what a real estate agent would think he’d want to see. But it lacked a certain warmth that she’d come to associate with him.
Avery—It’s really nice. But I’m not sure it’s homey enough for you.
His reply came quickly.
It is a bit cold, isn’t it? The location is great, so I said maybe. You’re right, it’s not for me. Back to the drawing board. What would I do without you?
A blush crept up her neck. If we dated for real, you’d never have to know.
“What are you grinning about over there?” Caroline teased. “That’s a lot of smiling for a fake-boyfriend/co-conspirator?”
Avery shrugged. Guilty as charged.
“You two need to hook up already. Pretending you don’t want to jump each other is getting silly.”
“Well, I wouldn't kick him out of bed,” Avery laughed. “But he must be into me too. For sure. Once we cross that line, I don’t know how I’ll be able to tell fact from fiction.”
Avery sighed, “It’s already so messy. The whole point of this for both of us was to focus on our careers and not get distracted by romance this season.”
Caroline smirked. “That ship has sailed my friend. Consider yourself distracted.”
Avery put her head in her hands and groaned.
Caroline was right. There was no business reason for their texting all break.
Despite how busy she’d been, the summer break from racing had been inching by at a snail’s pace.
There was still a week to go until she’d see Teddy again in Austin, and they didn’t have any dates, fake or otherwise, on the calendar there.
Should I reach out to James and see if we can squeeze in a trip to a local BBQ joint?
No, the schedule is already jam-packed with promotional events at the team pop-up shop.
She stared at the window as the traffic lightened up and Caroline’s focus returned to the road.
If only we didn’t need a reason, an excuse, to spend time together.
She tried to distract herself by checking out the vehicles on either side, which makes and models drove past, what colors seemed to be most popular. Cars. It always came back to cars.