Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
The waitress brought their food and they both dug in with vigor.
Ariana couldn’t believe the words that had tumbled out of her mouth and was glad to stuff a big bite of a delicious waffle into her mouth to stop the flow.
She hadn’t meant to tell Nicole about the jealousy she’d felt over Maggie or her revelation that they were meant to be friends, but she couldn’t stop herself.
Ariana feared at any moment Nicole could stop this friendship before it started and she was desperate to keep it alive.
Nicole reached over and put her hand over Ariana’s before she could fork another bite into her mouth. “Slow down. We have all day.”
Ariana reached for her napkin and wiped her mouth. She swallowed and smiled. “Do you remember when I called you after that disastrous game and dinner with Maggie?”
Nicole’s eyes widened and she nodded. “God, yes.”
“If you’ll remember, you apologized for rambling,” Ariana said. “That’s how I feel right now. All of these thoughts and feelings are tumbling out and I’m stuffing food in my mouth before I embarrass myself even further.”
Nicole tilted her head and smiled. “You haven’t embarrassed yourself. I appreciate your honesty. Honestly.” She chuckled. “You sounded a little desperate to keep this going.”
Ariana groaned and dropped her chin to her chest. Nicole reached over and squeezed her hand.
“I feel the same way, but I didn’t know how to say it.”
Ariana raised her head and met Nicole’s eyes. They were a rich coffee-colored brown with sparkles at the edge. Those eyes and Nicole’s touch sent flutters through Ariana’s body. “Really?”
Nicole nodded. “I’ve told you I have to be careful with perceptions, but here I am doing the opposite of what I say. That has to be confusing.”
“Uh, I’d say hopeful instead of confusing.” Ariana beamed a smile at her.
“This may not be what you think, Ari. This is a coincidence today, but we’d have to be careful out in public.”
“Luckily, you live in a building with a basketball hoop.” Ariana shrugged. “It works for me. Oh, and you have a TV and computer so we can watch games. Right?”
Nicole nodded.
“Why would we need to go out in public?”
The smile that grew on Nicole’s face melted Ariana’s heart just a little. “Oh wait, did I just invite myself to your apartment?”
Nicole chuckled. “I’d already invited you. What do you say we go shoot some hoops?”
“Ah, now you’re speaking my love language.”
Nicole laughed. “I’m paying for breakfast. No discussion. You bought our smoothies the other day.”
They finished eating and walked side by side to Nicole’s apartment. Ariana glanced over at Nicole several times and could see the hint of a smile on her face.
Ariana looked up at the building and followed Nicole through the automatic door into the lobby. There was a reception desk that was unattended in the sleek expansive space. Nicole walked around it and stopped in front of a bank of elevators.
“This is nice,” Ariana commented, following Nicole into the elevator.
“Do you remember meeting Kate at Stuart’s bar?”
“Oh yeah.” Ariana chuckled. “She called my aerial acrobatics a lap dance.”
“She’s not only my best friend but also my agent. Kate is a very, very good negotiator,” Nicole explained. “When I found this place I didn’t think I could afford it, but with her negotiating skills she made it possible.”
The elevator doors opened and Ariana followed Nicole the short distance to her doorway. It opened into an inviting living area with large windows opposite the door.
“Oh wow, Nicole,” Ariana said. “What a great room.”
“Thanks,” Nicole replied. “It’s not a large space, but it’s just right for me. Let’s change and go up to the roof. I’ll give you the tour later.”
“Okay.” Ariana unshouldered her backpack and gazed around the room. The kitchen was off to the right and opened up to the living room. There was a hallway to the left where she figured the bedrooms were located.
“Let me get my stuff and I’ll change in my office,” Nicole said. “You can change in my bedroom.”
Ariana followed Nicole down the hall and peeked into her office. She had two monitors set up and Ariana could imagine her studying games.
“All yours,” Nicole said, walking out of her bedroom holding her shoes, shorts, and shirt.
Ariana smiled and walked past her into the bedroom. One wall was all windows and the sun streaked through giving the room a bright glow. There was artwork hung on the walls and Ariana wondered what each piece meant to Nicole, but didn’t stop to look at them.
She quickly changed clothes while still gazing around the room. There was an open door where Ariana could see into the en suite bathroom.
“Are you snooping in your basketball buddy’s stuff?” Nicole called from down the hall.
Ariana finished tying her shoes and laughed. “Maybe.”
She grabbed her backpack and walked down the hall into the living room where she saw Nicole in the kitchen. “I wasn’t snooping,” she clarified. “I was appreciating your bedroom.”
Nicole glanced over at her and chuckled as she reached into the refrigerator, pulling out two bottles of water. “I’ll show you around later. Let’s go play.”
Ariana smiled and reached for the bottle of water Nicole handed her. Their fingers grazed each other and the contact gave Ariana that familiar flutter that seemed to happen more and more often when she was with Nicole.
“Hold up.” Nicole hurried back down the hall and walked into her office. “We’ll need this,” she said, coming out with a basketball in her hand.
Ariana caught the ball as Nicole tossed it towards her and reached for a bag she quickly slung over her shoulder.
They rode the elevator to the roof and when Ariana stepped out she gasped.
Over to one side was a covered sitting area with tables and chairs and even a grill.
There was a large area with a basketball goal on one end and weight machines and other fitness equipment on the other.
Next to the covered lounging area was another space that could be used for yoga or individual workouts.
Circling the entire expanse was a running track with three lanes.
This was an athlete’s dream of a home play area. It was a little slice of heaven.
Nicole chuckled. “It’s pretty great, isn’t it?”
“I think I’m in love,” Ariana said. She held out her arms. “I would never leave.”
“Now you know why I’m such a homebody,” Nicole said. She walked over and dropped her bag and bottle of water by the backstop under the hoop.
“What’s your schedule on a regular day?”
“Hmm, I get up and do a workout. It changes from day to day. I run or lift, sometimes do yoga. Then I have breakfast and start work in my office. I look at game film and study stats for a couple of hours then take a break.”
“Do you come up here and shoot baskets?”
“I do.” Nicole grinned. “How’d you know?”
“I could tell from the youth event we did.”
“After that I go back to work, come up here, and repeat until I get everything done.”
Ariana nodded and bounced the ball to Nicole. She watched her dribble to the free throw line and bounce the ball from hand to hand, waiting on Ariana.
“Did you Google me?”
Ariana grinned and couldn’t wait to share what she’d learned. “I did! I know you were a great shooting guard and are now the most respected commentator in our league.”
Nicole laughed. “I hope you took special notice of my age.”
Ariana furrowed her brow. She knew Nicole was older than her, but why did that matter? “You’re forty-two. So?”
Nicole continued to dribble the ball. “You’re twenty-nine.”
“Yeah, almost thirty. Why does that matter?”
“It matters because you’re a professional basketball player and my legs are twelve to thirteen years older than yours and are not as strong or springy as they once were. That’s why you have to give me ten points.”
Ariana laughed. “You’re a hustler. I’ve seen you shoot and defend. But okay, I’ll give you ten points this first time.”
“First time?”
Ariana loved the brightness in Nicole’s eyes. “You know we’re going to have to play more than one game.”
Nicole chuckled and shot the ball. It fell through the hoop with a swish and only touched the net.
Ariana rebounded the ball and dribbled out to the three point line and shot. It clanged off the rim and fell to the side. “See there? I’ve got to get used to your court.”
They took turns shooting, dribbling, and rebounding for each other. Ariana did this nearly every day, but playing with Nicole made her heart happy and she hoped they’d do more of this.
“Okay, do you want me to show you what I was talking about earlier? How they exploited that foul Maggie called on you?”
Ariana threw Nicole the basketball and assumed a defensive stance. “Come at me.”
Nicole chuckled. “So, you’re picking her up just past half court and you’re backing up.”
“Right,” Ariana said. “To a point.”
Nicole began to dribble towards Ariana and she took a few steps back watching her eyes, the ball, and her feet.
“She looked left, making you think she was going to pass because everyone in the league knows better than to try and dribble past you to the hoop.”
Ariana smiled and felt a sense of pride at Nicole’s assessment of her skills. She took one more step back, saw Nicole look towards her left, and in a blink of an eye Nicole had dribbled around her and scored with an easy layup.
“What the!” Ariana exclaimed.
Nicole laughed. “See what I mean?”
“You tricked me with your sweet words!” Ariana complained.
Nicole shrugged. “Whatever it takes. Last night after they drove on you a couple of times you moved closer and shut them down. That foul made you tentative. That’s another reason I feel so bad about the whole situation.”
Ariana bounced the ball to Nicole. “Go again.”
Nicole dribbled in place, started to the right then quickly crossed over to the left. Ariana grabbed her around the waist, spun her around and picked her up, holding Nicole’s back to her chest.
“Hey!” Nicole kicked her feet in the air, but Ariana held on. “That’s a foul.”
Ariana laughed and gently set Nicole down. “I told Maggie that she may think I was too close on the court, but I decide how close off the court.”
Nicole raised her brows and Ariana knew she didn’t know what to say.
“I made my point that off the court it was up to you and me and she was nowhere in sight.” Ariana grinned. “Plus I owed you one for fouling me and letting Chloe score.”
Nicole smiled. “We don’t need to ever think about Maggie Patterson again.”
Ariana nodded. She grabbed the ball from Nicole and dribbled away. “My turn.”
They played back and forth taking turns shooting and defending. There was a lot of laughter, a lot of grabbing each other and fouling, but also good basketball. Ariana was having so much fun. She didn’t want this day to end.
“Hey,” Nicole said, taking a break for a drink of water.
“I don’t have that many friends I can talk about basketball with.
Shealyn and a couple of the analysts, but that’s about it.
I keep my distance from most players and don’t talk strategy very often with coaches.
But what I don’t understand is why you like doing this with me.
You have all your teammates and coaches to talk basketball with. ”
Ariana smiled at Nicole and took a long drink from her water bottle. “Let me ask you, why do you call and text me, leave me notes and give me insight into ways I can be better?”
“Because it’s fun!” Nicole immediately answered.
“Exactly!” Ariana replied. “When I talk basketball with my teammates and coaches it’s a business, it’s my job.
But when you give me a suggestion, I put it into action and it works—oh Nic, that is so much fun!
If my coach tells me to do something and I do it, it’s fine, but again, it’s my job.
You have put the fun back into basketball for me.
Actually, you put fun in everything.” Ariana felt like she was rambling again, but the way Nicole was looking at her made it okay.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed playing basketball with someone,” Nicole said. “You’ve put the fun in all of this for me. When we go over strategies or little things you can try in a game and it works—Ari, I can’t tell you what it does for my heart. It gives me such joy to help you.”
“Yeah? You know I appreciate it, but more than that, I hope you’ve enjoyed today as much as I have,” Ariana said.
“I have, but we’re nowhere near finished with this day.”