Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Nicole walked into her office and pulled up an extra chair for Ari. She opened her laptop and the dual screens woke up as well.
“I’ll be right back,” Ariana said. “I have my laptop in my bag. Coach sends me stats after the game.”
“You brought your laptop?” Nicole asked when Ariana settled into the chair next to her.
“When I left my apartment this morning I didn’t know when I’d hear from you. I planned to look at the stats while I had breakfast.” She set her laptop on the desk. “But breakfast with you was much better than studying stats.”
Nicole smiled and a little giggle escaped her throat when Ariana bumped her shoulder into hers.
“Was that a giggle?”
Nicole widened her eyes and quickly looked back at the monitors. She could feel Ariana’s eyes on her and glanced back at her. “Stop.”
Ariana chuckled. “It was cute. You’re cute.”
“Okay basketball buddy, let’s watch the game,” Nicole said, feeling warmth in her cheeks. How did Ariana keep doing this to her? She wasn’t one to blush so easily.
“Hey, that’s not my game,” Ariana said.
“I know. You go to Toronto on Tuesday and I wanted to show you something.”
“You know my schedule?” Ariana asked.
Nicole raised her shoulder while clicking the mouse. Yes, she’d looked up where Ariana was playing next and checked her notes for things that might help her. She’d do that for any friend, right?
“I don’t know your entire schedule, but here’s what I wanted to show you.
” Nicole started the playback of the game.
“Toronto is a new team but they’re better than people think.
When I was calling their last preseason game they used this triangle defense.
I think they’ll use it against you on Tuesday. ”
Ariana clicked a document on her computer. “I don’t see it in the scouting report they gave us.”
“They haven’t used it much,” Nicole explained.
“They’ll face guard your two outside shooters and use this triangle in the middle.
” She pointed at the screen and her shoulder brushed Ariana’s.
Their closeness didn’t seem awkward and Ariana didn’t move away.
“If you pass to Nia in the middle and neither of these outside defenders come to help then I think she’ll be wide open for a layup.
If they collapse the defense on her, she can pass back out to you.
” Nicole looked over at Ariana and smiled. “You can take the shot.”
Ariana looked into Nicole’s eyes and smiled. Neither of them said anything for a moment.
“Thanks for showing me this,” Ariana said. “It’ll make a difference.”
“That’s what friends are for.” Nicole smiled and clicked out of the game and pulled up Ariana’s game from the previous night.
She could feel Ariana’s appreciation for the information and it made Nicole’s heart happy.
All the hours of studying game films and spotting tendencies was preparation to be a better broadcaster, but sharing the info to help Ariana made it even more worthwhile.
“I have a few notes on Toronto I’ll share with you, but let’s look at your game first,” Nicole said.
The replay began and Ariana huffed. “There it is,” she said. “Maggie called the foul and then the next time they come down the court you can see how far back I’m playing. It’s so strange because in the moment I didn’t think I was that far off.”
“You correct it quickly though,” Nicole said. She bumped her shoulder to Ariana’s and grinned. “It worked great for me because I was able to dribble right past you and score on the roof.”
Ariana laughed. “That won’t happen again.”
“No worries. I have other tricks.”
Ariana whipped her head around and Nicole laughed.
“You are tricky, but I’ll figure you out.”
“We’ll see.” Nicole gave her sly grin as warmth flowed through her body. Ariana and those eyes.
“You go to Minnesota on Tuesday,” Ariana said.
“You know my schedule?”
A smirk crossed Ariana’s face. “I know that’s the national broadcast and you and Shealyn are the A-Team. I’m wondering when we can do this again.”
Nicole knit her brows and glanced over at Ariana. “You want to do this again?”
Ariana nodded. “Don’t you? We could play on the roof and talk basketball, buddy.”
Nicole laughed and leaned her head towards Ariana. “Okay, bud. I guess you could come over Thursday? Won’t you have practice?”
“I can work around it. Thursday it is,” Ariana said.
They looked back at the monitor and as they watched the game Nicole felt flutters in her stomach.
What started as someone to talk about basketball with had quickly become someone she liked being close to like this.
Those sweet flutters couldn’t stop the little voice in the back of her head though. This is not a good idea.
Ariana couldn’t remember when she’d had such a good day. She and Nicole had fast-forwarded through parts of her game then moved into the living room to watch the second half. Ariana read the stats to Nicole and they found things for Ariana to try in the next game.
As the afternoon crept into evening they’d ordered food and watched the end of the Golden State versus Phoenix game. Ariana worried that she’d stayed too long, but Nicole assured her she’d enjoyed the day, too.
When Ariana left Nicole’s apartment she decided to walk back to her own place. It wasn’t too far, the evening was pleasant, and she hoped to make sense of all the thoughts and feelings roaming through her head.
She liked Nicole Neal. That’s all there was to it. If they were in any other professions she would ask Nicole out in a heartbeat. On top of that, Ariana felt like Nicole would accept. The thought made her smile. A couple she met on the sidewalk nodded at her thinking the smile was for them.
Ariana chuckled as she continued to walk.
She knew there couldn’t be anything between them, but there already was.
As Nicole walked her to the door she could see it in her eyes.
They’d shared brief touches all day long.
Hands brushing as they walked to Nicole’s apartment.
Fingers digging into her side when Nicole grabbed her to jump for a rebound or when Ariana tickled Nicole’s ribs, stole the ball and went in for the easy layup.
Those playful, sometimes intimate, little touches continued once they’d gotten to Nicole’s apartment. They’d sat side by side at the computer, bumping shoulders and holding each other’s gaze.
“Mmm, those pretty brown eyes,” Ariana muttered as she turned the corner onto her street.
When they’d gone to the living room, they shared the couch and as the game continued they inched closer and closer to each other until Ariana could feel the heat in Nicole’s body as their legs rested next to each other.
She wasn’t sure either of them even realized it until there was an impressive play and Nicole slapped Ariana’s thigh in excitement.
At times, there were flutters in Ariana’s stomach signaling the newness and thrilling feelings she knew were growing, but it also felt familiar and true.
She was exactly where she was supposed to be.
There had been a few times in her life when she’d had that feeling, and being with Nicole Neal felt like the most natural thing in the world.
Ariana didn’t have words to explain it, but she felt it.
“What the fuck am I supposed to do about it?” She sighed as she walked into her building.
As she waited for the elevator, Ariana wondered what Nicole was feeling.
There were times when they stared into each other’s eyes and Ariana knew Nicole felt it too.
She was surprised Nicole didn’t pull away.
But then again they’d made it clear they didn’t date during the season and Nicole couldn’t date a player. It was not possible.
When she got out of the elevator on her floor and walked to her apartment her phone pinged with a text.
Thanks for spending the day with me, buddy.
The smile on Ariana’s face drove the negative thoughts away for now.
I had such a good time. Thank you!
Ariana watched the ellipses as Nicole typed her reply.
See you Thursday. In the meantime I’ll be waiting for those outfit pics.
Ariana chuckled and tapped the code on the keypad unlocking her door.
Any suggestions?
“Hey, where have you been?” Cameron asked from the living room.
Ariana froze and nearly dropped her phone. She wasn’t expecting Cameron to be there and her mind went blank as she scrambled for a reply. Just then Nicole sent another text.
You’re the fashionista.
“Hey,” Ariana said, walking into the kitchen and avoiding Cameron for the moment. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d be with Terrance?”
“He flew out this evening on another work trip,” she replied. “But he’ll be at the game in Toronto.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
Ariana quickly sent a text to Nicole while she tried to think of a reason she’d been out.
Cam is here. What a surprise! Talk later.
She took her laptop out of her backpack and set it on the counter. “How long have you been here?”
“Not long,” Cameron replied. “Where were you?”
“I decided to get something to eat and while I was there I looked at our stats from the game.” Ariana hoped bringing up their game would keep Cameron from asking more questions. Her phone pinged once again.
Uh oh! Sorry!
Ariana picked up her backpack and walked through the living room on her way to her bedroom.
“Hold up,” Cameron said from the couch.
Ariana slowly turned around and raised her brows. “Huh?”
“What have you really been doing?” Cameron asked, looking her up and down.
“What are you talking about?” Ariana replied with a shrug, trying to sound innocent.
“Who have you been playing ball with?” Cameron inquired. “You’re wearing your basketball shoes.”
“Oh, I shot a few baskets with some dudes in the park,” Ariana lied.
“You’re supposed to be resting and recovering today,” Cameron said. “What did you really do?”
“What’s with all the questions!” Ariana exclaimed.
“You’re acting funny,” Cameron said.
“I’m just surprised to see you.”
“Oh! Do you have someone coming over?” Cameron asked, sitting up on the couch.
Ariana quickly shook her head. “No.”
“We could go to Stuart’s,” Cameron said. “I’m sure we could find someone just itching to spend time with a pretty professional basketball player.”
Ariana laughed as Cameron wiggled her brows up and down. “You just said we’re supposed to be recovering today. I don’t think Stuart’s bar would be a good idea.”
Cameron shrugged. “I’m always here for you. It’s a long season and we’re just getting started. You’re going to need a, uh, stress reliever. If you know what I mean.”
Ariana leaned against the wall leading to the hallway. “Is that what Terrance is for you?” she teased.
Cameron chuckled. “Oh yeah! That and so much more.”
“Don’t you worry about me. I can take care of myself.” Ariana laughed. “If you know what I mean.”
“Ha ha,” Cameron deadpanned. “It ain’t near as much fun.”
Ariana pushed off the wall. “It’ll do for now.” She walked down the hallway to her bedroom as thoughts of Nicole ran through her head.
Ariana didn’t like lying, especially to Cameron, but she’d meant it when she said Nicole could trust her to keep their friendship discreet.
She realized she needed to have some kind of story ready whenever she’d been with Nicole.
An uneasy feeling settled in Ariana’s stomach.
This wasn’t going to be easy. Nicole had warned her at brunch and she was beginning to understand what she meant.
But she’d had such a good day with Nicole. A little lie here and there was the price she had to pay for now. Ariana knew Nicole was worth it.