Chapter 2
Riley
I end up sitting next to Reid while we eat. “This is nice,” Evie says after taking a bite of her chicken.
“The food?” I ask.
“No, I mean the four of us.” I arch a brow at her, and she continues. “We’re just missing Slate and Tessa.”
“And Quint,” I remind her.
She pauses a moment. “Yeah, and Quint.”
“Does Slate have a game this weekend?” I ask.
Zane nods. “Yeah. He’s got a tournament; so, they’re both gone for a few days.”
“Did you see Tessa last night?” Evie asks with a wide smile.
“No, I missed it. Was she good?”
“Yes. She stepped into her broadcasting role like she was made for it,” Evie says with a huge smile.
“She was definitely made for it,” Zane adds. “She’s knows more stats about our players than all of us combined.”
Evie smiles. “I’m so glad she gets to do this. Last year she was a History major.” She shudders. “Sports is much more her thing.”
“Not playing them, though,” Zane says with a laugh. Even Reid chuckles at that.
I look around the table. “I feel like I’m missing something.”
“Tessa hates playing sports,” Evie fills me in. “Like legit hates it, which makes it all the more funny when she plays with Slate because he’s like all in for every sport.” Evie’s eyes light up. “You’ll have to join us.”
“Oh, I’m officially invited to Sunday afternoons now?” I ask with a pointed look at Zane.
Evie glances at him with a frown. “You wouldn’t let her come before?”
“She was always too busy to come; don’t let her fool you. My sister is a master manipulator.”
I widen my eyes at Zane. “I am not.”
He grins. “You are. You can get anything you want, any time.”
I gasp in feigned outrage. “That is so not true.”
He shakes his head at me, still grinning. “You can get Dad to do anything you want him to. Admit it.”
I ponder that a moment. “Okay, well...”
“See,” Zane says waving a hand towards me.
“As if Mom doesn’t think you walk on water,” I counter.
His grin turns smug. “She does think that, doesn’t she?”
I roll my eyes. “Oh, my word.” But there’s no heat in my words. My brother is pretty great, and he’ll be the next alpha. He’ll make a great one.
“When does basketball start up for you, Riley?” Evie asks.
“September 21st. It’s just over four weeks away.”
“Are you nervous?” Evie asks.
“Yes. I asked this guy to play with me and help me get ready,” I say, pointing a thumb at Reid.
“You’re going to be fine, Riley,” Reid says.
“Yes, I’m going to be fine because you’re going to help me get ready.” I elbow him in his side. He doesn’t even grunt.
“Are you nervous about not being up to par?” Zane asks in typical older brother fashion.
“Wow, thanks, Brother.”
He all but rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying, you have nothing to worry about.”
“How would you know?” I ask him. “Have you suddenly taken up watching women’s basketball?”
Evie turns to him. “Yeah, Zane. Have you?”
He grins down at her. “Jealous?”
“If you were watching women’s basketball in your free time last year, then yes.”
He drops an arm around her and pulls her close. “The only time I’ll be watching the women’s basketball team is to watch my sister.”
“All right. Well, I'm done now,” I tell them, pushing my bowl forward. “I’m going to head back; I’ll catch you guys later.”
They all end up picking up their trash and following me. “Did you get moved in okay?” Evie asks as we walk out.
“I did; I feel really good.”
“What are you going to do for the rest of the night?” Zane asks.
I laugh. “You don’t need to worry about me, Brother. I’m a big girl now.” He frowns but doesn’t argue with me, and Evie puts her arm through his.
“We’re heading off campus but let us know if you need anything,” Evie says.
I smile at the two of them. “I’m really glad you guys got your own place this year.”
Evie’s smile is almost as bright as my brother’s. “Me too. You need to come over for dinner sometime soon.”
I can’t resist. “Aw, look at you two.”
Evie laughs and hugs me. “Call us if you need anything.”
“I will thank you.”
My brother pulls me into his arms next. “Love you, Bug.”
I scowl. “Really?” He just shrugs. “Zane, you can’t call me that anymore. I’m in college.”
“Bug?” Evie asks in confusion.
“She used to eat them when she was little,” Zane explains.
“It was one time! And you dared me,” I explain, exasperated.
“And that’s how the nickname was born,” Zane says. “And I’m sticking with it.”
I turn to Reid. “Can’t you do anything with him?”
“I gave up a long time ago.”
Zane and Evie leave, and I watch them go a minute before turning to Reid. “All right. Have a good night.”
His serious eyes meet mine. “Anytime you want to play, text me. You've got my number or just reach out through the pack link.”
“Any time?” I ask with a glint in my eye. “How about now?”
He just shakes his head, a wry smile tugging on his lips. “Sure.”
“Really?”
“Like I can ever say no to you,” he says with a smirk.
I grin. “Let me go get changed real quick. I’ll be right back. Do you need to change?”
“I’m good.”
I pause at the door. “Do you have a ball we can use?” He nods. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time.”
I head inside, excitement thrumming through me.
I'm ready to work up a sweat and play some basketball. It takes me only a few minutes to change into shorts, a sports bra, a tank top, and my sneakers. I head back out less than five minutes later, and I find Reid right where I left him. He’s got a ball under his arm, and I don’t miss the once-over he gives me, lingering on my legs. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing. Let’s go.” I can’t see his expression because his eyes are covered by his sunglasses. “I have a basketball, but I figured you wouldn’t want to play with a girls’ ball,” I tease.
“That’s fine if you want to use that to practice.”
“No, actually playing with the guys’ ball helps me get stronger. I do it all the time.”
He glances down at me. “It doesn’t throw off your shot?”
“No. I just have to make sure I warm up with the right ball before we play a game, so I’m ready with that ball.”
He gives me a small smile. “You still do the same warm-up routine?”
“Every single time. If I don’t, it throws me off.” We approach the courts. “Wow, they’re busy.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty popular,” he says in response.
I notice there are no courts available. “So, are we going to join a group or...”
“Yo, Reid,” a tall, shirtless guy calls out. “Come join us.”
Reid glances down at me, and I eye the group of males playing. “Are they okay with females playing?”
“They will be,” he says, and I laugh.
“Okay.”
We walk over to the group, and I take them in quickly.
I recognize a few of them as Reid’s teammates from years past. I wonder if the other ones are newer players or just guys that want to play a pick up game.
The guy that called him over is Caden; I recognize him as one of Reid’s teammates.
He sticks his hand out, and he and Reid do one of those bro hug things.
“This is Riley; she’ll be on my team,” Reid says.
Okay then.
Caden glances down at me with a cockeyed grin. “Hi, Riley. I’m Caden.”
I smile up at him. “Nice to meet you, Caden. You play with Reid, right?”
“More like he plays with me,” he says with a big grin.
“You wish,” Reid says, walking past him. “Are we doing this or not?”
“We are definitely doing this. Let’s see what your girl can do.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“Let’s see,” Reid says, cutting me off.
“All right, people, we’re going to regroup,” Caden calls out to the guys. “This is Riley; she’s going to play with us.” Thankfully, nobody disagrees with that. “She’s with Reid. Logan and Jay, you’re with them. The rest of you are with me.”
Two more tall guys walk over. “Logan,” Reid says, pointing to the guy with brown hair. “And Jay.” Jay has a buzz cut. I quickly memorize their names. He looks at the other team and then back at us. “Who do you guys want?”
“I’ll take Dawson,” Logan says.
“I’ll take Ace,” Jay adds.
Reid turns to me. “You’ve got Andres.” He points out a guy with dreads.
“Oh good. He’s shorter.”
“Don’t underestimate him; he’s fast,” he tells me.
“Okay.”
I watch Andres; he’s got a confident swagger to him. I figure he’s definitely one of the guys on Reid’s team. “All right. Are we ready?” Caden calls out. He holds the ball out to Reid. “We’ll even let you go first.”
Reid smirks. “How kind.” He gives the ball to Jay, and Jay starts at the top of the key.
I move over to the left side, my dominant shooting side.
Even though I’m right-handed, I’ve always been a better shot on the left side.
Of course, I can shoot from both sides; but given the choice, I’ll always shoot from the left.
It takes me a few minutes to get into the rhythm of the game.
I’ve played with guys many times over the years, but I haven’t exactly played with college guys.
This is a whole new level of basketball, but I remind myself that I'm also at a college level now and force myself to keep up. I haven’t done a whole lot more than keep up with Andres and give a few passes when we’re on offense.
I'm giving myself a chance to warm up. But then Reid does a give and go and sets me up for a shot. I don’t second-guess it and take it.
I smile when it goes right in. A few of the guys whoop, and I find Reid for a high-five.
“Thanks.”
“Whoa, who’s the new girl?” somebody shouts, but I ignore it.
I’m used to people calling out things during games.
But when the guys slow and stop, I turn to see who’s interrupting.
I recognize Exavier right away. He's a senior, like Reid, and has been playing with Reid for three years.
Another guy walks over behind him, and I know him as Adam, another senior basketball player.
Knowing how these things go, I speak up. “I’m Riley.”
Exavier saunters over to me. “Hi, Riley.” He grins. “So, you’re playing with the ballers today.”
I keep my expression relaxed. “I guess so; Reid invited me.”
He glances over to Reid. “Did he now?”
Reid comes over to stand beside me. “Are you going to play, or did you just come to interrupt?” he asks. I’m kind of surprised by his aggressive words, but I don’t get a chance to think about it for long.
“Oh, we’re totally playing,” Exavier says, reaching back with one hand and pulling off his shirt.
I turn around, ready to get back to playing.
“What’s the matter, Riley?” he calls out from behind me.
“You afraid of seeing a little skin?” I barely refrain from rolling my eyes.
Exavier whoops and comes over to join us.
“All right. Now, you guys can get a real game going. Right, Riley?”
I don’t glance over at him. These kind of guys don’t need anything to stoke their ego.
“Yep.” Exavier takes the ball from Caden, and I guess Adam’s on our team now.
Adam stands in front of Exavier to guard him, and I move over to Andres and get ready to play again.
I have a feeling it’s about to get much rougher.
A smarter, saner girl would have walked away.
Not me. I never backed down from a challenge, and I know guys like Exavier.
That’s exactly what this is—a challenge.