Page 25 of The Perfect Steal

Brynn

As Kate would say, I was surrounded by too much basketball. First, I played it as often as possible, even throughout the off-season, to make sure my game was up to scale with where it should be. Then my father was the men’s basketball coach for the Cougars. To top it all off, for a job, I reffed the younger kids and kept score for the men’s and women’s league games. It wasn’t the perfect job, but it was flexible and allowed me to get some stuff done during those short in-between times, usually finishing a math problem or two.

“How’s it going, Jerry?” I asked one of the refs for the night’s games. I helped pull the scoreboard out of the closet and started setting up tables and chairs along the sides of the gym. The school never pulled out the big bleachers for these kinds of games. I usually thought of the players as guys who were trying to relive the glory days.

With everything hooked up and reset on the scoreboard, I took out the lineup cards and handed one to someone on one of the teams to fill out.

At the door, I saw a bunch of the guys my age coming in and tried to figure out if they’d come to watch someone, one of their dads, maybe?

Dax, Colt, Jake, and Ben all strolled in, with Nate just behind them. He looked good in basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I closed my eyes, telling myself this was not helping my situation.

“What are you all doing here?” I asked, trying not to smile.

Dax pointed at Ben. “Ben’s dad needed a couple players so they wouldn’t forfeit tonight.”

I glanced behind them, seeing a man about the same height and build as Ben walking through the door, adjusting his goggles. They looked like the kind with a prescription.

I raised an eyebrow. “All of you are going to play?”

“Just Nate, Dax, and Ben,” Jake said, holding a ball against his hip. “Colt and I are just here for the entertainment.” He and Colt hit fists and waggled their fingers in some weird handshake I’d never seen before.

Nate grinned. “You’re going to have to give me some pointers, Miller. I haven’t played this game in three years.” He bent his arm over his head, pulling to stretch out the back of his bicep.

I handed the lineup card over to Jake and told him to bring it back to me once they’d written down all the players' names. “I’ll need the newbies to sign the main roster too.”

I still had to find the book that contained all the main rosters. Sandy, the woman who did the Tuesday night games, loved to hide it from me.

I settled into my seat behind the scoreboard buttons and waited for the cards to be returned. At the bottom of the big crate we used for all the odds and ends, I found the book.

“Oh, I’m so sorry I’m this late,” Hazel said, sitting in the chair next to me. “I got caught up in this scene I’m rehearsing for the winter musical, and when I finished, it was already late.”

I glanced at Hazel, with her makeup done and still in her cute clothes from school earlier today. And here I sat in long shorts and a t-shirt, wishing I’d taken the extra five minutes in the locker room to take a quick shower. I just hoped Nate wouldn’t get too close.

“You’re good. I got everything set up, and it wasn’t a big deal.”

Hazel tipped her head back. “Maybe someday I’ll be on time. I’m just glad you found me this job. It’s perfect for all my practices.”

I smiled at her, imagining her onstage as a variety of characters she’d played over the years.

Hazel had this job because I’d recommended her to the league organizer. She didn’t know much about basketball, even after coming to a couple of my games in the summer league, but it was fun to have someone I knew and could talk to while we worked, even if I had to instruct her on what to do for most of the game.

“Oh, aren’t those boys from our school? Wait, they’re the guys dating your friends, right?” She pointed at Ben and Dax. “Oh, it’s Nate!”

“Yeah. Who knew Nate Everton plays basketball too? Or used to.”

He went up for a layup, tossing the ball up so it hit the glass within the white box and fell down through the net. He’d joked about his basketball abilities at Hazel’s party, but he was a natural. Should I curb my crush for him? Or just let it go, even if it meant getting hurt?

“Have you ever gone out with him?” Hazel asked, that familiar twinkle in her eye.

“No, Hazel. I haven’t dated too many guys at our school.” I hadn’t even crushed on too many since I’d had my crazy growth spurt. I just didn’t want to cause people to talk about me if I was with someone shorter. “Brynn Miller, the single gal,” had it a little easier when not compared to anyone else.

But he’d mentioned going out for ice cream. A girl could dream that counted as a date.

“But he’s cute, Brynnie. Like, way cute. And I still think he probably fits your height requirement.”

I’d spilled to Hazel my specifications of finding a guy when she’d moved back at the end of the summer from Buffalo. The list was much more extensive than just his height, which was probably the reason I was still single.

“You should go out with him,” Hazel said, resting her hand on the clock button. At least she’d finally learned that much.She was beginning to sound like Penny, Serena, and Kate.

---