Page 41 of The Perfect Steal

I jogged out, grabbing a basketball from the rack and dribbling it a bit. It was the tiniest bit flat, so I put it back and grabbed another one before heading over to our basket and shooting at the three-point line, sinking the shot.

I had a pretty good outside shot, but only when I was completely open with no one to distract me from it. My best odds were under the basket where my tall frame was able to rebound just about everything, and layups and short jumpers were my jam.

We lined up in two lines at opposite sides of the basket, taking turns doing layups and rebounding.

After I made the basket, I glanced up into the stands, surprised to see my friend group with their boyfriends all there.

Frowning, I tried to signal their attention without getting in trouble from Coach. Of course, they were all engrossed in some discussion, and I went back to focusing on the game. Having them there to support me was a rare occurrence, but it was fun having them. Then again, since Kate was the student body president, she’d been trying to attend as many games as possible throughout the fall.

The buzzer sounded, and we headed to the bench, waiting for the announcer to go through the starting lineups and coach announcements.

“Look at you and your little fan club,” Stephanie said, dabbing her head with a towel as we sat next to each other.

“It’s a surprise to me. They didn’t say anything about it today.”

“Well, you should be grateful they’re here at all. You’re lucky to have friends who support you in anything you do.” Her tone was tinged with bitterness, and I wondered what she’d been going through that made her feel that way.

“They are good ones.” Trying to pump her up and change her attitude a bit, I asked, “Are you ready for this?” I reached out my fist, and she bumped hers against it.

“Let’s do this.”

The announcer went through the opposing lineup and then through ours. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I liked hearing the loud cheer from my friends once my name was called. A surge of pride flooded me, and I was grateful I had some people who were in my corner.

Then another voice drew my attention, and I had to hold back a full smile.

“Go Miller!” Nate said, a sack in his hands as he walked up the stairs toward our group of friends.

“Did he bring me ice cream again?” I joked to myself.

Was this how he felt when people came to watch him play? Because I couldn’t help the zip of excitement running through me.

For most people, I tried not to show the emotional or sentimental side. Call it the product of having a college basketball coach as a father and being taught to keep my emotions to the chest so people didn’t know how to get to me. But Nate had seen me at my worst the night before, and he hadn’t run away. That earned him even more points in my book.

Secretly, I’d always wanted to have a guy at my games, cheering me on, even if he was just a friend. With Nate, it felt like that.

How crazy just a couple of weeks could change things.

The game was about to start, and I won the tip-off, rushing back to get under the basket for Stephanie’s play. She passed the ball to Tara, who shot it, hitting it off the rim and bouncing it in my direction.

I could feel Seaton’s center, number eleven, bumping at my hip, ready to push me out of the way to get to the ball. I thrust out my hip, sending her back several inches in the opposite direction and grabbing the rebound with ease. I jumped up, laying the ball against the glass and watching it go in for the first two points.

And like that, all the jitters and nerves were gone. We were playing basketball, and we were going to fight for the win.

26

Nate

Kate directed the group of us toward the side of the bleachers when there were only a couple of minutes left in the half. There was a long table set out with several boxes on one end, and the rest of the table was covered in one of those cheap plastic tablecloths.

“What do I need to do with this?” I asked, holding up the bag of whipped cream for her. She hadn’t specified how many she needed, so I bought five cans, my lucky number.

“Just put it on the table there,” Kate said, standing back and turning into the director of a play.

“How did we get roped into this?” I asked, sidling up next to Dax.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I know how I did, but you being here is a mystery. Maybe it’s so you can show up Garrett Park.”

“What do you mean? He’s going to be here too? How many people do we need to entertain the crowd?”

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