Page 42 of Guarding Our Love
The other team had just finished being announced, and it was our turn. After they went through a few players, it was time for Julian.
“At number eight, small forward, Julian ‘Stone’ Whetstone!”
I clapped for Julian as he ran down and slapped hands with our teammates.
“At number thirty, point guard, Calil ‘Coop’ Cooper!”
My heart pumped in my chest as I did the same thing.
Once we were all introduced, we huddled around our coach. “All right, fellas. This should be an easy one, but that doesn’t mean getting comfortable. Go out there, and give it your all like y’all do any other time. Warriors on three!”
“One, two, three, Warriors!”
We all dispersed, with Julian, me, and three of our other teammates in the game first. Almost every game’s lineup was the same unless someone got hurt.
“Let’s do this!”
I got the ball first and dribbled it down the court. Two people guarded me. Well, at least they tried, but I faked to the left, shook one of them off, and then passed the ball to Oreo. He was wide open and made it to the hoop for a layup.
“That’s how you start a game!” I yelled as I tapped Oreo.
The other team had the ball, so we ran down the other end. As soon as their guy shot the ball, Julian knocked it out of his hand.
The crowd went wild as I got the loose ball and dribbled it down the court. When I made it to the three-point line, I did what I do best and shot it. The crowd yelled again. I looked in Sloan’s direction, and she had a big smile on her face as she clapped. I winked at her then focused on the game.
By the endof the game, we won by forty-seven. I didn’t want to talk to the press because I was anxious to get to Sloan, and I knew Clarissa would be there. I hadn’t gotten around to talking to her. It shouldn’t have been a problem, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Good game, Coop.” A couple of the guys slapped me on the back as I entered the locker room.
“And each of y’all did ya thing as well.” It wasn’t just on the coach to encourage the team but on all of us. If one person was down, we all were.
We chopped it up for a bit before I got my shit so I could meet Sloan. She was supposed to meet me in the hallway, and we would head back to my house for the night. I told her I would take her out, but she said she was okay with chilling at my house. I was cool with that because I didn’t want to be out anyway.
“Hey, Calil,” I heard as soon as I left the locker room.
I looked down the hall and spotted Sloan heading my way. I needed to get Clarissa’s ass away from me as soon as possible. The hallway wasn’t long, so it wouldn’t take Sloan long to make it to me. I already knew she spotted Clarissa a little too closebecause of how her brows furrowed. I took a step back to put some distance between Clarissa and me.
“I’ve been meaning to reach out to you. We have to stop our arrangement. I’m into something else right now, and it’s getting serious.” I looked over at Clarissa’s shoulder and noticed Sloan had gotten closer.
Clarissa turned around and spotted Sloan. “She’s pretty.”
Sloan made her way to me and stood next to me. Her eyes darted between Clarissa and me.
“Hey, I’m Clarissa, one of the reporters. You must be special if Calil let you back here.” Clarissa stuck her hand out, and Sloan looked at it for a second before she shook it.
“Hi. I guess I am.” Sloan’s eyes bounced around like she was trying to piece something together.
“Welp, I’ll let you guys go. I’m sure Stone is still around here somewhere.” With that, Clarissa walked away.
If she were looking for Stone, I already knew what would go down, and that was perfectly fine with me. I already told him if he wanted to fuck her again, I had no problem with it. I closed the small gap between Sloan and me.
“You see me showing off out there?” I pulled her into my arms and kissed her neck.
She giggled, then wiggled herself out of my arms.
“Yeah, I did. Good game. But what was that about?”
Sloan’s tone wasn’t angry, but I could tell she felt some type of way about it. I could only imagine how guarded she was.
