Page 103 of Home Town Advantage
I hold up my hands in question. “What does that mean?”
“He’s not going to give you what you want unless you stop giving him what he wants.”
I shake my head again. “No. That’s not how it is with us. We’re not kids. We don’t play games. We have a long-shared history, both the good and the bad. He loves me. I know that. He tells me all the time.”
“Do you love him?”
My eyes fill with tears. “I haven’t said those words to him. I won’t let myself go there until he comes clean.”
“When will that be?” she pushes.
“When his season is over. He knows the time is coming when this conversation has to happen, but I’ll wait until his season is over.”
“That could be four months away. How many times have you pushed this off?”
I’m quiet. She doesn’t know about the pressure he’s under, and I would certainly never betray his confidences. I refuse to add to his stress in the middle of such an important season for his career.
She shakes her head in obvious disappointment. “The answer is that you’ve pushed this off too many times. You need to do this once and for all. You’re only falling deeper in love with him.”
She’s not wrong, but the simple fact is that I miss him when we’re not together.
Tears fall from my eyes, and she takes my hand. “What do you want, Sulley?”
“The truth,” I answer without hesitation.
“What are you afraid of?”
I sink back into my seat. “Same answer.”
She reaches for a tissue and tenderly wipes the tears sitting under my eyes. “I guess we’ll deal with that fucked up statement tomorrow. Today we have a championship to win.” She intertwines her fingers with mine. “Are you ready to make history?”
I wipe away my tears and smile. “Sure am.”
She smirks. “Isn’t it fitting that we’re going to do so against Diane Garma?”
I roll my eyes. “Behave. We don’t need you fouling out. We can’t win this without you.”
She looks my gameday outfit up and down, taking in my khaki-colored overcoat on the cold fall day. “Why do you look like Inspector Gadget?”
I let out a laugh. “I guess I’m not as fashionable as you. You look like a pimp-cowgirl.”
She smiles as she takes in her oversized cow-patterned furcoat with a matching cowboy hat, a short denim skirt, and cowboy boots. “Because I’m going to ride that bitch like a rodeo queen. Being from Montana, I thought you’d like this outfit.”
I lean my head back on the seat and smile. “Nothing will ever beat the Black Widow costume you wore on the first game back after your suspension. It was iconic.”
After that, Kennedy’s gameday outfits became a huge social media thing. She’s had several endorsement offers to dress her for games and has been basking in them. I’m happy my friend is getting the much-deserved attention.
With a bemused look on her face, she says, “Itwasiconic, but not as iconic as what I made Daylen wear for his first game of the season after losing our bet.”
VANCE
Coach’s worried eyes meet mine. “The second half just started. The Beavers are down by nine.”
I nod at him as we quickly board the airplane in Los Angeles. We just won our fifth game of the season. We’re undefeated. Unfortunately, the final game in the Beavers’ championship series is tonight. We were hoping they could close it out a few days ago when we were able to be at their game, but they lost game six and are now in a decisive game seven. We’re on the other side of the country. Fortunately, Coach arranged for the game to be played on the televisions of our team plane. I know he’s disappointed he can’t be there.
He and I are sitting in the front row together, watching the second half begin. I have to double-take the stat line on the screen. Both Kennedy and Palmer already have over twenty rebounds each. That’s nearly unheard of. They’re the clear workhorses of this game, no doubt. Unfortunately, Sulley is having a slightly off night. She only had seven points in thefirst half. It’s not horrible, but she usually has more than that. Fortunately, Layla and Kennedy are both doing most of the scoring to keep them in the game. They’ll need Sulley to heat up if they’re going to win this. To win a big game, your stars need to step up.
I notice Kennedy only has two fouls. That’s good for her, considering she leads the league in games fouled out. She’s otherwise been locked in since her suspension and is having a great season.
