Page 70 of Rookie Season
“A bunch of sweaty naked guys?”
“Is Clay there?” my other sister asks. “I will give you everything I own if you put on video.”
They laugh and I grin, tossing a look at my teammate who’s changing.
I feel right at home here. I’m missing my family, but I have another one with these guys.
“We need to go check on the turkey,” my mom says, capturing the phone and taking me with her. “What’s wrong, honey? It’s just us.”
“Nothing.” I take my thumb off the camera as she walks.
“I know you. You play tough, but you have a soft heart.”
I sigh. “There’s this girl I’m really into. But she’s not willing to go there with me, and I don’t want to be that guy to drag her for it. She has people telling her what they want from her all the time.”
Mom’s eyes shine with understanding. “Then tell her what you want to give her instead.”
“And if she still doesn’t want it?”
“Her loss, honey.”
Funny. It feels like mine.
Voices drift into the kitchen alongside my mom’s. My cousins are arguing about the dessert.
“Are you on video now?!” one demands. “Is Clay there?!”
A message comes in, capturing my attention.
Sierra: Great game.
“Thanks, Mom. I gotta go,” I say quickly. “Call you later?”
She agrees despite the protests behind her, and I say goodbye and hang up.
My heart is thudding as if I’m still on the court as I type back.
Ryan: Thanks. You’ve never texted me before.
Sierra: I promised I’d text you after we hooked up this time. So, Merry Christmas.
My chest warms, my hands tingling.
“Be good to her. She’s been through a lot.”
Clay’s gruff voice has me looking up.
“What do you mean?”
“Mile High’s been through some rough times. Dragged Sierra and her family with it. It’s doing better now, but when you’re used to giving your all to something, it’s hard to think about anything else, not to mention trust it.”
I don’t ask him how he knows, because it doesn’t matter. I believe him.
That won’t happen with me.
I have to prove it to her.
The sign on the door says “Closed,” but there are still patrons inside Mile High when I make my way through the snowy streets and park close by the bar. The warm lights inside can’t quash the nerves in my stomach as I adjust the stuffed Christmas bear under my arm and push my way inside.
