Page 35 of Summer Love

Shane stood up and grabbed the ball from his feet. He moved away to start shooting.

"Are you sure you don't mind that I'm crashing your basketball date?" I asked Hudson.

He raised a brow. "You're supposed to be shadowing me at all times."

"Yeah, but I'm respectful of your boundaries." I thought it was important to be here, to see a different side of him, but I'd respect his wishes.

"I want you here, and Shane is excited to have more people to play."

I sighed. "I can't make any promises about my skills. But I'll do my best."

He stood. "Let's see what you've got."

The brief storm had left the air hot and humid. But the time of day meant it would cool of slightly as we played.

There was only one ball, so we took turns shooting around, and then Shane said, "Let's play."

We lined up so that it was me and Shane against Hudson.

"We've got this," I said to Shane.

Shane nodded. "Yeah, Huds plays like an old man."

"Hey," Hudson protested as Shane fake pumped and then moved around him by dribbling the ball. He bounce passed it to me, and I did a left-handed layup off the backboard. "Score."

Shane high-fived me. "Hey, you're not bad."

I smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You might want to move a little quicker to keep up with us," Shane said to Hudson.

"He likes to trash-talk me," Hudson said by way of explanation.

Now it was Hudson versus the two of us, but he was taller and more agile than we were. Hudson checked the ball with Shane and then drew up to execute a jump shot. It bounced off the rim and out.

"You missed!" Shane exclaimed, and we switched spots.

It was fun to play a game, and Shane and Hudson's teasing kept it light. We stopped several times to drink water and wipe the sweat away.

It felt good to be physical. After college, I hadn't kept up with workouts, and I didn't play any sports. We switched it up so that it was the boys against me. That didn't go so well, especially when Shane yelled "Dunk!", and Hudson lifted him so that he could place the ball directly into the hoop.

I shook my head. "I can't compete against that."

"I think we should stop ganging up on her," Hudson said as he grabbed a swig of water.

"Yeah, it's probably not fair."

I was sore, but it felt good. I'd never been on a date where we did anything like this. Not that this was a date. I had to remember it was an assignment. I was supposed to be getting insight into Hudson.

So far, he was hardworking, focused, didn't seem to date much, and used his personal time mentoring a child. I didn't know what Shane's situation was, or how Hudson had gotten into mentoring, but I was curious.

"Are you ready for some ice cream?" Hudson asked Shane.

"Yes!"

Hudson grinned at me, the lines around his eyes crinkling.

He was achingly handsome, and the time we'd spent with Shane only made the man more attractive. Grams was right; he got more eligible by the minute. When the story was published, everyone would want to date him. He wouldn't be the quiet, aloof brother anymore. He'd be a local celebrity, and I was positive he wouldn't have any time for me.

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