Page 15 of Courtside

Rolling his eyes, David waved off the compliment.

“But seriously,” Maggie leaned forward onto the bar, long pink nails drumming on the polished wood surface. “Did you get her number? You two were all sorts of sparkly together.”

“Ah…no. Didn’t get her number.” He took a long swig of his beer. “Wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

Maggie scoffed. “We both know that’s bullshit.”

“She works for, well, sort ofwithme.” David leveled his stare at the bartender, whose eyebrows had popped halfway up her forehead. “Walked right into my office this morning.”

What he didn’t tell her was that for the tiniest moment, David had thought that Sage had been there for him. That somehow she’d tracked him down and had shown up at his office to resume whatever they’d started that night at the bar.

David was fully aware that he was completely delusional, and an idiot.

Leaning back against the bar, Maggie shook her head, like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So you’re her boss?”

“Technically, no.” David drained the last of his beer, setting it down with athunk. “She’s a graduate student doing an internship for the team that I coach.”

“Iknewyou were both jocks,” Maggie said with a self-satisfied grin. “You looked at her like she was a basket you were trying to strike.”

David laughed. “That’s not a thing.” When she pointed at his empty beer in a silent offering of another, he waved her off.

“Whatever. My point is that the two of you screamed sports with your height and muscles.” Maggie took away the empty bottle. “So what are you gonna do about it?”

He scratched his jaw. “Nothing. I’m going to do nothing.”

“Lame,” Maggie said, her tone teasing.

Pocketing his phone, keys, and wallet, David rolled his eyes. “Smart,” he retorted.

“See you later, beautiful!” Maggie called out, her laughter following him out of the bar and onto the sidewalk.

As he started walking in the direction of home, his thoughts turned to Sage.

The smart thing to do would be to send her a politely worded email to schedule a meeting so that they could clear the air before they actually started working together. But that would involve him figuring out what the hell he was supposed to say to her.

Oh yes, hi there. We met at a bar and had reached a verbal agreement that we’d be engaging in sexual behavior together. While that sexual behavior never happened, I’ve already imagined your naked body in technicolor and for some reason I think that you’re a silent screamer when you come.

He audibly snorted, startling a grackle that had been on the sidewalk next to him. Of course, the grackle flew right at his face, leading David to jump to the side and frantically wave his arms about in an attempt to escape the bird.

Finally the bird found its way into the air above him, and David shook off a shudder.Fucking birds who didn’t know their place in the world.Which, for clarity’s sake, was up in the tops of trees or in the sky. Not on sidewalks or public beaches.

It was still hot, but the devilwood trees that lined the street provided some dappled shade. The Grove was situated on the outskirts of a shopping center that had a nice grocery store, a pet groomer, a bookstore, a coffee shop, at least one insurance agent, and some other businesses David hadn’t taken the time to remember.

He liked this part of town; it was only a six minute drive to the university, so it had been an obvious choice for David to pick an apartment in one of the surrounding complexes. He’d chosen the complex he had for the pool, the larger than average gym, and the fenced, off-leash dog park.

When he reached the metal fence that surrounded his building, he typed in the code for the heavy gate. From there it was a short walk along a winding sidewalk to his building, which was right next to the central communal area that housed the pool and gym.

He jogged up the stairs to the second level, fiddling with his keys before finding the correct one and unlocking the door.

He liked his place. His apartment had an open floor plan, with a carpeted living room next to the tiled kitchen and dining area. There was a bar in the kitchen, and a wide window over the sink that looked out at the tall trees. To the right was a hallway that led to his bedroom and a spacious bathroom that he paid extra for, and to the left was a second bedroom that he currently used as a home office.

He’d sold most of the furniture from his apartment in Chicago before he left. He didn’t have an emotional attachment to the generic couch, tables, chairs, and bed that he’d purchased as cheaply as possible when he’d moved out there six years ago.

What he had kept from his Chicago apartment were the little pieces of home that he’d gradually accumulated over the years. A large black-and-white photo of his friends huddled together on the dock at the house on Lake Murray was framed above the gray sectional along one wall. Three concert posters — Modest Mouse, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and George Strait — were framed along another wall. His mom had convinced him that the fake plant tucked next to the dark wood TV stand was a necessary decorative statement, but in David’s eye he much preferred the bookshelf crammed with worn, paperback copies of police procedurals and detective novels, his preferred method of escapism.

An excited bark and the jingle of a collar had David dropping down to his knees just in time to catch the flash of golden fur that careened toward him.

“Hey, sweet girl,” he crooned to the wriggling golden dachshund as he stood up, cradling the small dog in his arms. “How was your day?”

---