Page 18 of Courtside

Once the group was assembled around him, David looked back over his shoulder and gestured for her to join them. The weight of his eyes on her was heavy, like his hand on her thigh at the bar.

She stood up, walking over to stand between David and Coach Dixon. The guys immediately zeroed in on her. She noticed a few of them looked her up and down, with one guy even biting his lip and raising his dark brows at her. She returned his stare with one of her own, doing her best to project an expression that said:Not in your fucking dreams.

David cleared his throat, the sound low and almost threatening. “This is Miss Fogerty, who’ll be our team manager this year. This means she’ll be keeping stats, traveling with us, and helping keep us organized and on schedule.” He cast a quick glance in her direction before turning back to the team. “You’ll treat her with respect and listen to what she has to say. Any questions?”

The guy who’d given her the flirty eyes earlier raised his hand.Idiot,Sage thought as she rolled her eyes.

David seemed to have a similar reaction, looking unimpressed as he said, “Yes, Chris?”

The player’s wide, white grin contrasted with the deep mahogany of his skin. “Are there any rules about romancing Miss Fogerty, Coach?”

Most of the players laughed, although a number of them at least tried to hide it. Sage saw David start to open his mouth to respond, but she jumped in before he had a chance to speak.

“Chris Terrence, right?” She tried to make her voice as saccharine as possible. “While I don’t doubt that you are a legendary romancer, I’d recommend re-focusing some of that energy toward your free throws.” She shook her head. “Forty-five percent last season? That’s bad, Terrence. That’s really bad.”

Once again, the entire team devolved into laughter and teasing, a few of them shoving at Chris’ chest. To his credit, he took her ribbing as she’d hoped he would — clasping a hand over his heart and dramatically stumbling back as though she’d wounded him with his words.

She looked quickly between both coaches, gauging their reaction. Coach Dixon looked amused, a small smile playing on his normally downturned mouth. David, though — he looked between her and the rest of the team, and she couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. Confusion, and maybe a bit impressed. When he looked back at her, she gave him a smile, needing in that moment to reassure him. Of what, she wasn’t sure.

Something loosened in his shoulders when he saw her smile, and he shook his head as his own smile grew. Turning back to the guys, he held up his hands. “Alright alright, now that we’ve all learned a valuable lesson about what happens when you try to romance Miss Fogerty —” He had to pause as the team once again laughed, but didn’t seem overly put out with their behavior. If anything, he looked relieved, like their laughter was something he’d been trying to find. “We’ve got some stuff coming up this week, so listen to Miss Fogerty and check your emails for the details.”

“Right, so you’ve got a community service event next week on Wednesday. You’re going to be putting on an after-school camp for kids at the local rec center. It’s a free program, so a lot of these kids may not have access to sports camps. It might be their first experience playing basketball.” She paused, tucked a stray hair back behind her ear. “I already checked everyone’s schedule, so all of you need to be there. Wear your gray team shirts.”

“And it’s alumni weekend this weekend,” Coach Dixon added. “So you boys need to be out and about before the football game, since we typically have a pretty big alumni turnout. What with this guy returning,” he cocked his thumb toward David, “there’s liable to be a bunch of guys coming in. So behave, and make the program look good.”

The guys nodded, and Sage noticed that their response to Coach Dixon was different from how they responded to David. No, Coach Hughes.

Fuck.

“Alright guys, get out of here and remember to eat green stuff,” Coach Hughes said, effectively dismissing the team.

Only one player — the skinny guard with the topknot — responded to his blatant attempt at humor. “I cook a damn good mac n’ cheese with all the sneaky veggies in it, Coach,” he said, grinning and revealing deep dimples and slightly crooked teeth. “Me and Erik are making dank meals over at our place.”

“I’ll take your word for it, Monty,” Coach Hughes replied, a fond smile on his face as he watched Monty jog off to join the guys as slowly left the gym, undoubtedly going to the locker room.

Sage walked back over to the bleachers and sat down, waiting to give the players time to get out the door. While she was going to be around the team, she had no illusions that she waspartof the team, and wanted to respect that boundary.

She watched Coach Dixon shake David’s hand, the assistant coach’s face once again stuck in a frown. They exchanged a few quiet words, and then the older man turned toward the door, following the players out of the gym. She watched as the heavy wooden door slid shut behind him, the click amplified in the suddenly silent space.

“Mind if I walk with you?”

She started at the sound of David’s voice so close to her. Getting up, she adjusted her bag over her shoulder, shrugging as she started toward the door. She felt him fall into step beside her, and she caught a whiff of him that she hadn’t before — a clean, familiar smell that she couldn’t place.

He reached out ahead of her, pushing open the door and stepping aside so that she could walk through first.

“Thanks,” she said, chancing a glance up at him as she walked past.

He watched her with intense focus, like observing her was the only thing on his mind at that moment. It was an uncanny feeling, and she felt her cheeks warm in response.

She slowed, waiting for him to join her as the door shut behind them. She noted with a smile how well-matched their long legs were as they walked down the quiet, empty hallway that bordered the glass-walled racquetball courts.

“So,” David said, breaking the silence between them. “I feel like we should probably talk about what almost happened between us.”

“Probably a good idea,” she said, bracing herself for what was inevitably going to be an uncomfortable, if not necessary, conversation. Sometimes, being an adult was a real fucking bummer.

“So,” he said again, pausing to clear his throat. “We met at a bar, hit it off, and were planning on going home together.”

She couldn’t help but snort. “We were going to fuck, David.”

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