Page 51 of Courtside

“Tell me about the game.” Sage reached for the bowl of soup, blowing on the spoon a few times before bringing the first bite up to her pink mouth. He watched as she sipped at the broth, and when her lips quirked up in her crooked smile he found he could finally breathe again.

“Right. The game.” David circled around the table before lowering himself down on the opposite end of the couch from where Sage was curled up. He’d all but forgotten about the game since he’d walked into Sage’s apartment, and thinking about it again made his skin crawl. “It wasn’t good.”

Sage watched him as she slowly ate the soup. When she didn’t say anything, he continued.

“Some things were better,” he conceded, thinking of Tim’s words earlier. “The defense was pretty good, but offensively we just can’t make the plays happen.” He rubbed a hand over his face as he shook his head. “And Jordan is a mess out there.”

“So what’s your plan?”

David opened his mouth and then promptly shut it again. Honestly, he hadn’t gotten to that part yet, still stuck in the disappointment of their most recent loss.

Rather than pretend, he went for the simple truth. “I don’t know yet.” A rough sigh escaped him. “I need to look at the tape and review the stats, and —”

“If you had a team meeting right now, what would you tell them?”

“I,” David started, trying to imagine himself standing at the front of the windowless classroom where team meetings were held. He could see the guys in front of him, and could perfectly imagine their expressions in the locker room after that night’s loss.

It wasn’t the time for X’s and O’s. Players didn’t need to hear about the plays they’d run incorrectly after a loss.

“I’d tell them that I believed in them.” David leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “It sounds like a goddamn cliche, but that’s what I’d say.”

“I think they’d appreciate hearing that,” Sage said before another coughing fit shook her body. David was reaching for the mug of tea before he was fully aware of what he was doing, and when he handed it to Sage, she reached for it eagerly. She took a long drink, just sitting there and watching him for a moment before she added, “I know that, as a player, I always did.”

Daisy’s collar jingled as she adjusted her position on Sage’s lap. Sage, who must have sensed the dog’s attempt to get more comfortable, extended a leg out along the couch.

Once again, David’s body acted on auto-pilot as he reached over and tugged the quilt down to cover Sage’s now-extended leg. Of course, doing that then moved the blanket away from where it was tucked up around her shoulders.

Sage reached out with her free hand and grabbed at the cloth. “Why are you stealing my blanket?” Her eyes narrowed into what he could now identify as a glare that was meant to convey amused annoyance.

David pointed down at her foot. “I’m trying to cover your feet.”

“This blanket isn’t big enough.”

He stood up. “Do you have any more?”

Sage’s eyes followed his movement. The green of her eyes was more golden than the vivid, bright greens of the plants that were scattered around the living room, and he noticed that while her lashes weren’t especially dark, they matched the brown of her eyebrows.

“Seriously?”

David nodded.

“There’s another one folded on my bed.”

He found the other blanket in question, feeling extremely conscious of the fact that he was in her bedroom. He tried to avoid looking too closely at anything, although he did notice the old pair of Hyperdunks on the floor beside her bed.

When he walked back into the living room, Sage’s eyes were closed. Her chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm.

Carefully, he unfolded the blanket and set it down over her, making sure that it reached far enough to cover her outstretched foot. Daisy was still sound asleep where she was curled up in Sage’s lap. He started to reach for his dog, but paused when he saw that one of Sage’s hands was tucked under Daisy’s belly.

He scrubbed his hands over his face, unsure of what to do.

Whatever his plan was, he didn’t want to wake Sage.

Grabbing his phone, he typed out a quick text. He waited for Sage’s phone to buzz where it sat on the table next to the empty bowl and mug.

Lefty, I’m at my place, left Daisy with u. Text when ur up and I’ll come get her.

He carried the dishes to the kitchen and washed them both, placing them to dry on the towel laid out on the counter top.

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