Page 57 of Courtside

David didn’t immediately respond. Sage’s attention slipped back to their bodies, and she felt the moment when the thumb that rested against her lower back shifted, slipping up and under the hem of her t-shirt. When his skin brushed against hers, she felt her breath catch in her lungs.

There was an air of anticipation between them, like whatever happened next would set into motion a series of events that they were powerless to stop.

Sage tipped her head forward until her forehead met the cotton of the shirt that looked so different, so fuckinggood, on David’s bigger body. She knew that she was dancing on the edge of the boundaries they’d drawn, but she couldn’t bring herself to step away.

“Staying here too,” David finally said, and she felt the scratch of his beard against her cheek as he shifted his head away. “It’s getting late. We should probably head home.”

“Right,” Sage said, beginning to extract her body from his hold. “Good idea.”

When she went to tug her hand away from his, she felt his grip tighten for just a moment. She stopped, looking up at him, but found his gaze focused on where their hands were still connected. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but then shook his head and pulled his hand away.

“I got the tab.”

Sage opened her mouth to protest, but David was already walking to the bar. An odd emptiness settled in her stomach as she gathered her bag and moved toward the exit.

It was just dancing.

CHAPTER16

FLUFFY CORGI BUTTS

DAVID

David paced the hallway outside of the locker room, fidgeting at the scratch of the sweater he’d decided to wear for the game.

The dark green knit crewneck was a bit out of his normal fashion wheelhouse, but his mom had bought it for him and it made him feel a tiny bit better about disappointing her with the news that he wouldn’t be coming home for Christmas.

He wasn’t sure what the hell he’d been thinking when he told Sage that he was planning to stay in Charleston for their short holiday. In the thirty-five years that he’d been alive, he’d nevernotgone back to Atlanta to celebrate with his family.

Christmas was very much their thing.

But his goddamn mouth had run away from him, and he’d found himself fumbling through the excuse that a few of his players were staying around and didn’t have a place to go. Of course his wonderful mother had immediately understood, and promised to send a box of sweets in the mail for him to share.

He hated lying to her, but he hated the idea of Sage spending Christmas alone even more.

“We’re ready, Coach.” Jordan poked his head out of the locker room door.

David nodded, taking a moment to gather himself before following him inside.

The whole team sat on the benches, already dressed in their uniforms and warm ups even though it was still a few hours before the game. He’d called them in early, and there was a part of him that was still surprised to see that they’d actually listened to his request.

He could feel the heaviness in the air — their opponent tonight was Greenville University, a team who’d won almost all of their games so far this season. No matter how well they played, it was going to be a tough game.

David stood before them, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks and rocking back on his heels. He thought of the speech he’d planned, about playing hard and working together, about finishing their final game before Christmas on a strong note.

But the words wouldn’t come.

He took a deep breath. “So, as you can probably tell, I need a haircut.”

The room was silent. The players looked at him before looking at each other, obviously unsure of how to respond to him.

He reached a hand up and tugged on the hair that was undoubtedly tufting up around his head. “Come on, guys. It’s nuts, isn’t it?”

Monty was the first to break. His huffed laugh ignited the rest of them, and soon the whole team was doubled over with laughter as they looked up at David.

“Coach,” Patrick Eno, one of the freshmen, managed to get out. “It’s like one of those fluffy corgi butts.”

“What?” Jenks elbowed him in the side as he shook his head. “Corgi butts are white, dude.”

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