Page 85 of Courtside

David’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”

“Come on, Coach. Everyone knows. Everyone ships it.”

“Ships it?”What in the hell was happening?

Monty let out a bright laugh. “We’re rooting for you, Coach.” With a wink that also scrunched up his other eye, he took off to join a group of the guys that hovered near the entrance.

“Watch it, Monty!” David called after him, feeling a mixture of amused and embarrassed at the idea that at least one of the players had picked up on his feelings for Sage.

Shaking his head, he scratched his jaw. Just then Jenks’ dad came up and introduced himself, and David was pulled into another conversation.

Finally, he wrangled the team onto the bus, urging them through goodbyes as he ushered the stragglers outside.

He’d just climbed on the bus when his phone buzzed in his pocket. It was a text from Sage.

I’m going to stay with my family tonight. Hope that’s okay.

David shoved aside the misplaced disappointment as he typed out his reply.

Of course. Thx for everything this year.

You too, Coach. Congrats on a great season.

Couldn’t have done it without u.

You*

His mouth curved into a smile as he leaned his head back on the headrest.

He couldn’t wait to get home.

CHAPTER23

DON’T FALL FOR IT

SAGE

Sage slowed to a walk as she muttered an apology to the frowning flight attendant at the front of the plane.

Half of her hair was falling out of the braid she’d slept in, and her eyes were gritty with sleep — or the lack thereof. She walked down the empty aisle, painfully aware that every fucking passenger was watching her find her seat.

Of course she immediately saw David, sitting about halfway back with a frown pulling down his lips as he watched her. She couldn’t hold his gaze.

When she passed him on her way to the single empty seat toward the back of the plane, she muttered a quick “Sorry,” but didn’t look at him.

She couldn’t.

Finally she settled into her seat between two of the freshmen players, offering them both what had to be a strained smile before putting her earbuds in and closing her eyes.

Her head was a fucking mess.

She’d been on such a high after the game. Even though it had ended in a loss, there had been such a tangible sense of togetherness in that locker room that even Sage had felt the heady belonging of being a part of the team. They’d left everything out there on the court, and it was the perfect culmination to a season that, while it had started rough, had ended in greater accomplishments than anyone had expected.

And then there had been David, who at the beginning had looked so uncomfortable in his position. In those early games, she’d watched him like she was trying to learn him. To understand him. He’d fidgeted with the sleeves of his blazers. He’d second-guessed himself when the players asked him questions. His uncertainty and lack of confidence had been right there on the surface, where anyone could see it.

But he’d changed. Somewhere along the line he’d found something inside of himself to draw on. Something that lent him strength, calm, and the self-assuredness of someone who knew that they were right where they belonged.

Somehow he’d become more beautiful too.

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