Page 17 of Ready to Score

“Football is actually one of the most expensive youth sports to play. Um… we have really expensive uniforms that have to be replaced a lot, and all these pads and protective gear and stuff. We also have to travel for a lot of our games, sometimes overnight. That costs a lot. Coach says that even with all that, the team’s biggest expense is our snacks and stuff. Coach Landry has worked real hard to make it so that any kid who makes the team has the opportunity to play—not just the rich ones. But all that means is we need a lot of money to keep everything together.”

The boy’s dark hands clutched the printed paper in front of him as he read his speech off it. With every word, something lodged deeper in the middle of Jade’s throat. It felt like a brick sitting there, heavy and distracting, as it made her eyes water. She’d told herself she wouldn’t cry, seeing him up there, but it wouldn’t be the first time she had lied to herself.

“I was the one who suggested we do a bingo fundraiser this year. The car washes and popcorn movie nights are cool, but I felt like we needed something better than all that this year. My granny always says that people love gambling because they like throwing their money away. So, I figured, why not have y’all throw it to the team instead.”

Thirty minutes after Vonte’s—very successful—speech, they were well into the game. The bingo hall was alight with laughter and movement. Vonte had taken well to being the night’s honorary bingo caller, using the microphone to call out the chosen balls like he’d been born with it in his hand. Jade had a personal check written out to the team in her pocket, which was the only thing that kept her from feeling guilty about not playing with everyone else.

She hated bingo. She found it tedious and stupid, a complete waste of time and money. She posted up against one of the structural beams, surveying the room like a casino pit boss. When her eyes landed on Lim, she tensed instantly. The woman sat at a table near the entrance, dauber clutched in her hand and her eyes on the sheet in front of her. Her dark hair was down but tucked behind her ears, and even though Jade didn’t have a clear view of her face, she could practically see the wrinkle forming between the woman’s eyebrows.

A shiver made its way down Jade’s spine. Lim was completely wide open, ripe for the taking. A perfect fucking target. Jade sprang into action the second the plan started forming in her brain. She stalked her way across the room, swiftly sliding into the empty chair to Lim’s left.

“Hey,” she whispered.

Lim looked up at her, bewildered. “Um… hey…”

“Enjoying the game?”

The woman turned to look behind her as if she couldn’t fathom that Jade was speaking to her so casually.

“… Yes?”

Jade sniffed and relaxed into her seat, eyeing the sheet on the table in front of Lim. She had a few close possible wins. She already had three filled diagonally, three horizontally, and two vertically. Lim could get a win easily if the odds turned in her favor. And Jade had a feeling they were about to do just that.

Jade tapped her finger against the 12 in the B column. “They called that one.”

“Wait, what?” Lim looked up at her, confused. “When?”

“A few calls ago.”

The woman’s dark eyes narrowed. “How do you remember that?”

Jade worked hard to keep her body language and tone nonchalant. “B-12 like the vitamin—it’s easy to remember.”

Lim considered it for a few moments before putting a big blue dot over the square. Jade bit down hard on the inside of her bottom lip to keep her smile under control.

“Why are you sitting here?” Lim asked. “And why are you in such a good mood?”

“I suppose we’re teammates now, in a way.” It made Jade’s belly burn just to say it. “I’m only being friendly.”

“Literally three days ago, you looked at me like you wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole.”

“You know, I think I was being a little territorial. This team means a lot to me, and I don’t trust newcomers so easily.”

Something almost hopeful seemed to cross Lim’s face, and she smiled. “Is this you apologizing to me?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Jade watched Vonte reach into the cage and pull out another ball, and just as he went to speak it into the mic, she leaned in close to Lim. So close that she could smell the faint traces of perfume on her skin and see the goose bumps that arose on her collarbones. Jade made a show of dragging her eyes over the skin,slowly raking her gaze up the slender column of Lim’s neck and jaw and nose before finally meeting her eyes. Jade knew that had anyone been paying attention, they’d think the two women were about to kiss.

Even her own mind couldn’t help but go there for a split second. Lim’s pink lips pursed just the smallest bit, quick but enough for Jade to catch the movement and commit the way it looked to memory. It would be so easy to just forget where they were or who they were and lean in…

Jade ground her teeth together until she felt a pang in her jaw. She was being ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. There was a plan here. A thing to see to fruition, and here she was acting like she’d never seen a pretty mouth before. She sniffed once, lightly, getting her head back in the game.

“No apologies,” she finally replied. “Just trying to be nice.”

Lim’s lips pursed even more before her eyes widened in realization. “Shit, I missed the call! Did you hear what he said?”

Jade tapped her finger on a square right next to the one Lim had just filled in. I-19. “Looks like you got a bingo.”

Lim studied the sheet in front of her intently, running her eyes over the card, trying her hardest to verify what Jade had told her. Sure as day, right in the center of the page was a neat row of five squares, each of them centered with a big blue ink blotch.

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