Page 14 of Personal Foul
Chapter Five
Sydney
Sitting in my office the next day, I’m in the middle of reading emails and making a list of things I need to do before our charity event when my mind wanders back to Colson.
It’s been like this ever since we first met. All it takes is one thing to remind me of him, and before I know it, I’m staring off into space, completely zoned out with my mind wrapped up in all things Colson Rush.
Today, I was reading over an email about traveling expenses for a few upcoming games, and my mind skipped to thoughts of joining the team for an away game. I started to picture staying in the same hotel, Colson showing up at my door after all the coaches and players have gone to bed. I imagined the look on his face when I opened the door, the smirk on his mouth as he’d taunt me, telling me I better not leave him waiting out there before he pushed his way through the door to take what he wants.
We were getting to the good part when two knocks on my office door jolt me from my thoughts as my dad appears before me dressed for practice in his athletic shorts and black Miami Blaze T-shirt.
Nothing hits like a cold bucket of water over the head like having your dad pop up like a jack in the box when dirty thoughts are running through your mind.
“Hey, Syd, sorry to bother ya. Hope I’m not keeping you from anything important.”
Oh, nothing too important. Just picturing what it would be like to do the horizontal mambo with one of your players.
“Not at all. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the Community Cares event coming up on Thursday. I know it’s last minute, and we had talked about having Jaxsen join you, but I was thinking about it after we talked yesterday. What do you think about having Colson help? He used to volunteer for an organization that helped underprivileged kids back in Chicago. I think he’d love the opportunity to join.”
I picture Colson hanging out with the kids at the Boys and Girls Clinic. As if there wasn’t already a growing list of things I found attractive, let’s add him volunteering to help kids in need to the list.
“Yeah, I think that sounds perfect.”
As if he can somehow read my mind or can sense we’re talking about him, Colson turns the corner and he’s standing outside my office door. He looks lost, his eyes scanning the names outside each door before he stops and his eyes fall on mine.
“Hey,” Colson says, looking from my dad over to me.
“Colson, hey. We were just talking about you.”
The slight curve on the edge of his mouth is his not-so-subtle way of letting me know he likes knowing we were talking about him.
“We have a Community Cares event coming up on Thursday. It’s down at the Boys and Girls Clinic, helping some underprivileged kids in Miami prepare for heading back to school. There are around seventy-five kids who will be participating. We’ll fill up a backpack with supplies, hand out free Miami Blaze T-shirts, and shoot some hoops with them for a while.”
“Sounds great! I would love to help. You can count me in.”
“Wonderful! Sydney is helping oversee the event, so she’ll be there with you, helping get everything organized and ready, while you can spend some time getting to know some of the kids.”
His eyes dart over to me upon hearing we’ll be working together on it. I nearly bite off my lip seeing his excitement at the idea of us leading this together. I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t looking forward to the opportunity to spend some time with him, even if I promised myself I’d avoid thinking about us being anything more.
“Absolutely! I was involved in a couple clinics back in Chicago. I’d love to get back into it down here in Miami.”
“Great, well, I need to head back to my office to take care of a few more things before practice starts, so I’ll leave you to sort out the details.”
We say our goodbyes as my dad walks out the door, shutting it behind him. We both stare at the closed door for a moment before turning our attention back to each other.
Taking a seat in front of my desk, Colson crosses one leg in front of the other, his hands folded in his lap. My eyes take in his suntanned skin, looking bronzed from the Miami summer sun to the tattoos wrapped around his arm, flexing as if he’s attempting to hold himself back.
Reminding myself I’m at work and to keep it professional, I say, “All right, well, I guess since we live so close to each other, it makes sense for us to ride down there together. I’ll have everything loaded up in my car the night before to bring to the event. The gym there will have all the equipment we need, and we can use their carts to load everything in.”
My face warms as his eyes stare into me, meeting my eyes before traveling down to my lips. He did this last night, staring at my mouth, taunting me by making me question and wonder what he could possibly be thinking.
“Is that everything?”
His face doesn’t change, continuing to stay expressionless while I pause, waiting for him to clue me in to how he’s feeling.
“I think so. Do you have any questions?”
