Page 34 of Read Between the Stars (Turn it Up Spinoff)

“Oh my God, you’re so pale, what’s wrong?” Lizzie chimes in thereafter as I take a merciful sip of the pop. I steel myself for a moment, letting the fizzy bubbles tickle my raw throat and soothe my stomach before answering.

“Evan plays pro ball for Chicago,” I reveal. “I just saw him on Tyler’s phone.”

“Fuck,” Lizzie breathes out with an eyeroll as Katy places her hand on my back. Lizzie paces a moment, seemingly unsure how to best approach this before stopping and holding her hands out. “Are you alright?” I consider her question a moment before taking a deep breath and closing my eyes while I shake my head.

I want to be alright, and I wish to God I was. I wish this person didn’t have the power to make me not alright.

“You need a meeting?” Katy asks solemnly by my side, but it’s almost a statement. This time I give a subdued nod, again, wishing I didn’t, but knowing I do.

“Can one of you pick up Luna?” I look hopefully between the two of them.

“I have two more clients,” Lizzie answers, but looks upward like the blue sky might offer her a solution.

“I’m done for the day. I can go get her,” Katy offers. “Go take care of yourself so you can take care of her, okay?”

“Okay,” I nod on an exhale. “Thank you.”

Ben

Doing the right thing has never sucked so much. For the last two weeks, I’ve gotten brief glimpses of Kasey twice a day and exchanged about ten words with her each time. I hate it. I’ve felt some kind of unexplainable draw to her from the very beginning, but since she told me how she feels about me, I find myself yearning for any scrap of attention she’ll give me, and of course, it’s never enough.

Every glance, every word her voice utters, every whiff of roses that floats over me when she walks away… And yes, if you must know, I watch her ass each time. It doesn’t matter if she’s in a sundress, yoga pants, or those cursed cut-off shorts, it never fails to demand my attention.

All objectifying aside, since she told me how she feels, I feel this longing to be closer to her; to hold her, and spend every minute with her - which of course is confusing as hell after all these years. And the fact that she opened up to me, telling me something most people would be so afraid to tell… I felt privileged, but I also admired the courage that must’ve taken for her. Then again, she told me she always lays everything out on the table because she doesn’t have time or room in her life not to. I’ve had so much respect for her from the start, and I knew I had some feelings of attraction towards her, but something is definitely growing inside me now.

I didn’t want to tell her that night because she deserved a sure answer and not a probable guess, but there’s no question now. I’m crazy about her.

I stand on the side of the court as I watch the kids, ruminating about how much I hate how the last two weeks have gone. I’ve given the kids the last five minutes of practice to have free time shooting hoops until their parents all come to pick them up. I want nothing more than to be selfish and totally defy the boundaries Kasey has set, by reaching out to pull her into me, to hold her face in my hands and memorize every detail about her eyes before seeing how her lips feel against mine.

But dammit, I can’t. She’s put those fences up to protect herself and her child for crying out loud, and I have to respect that. So for now, I’m going to have to settle for another two-minute interaction. I might as well get psyched up for that.

Moments later, however, I find myself disappointed when I don’t see the leggy brunette with the warm smile I crave. After most of the parents have already retrieved their kids, I see a blonde woman walking towards Luna. It takes me a moment to place her, but I finally recognize her from the salon. She gives a resigned smile as she gets closer.

“Luna!” she calls, seeming overly cheerful.

“Hi, Katy,” Luna walks up to my side, hugging her ball to her stomach, hands clasped at the wrists while she twists back and forth in place. Heaven forbid kids hold still for even ten seconds. Cue the need for sports. “Where’s my mom?” She asks curiously, and Katy’s smile falters.

“Well, she got a little sick and so she’s gone to see a doctor,” she explains gently.

“Is she okay?” Luna asks, looking adorably worried, and I unconsciously rest a hand on her shoulder.

“She’s going to be fine,” Katy assures her. “She just wasn’t feeling well after her last appointment and wanted to go get checked out, so I’m going to take you home with me for dinner. That’ll be fun, right? My kids haven’t seen you in a while, so you can play with them.”

“I want to go home,” Luna murmurs dejectedly, hugging her ball closer to her. She’s trying to be brave, but I can see how uneasy she feels.

Katy hesitates for a moment and breathes in deep before answering.

“I know, Luna, and really, I’d love to take you to your house right now, but my kids are at home and their grandma has to leave in half an hour, and-”

“I can take her home,” I cut in, not realizing when I even thought to suggest it. I guess I can just tell by the troubled look on Luna’s face that she needs to feel safe, and if she needs to be in her own house, well, I can do that for her.

Katy’s face snaps over to mine, her mouth open as she considers whether that’s a good idea.

“Yeah!” Luna seconds before turning to Katy. “Can I please go with Ben?” she pleads with her huge puppy dog eyes.Oh she’s good.

“W-well,” Katy hesitates, before I offer up another idea.

“You can call Kasey and get her permission first if that would be better,” I assure her, my hand still on Luna’s shoulder.

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