Teardrop Shot(97)

“Excuse me? What are you talking about that he can’t rebound? Who cares? He’s not on the inside. Wanna know what he does excel at?”

“Everything else?” said a woman from the other aisle. She and her friend started laughing together.

“And he doesn’t look too bad, either,” her friend added as they collapsed in laughter.

I had to pause, fighting back a grin, before finishing, “He led in scoring five out of the last seven games. He’s led in steals most always. His balls skills are close to Stephen Halorry, another legend in the league, and his floater balls can come in damned handy—and yes, they can win an entire game. Thank you.”

I was not done.

Raising a finger, I continued. “No, he doesn’t lead in rebounds, but that’s why they have Crusky, or Lestroy even. And no, he doesn’t lead in three-pointers, but seriously, he’s really good at those too. He’s the youngest captain that team has ever had, and that’s a feat all by itself.”

I needed a breath. My face was getting hot.

And once I stopped, I started noticing the looks.

A few guys wanted to argue, but the guy beside me was just smiling. Leering, slightly. He leaned forward. “You wanna go on a date, honey? I think I could get tickets to the Chasers game.”

I couldn’t stop myself. My retort came before I knew I was going to say it. “Oh, fuck you.”

Half the plane erupted in laughter.

I sat back, and one of the middle-aged ladies waved at me. “You go, girl. You put those men in their place. They ain’t used to girls knowing about sports.”

As I put my seatbelt back on, I noticed my neighbor eyeing me. “What?”

“I’m not hitting on you—I have a girlfriend in New York—but do you wanna go to the game? I’m sure my friend would have room for one more. I didn’t know you were that big of a fan.”

I wanted to huff, but only because I was still feeling spicy. Instead, I shook my head. “I think I’m already going with the friend I’m flying in to see.”

“Okay. Well, if I see you, I’ll give you a shout.”

“Same here.”

The fight drained from me once we landed, and I headed for the exit. My seat neighbor ended up keeping pace with me. We both had only carry-ons, so once we were outside, I waved Trent down and turned to him. “You got a ride coming?”

“Yeah…” But he was looking at Trent, his eyes narrowed.

Then, as Trent’s SUV pulled over and he got out to meet me, my neighbor’s eyes went wide. “Fuck, man. I thought we were meeting at the game tomorrow?”

Uh…back up. Screeching brake sounds.

Trent stopped, and his shocked gaze jumped between the two of us. He scratched the back of his head. “Um. Huh?”

“Give me a hug, man. It’s good to see you. I don’t know how you—” He stopped, catching on that Trent was staring just as hard at me. “Oooh.” He motioned between us. “You two know each other?”

It was clicking in place now.

Of all the ironies.

I gestured to Trent. “This is the friend with the box seats?”

When my plane neighbor nodded, I turned to Trent. “You have box seats?”

He coughed, his face pinking. “I, uh, kinda know the team.”

Oh. Duh!

Oh my God.

I wanted to smack myself in the forehead.

Then Trent and my seatmate were shaking hands and hugging. I learned his name was Dwayne—Trent introduced us.

“Charlie, huh?” He released my hand, stepping back and frowning. “That’s an unusual name for a girl.”

I glared at him, but he grinned. “Sorry. Had to see if some of that fight was still in you.”

I grunted, putting my bag in the back since Trent was now enamored with Dwayne. Going to the back seat, I opened the door and hollered at them, “Let’s do all this on the ride.”

Other cars were starting to honk. We’d exhausted the thirty seconds we could use to greet each other, throw our suitcases in the vehicle, and take off.

Both guys laughed, and Dwayne nodded to me as he sat in the front passenger seat. “This is nice. Thanks for letting me have it.”

I just grunted again. There was another potential problem in the future, and I waited till Trent was inside and we had pulled out to the main road before bringing it up.

“Is it the box with the team girlfriends and family?”

He met my gaze in the rearview mirror. “Maybe?”

I groaned. “Trent.”

“I thought—”

“No. Can we get regular tickets? I don’t want to deal with his manager and a few other people.” Ahem. Marie. But mainly Stan.

“I’m sorry. You said you wanted to come down and see—”

I coughed, shooting a meaningful look toward his friend.

Trent caught it, amending, “—the game, and I did a recent speaking event with them. Just was natural to reach out, but I can change it.”

“No way!” Dwayne protested. “I was looking forward to the box.”

Turned out Dwayne and Trent knew each other because they both traveled a ton. Trent had been booked for a speaking event with the company Dwayne worked for, and the two saw each other on a plane not long after that. They’d been fast comrades at heart. Dwayne mentioned he was flying in from Alaska, and because it made sense for both of them, Trent invited him to the ball game.