Page 46 of Broken Butterfly
Back to New York City
“Hoops! Mr. Fallon! Y’all came back!” Devon yells across the basketball court and rushes over to me and Fallon, the gap between his front teeth on full display with his wide grin.
We had to stop twice to refuel on our way back from Sydney, and if the jet didn’t have a private bedroom with a large bed, I think I would be comatose right now. Ryder and I slept most of the way back to the States. Well, that’s not entirely true. We joined the mile-high club too. With the gap-stops for fuel, it took us over a day and a half to get to New York. Seeing Devon’s happy face makes the long journey worth it.
“Told you we would be back,” Fallon says as Devon plasters himself to my side and Fallon high-fives Trevaughn and Seamus. I look around for Butch but he’s not out here.
“Who’s that?” Devon asks, eyeing up Ryder who is standing next to me.
I wrap my arm around Ryder’s waist. “This is my boyfriend, Ryder. Ryder, this is Devon, Trevaughn, and Seamus—the best unsigned basketball players in New York.” I wink.
“Hey, man,” Ryder fist bumps each boy. “Nice to meet you guys.”
Devon scans Ryder skeptically. He crooks his hand at Fallon, motioning for him to bend down so he can whisper, “You okay with him being with your girl?”
I bite my lip to hold in my laughter.
Fallon mock-whispers back, “Yeah. She was his girl first. He’s cool.”
Devon nods his head as if what Fallon said made perfect sense. “Cool.”
“Want to shoot some hoops with us?” Seamus asks.
Fallon looks around. “Where’s my other teammate?”
Trevaughn is bouncing the ball in front of him between his hands while looking around and not at the ball—a skill I have yet to master. “He and his mom split a few days ago. Said his aunt in Illinois was taking them in for a while.”
When we arrived at the women’s center, Mrs. Berkeley was surprised to see us again. She proceeded to gush all over Fallon. I would too if he had given my organization three million dollars. I saw a couple of the women I had spoken to before and introduced Ryder to them. Mrs. Berkeley showed us some of the things they had gotten for the center using Fallon’s donation. I was happy to see the new books they purchased for the reading nook and the re-modeled family art room. They took the open space they were already using for arts and crafts and added more tables, chairs, and a huge wall-length bookcase filled with art supplies. Mrs. Berkeley also said that new beds and mattresses had been ordered and would come in after the holidays. Wanting to see the boys before we left, Fallon and I knew exactly where they would be, so we made our way out to the center courtyard.
“Ryder can take Butch’s place on Fallon’s team,” I tell the boys. I place a quick kiss on Ryder’s lips and break off with Devon and Trevaughn. “Alright, what’s the game plan?”
Devon spins the ball on his finger in thought. “Is your guy any good?”
“Ryder? Yes, he is.”
“As good as you?” he asks.
I peer over and consider my boyfriend. I’ve seen Ryder play basketball before with Jayson and Julien. He’s so athletically inclined, he can pick up almost any sport with ease. Ryder’s also an adrenaline junkie, so I know he’ll try for the fancy shots and power plays during the game.
“I think I can handle him.”
“If Hoops can make a couple of three-point shots like she did last time, we’re golden,” Trevaughn says. He grabs the spinning ball from Devon’s finger and bounces it to me. I like that they call me Hoops; it’s much better than being called princess. Hoops is a show of respect, whereas princess makes me feel like I should be a damsel in distress—powerless, instead of powerful. Fallon calls me kitten, but at least kittens have claws and can bite. Why in the hell am I thinking about this now?
Seamus calls over, “Hey! Are we going to stand around all day or are we going to play?”
“Since you’re so eager, you can have possession of the ball first,” Trevaughn announces with a chest pass to Seamus. “It’s not like we need it since we’ll be whooping your asses anyway.”
“Hey baby!” I call to Ryder. “You may need to check your teammate. He likes to foul.” That earns me a cocky side-smirk from Fallon.
We get in position and Seamus is able to pass the ball to Ryder even though I’m covering him like flypaper. Sneaky man does a fake to the right and spins around me. Luckily, I’m able to recover quickly and block his shot.
“My girl has game,” Ryder says, slipping in a quick kiss as he jogs by.
Watching Ryder play basketball is a total turn-on, and I’m completely distracted. My attention has been glued to his ass and the flex of his biceps for most of the game. Currently my team is down eight-to-six because I haven’t been able to focus. One more basket from them and we lose. Devon passes me the ball, but Ryder is in my way. I dribble a few times checking to make sure no one else is near us. I turn so my back is against his front as he blocks me and I grind my derriere into his crotch as I dribble the ball.
Turning my head to the side so only Ryder can hear me, I tell him, “Virgin territory,” and give my backside a little wiggle.
Ryder stands up abruptly from his slightly bent position. “What?” he croaks, his face turning a nice shade of pink.
