Page 14 of Playing to Win
Kyle threw the ball at him, coming seriously close to hitting the fine specimen Jamal always insisted God gifted him with and then continued. “So I challenged her to a game of horse. And get this. She lost, but just barely. I didn’t even take it easy on her. Curly is like the Beethoven of spot up shooting. No joke.”
“So afterward, you took her back to her place and got jiggy wit it?”
“No, Will Smith. Good lord, man. You have some Will fetish I don’t know about? First, a Fresh Prince impression and now one of his songs from the 90s? Getting stalker-creepy, man. Stalker-creepy.”
“The man is a genius, Kelly. Who else can befriend aliens and kill ’em, too? And that Jada? Mmm-hmmm. That is one fine woman.”
Kyle shook his head. “To answer your question, no. We went back to her place. And I helped her study. She’s apparently not only a dancer, but she’s in college, too. About to graduate in May.”
“Look at you, all puffed up like some proud poppa. You got it bad, man. It’s sad. Study. Hmph. You need some serious lessons in gamin’, man.”
“Good thing I got enough game on the court to get us a championship ring. And you just wait. Curly will come around. You’ll see.”
With a groan,Callie reached over and turned off her alarm that was blaring the death siren in her ear. She looked at the clock. Ten-thirty. A measly four hours of sleep. Her body was yelling in protest. It needed at least another three solid hours to function. Unfortunately, her internship at the local news station didn’t wait for anyone. With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and headed to the shower.
“Good morning, sunshine,” Cassie called from her perch on a stool at the breakfast bar. It was times like these that Callie hated her roommate just a little. While Callie was sure when she looked in the mirror she would see that it looked like a rat had built a nest in her hair overnight and could predict big puffy bags under her eyes, Cassie looked like she could go walk a runway at this very moment. Not a hair out of place. Not a bag in sight.
“I hate you right now,” Callie told her with a glare.
“Me? What did I do? I’m not the one that kept you up!”
“No, but you look perfect! You always look perfect!”
“I have no clue why your dad nicknamed you Sunshine!” Cassie yelled back as Callie was slamming the bathroom door. “He should have named you Surly! Or the Indian name that meant she who is a bear in the morning!”
Callie looked in the mirror. Yep, as she thought. Rat’s nest hair. Bags under eyes. But a smile on her face. Why was there a friggin’ smile on her face?
Because you had a good time last night with Mr. Kelly, an annoying voice inside her head shouted.
“I did not! Go away, spawn of Satan. It’s too early in the morning to argue with you. I haven’t the energy or sleep.”
You so did, the annoying voice continued. In fact, you’re counting the days until you can see him on Friday and you know it.
Callie let out a sigh and turned on the hot water of the shower. Letting the spray hit her full-on in the face, she wet down her hair and began scrubbing out the tangles.
“What are you doing, Callie girl?” she mumbled. “You’re letting that man get in your head. So what if he’s handsome and funny and sweet and will stay up with you practically all night helping you study? So what if he’s a big superstar and still is willing to meet your dad? He’s still an athlete. And all athletes are asses. You learned that the hard way. So put on your big girl panties, build an immunity to the dimples, and just say no!”
“You know what I think?”
“Ahhh!” Callie screamed as Cassie ripped the back part of the shower curtain open and stood, hand on hip, looking at Callie, a thoughtful expression on her face. “What do you think you’re doing, Cassie? In case you didn’t realize, I’m trying to shower here! And you’re letting in cold air!”
“Oh, please. I can’t even see to brush my teeth for all the steam. I think,” she continued as she put toothpaste on her brush, “that you are afraid to let yourself feel something for this Kyle Kelly. Heck, I don’t blame you. After what you went through with Matt, you’re afraid to let yourself—”
“Just wait a second. You know all about what I went through with Matt. You were there, holding back my hair as I threw up because I made myself so sick over it. You watched me lie in bed for days, listening to that stupid Backstreet Boys A Way Back To Your Heart song on repeat over and over and over, my tears soaking my pillow.”
“I still don’t understand your obsession with that boy band.”
“And after all that, you think I should just pick right back up with another athlete? One that will do the exact same thing to me?”
“How do you know he will do it, too?”
“Because they’re all alike! They all think that they can do whatever they want with whatever girl they want. It’s ingrained in them.”
“I think you’re wrong.”
“Well, I know I’m right.”
“Well, you still have four more ‘hang outs’ with him, so we shall see. I think he’s different.”
“Yeah, in the four hours you’ve known him.”
“Need I remind you that you’ve only actually known him really about two more hours than me? Before that, you were just judging him in your head from afar. But I’ll let you get back to your shower. I know you have to be at the studio at noon. He’s not just eye candy, Cal. He’s smart. Matt was always a dumbass.”
Cassie walked out the door. As Callie shut the curtain and went back to washing her hair, a nagging feeling in the back of her mind couldn’t help but think that Cassie might be right.
