Shrugging, I said, “We don’t really even know each other, so it’s not something I feel like going into. It’s just that I need that internship, and Sonny has a lot of pull.”
The truth was, I needed to set a boundary with this guy, establish control, do something proactive for my mental state. Determined not to care that there was a sexy-as-fuck male across the table from me anymore, I pinched off a corner of my scone and popped it into my mouth.
“We could get to know each other. Apparently I now have a lot of time on my hands.” Blane shrugged, giving me the boyish grin I’d seen so many times from afar.
Up close, it was so much better. Brighter. Blinding. Lethal.
“As friends. Brotherly, right?” I said, tossing his words back at him.
He cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah. Is that okay? I don’t know if you heard, but I’ve sworn off everything and everyone else.”
I wanted to be mean in a vicious women’s-lib way, to let him know that I wasn’t going to be some chubby replacement for his usual female conquests while he served his celibate sentence.
Instead, I replied, “It’s okay, but I really have to finish this paper. Maybe another time?”
“Cool. I’ll be seeing you, Cate,” Blane said, shortening my name in his own way, sexing it up. He winked at me as he stood up and walked away.
He probably didn’t even realize he’d added that wink. Flirting came that naturally to him.
Blane
It was eight o’clock Sunday morning and I was on the gun, my body covered in sweat, my arms aching from shooting jumpers. The balls flew at me in a continuous loop, one after the other, and I stroked them into the net.
“Impressive,” a deep voice shouted over the gun. “I haven’t seen you miss one yet. Looks like that vow’s doing you wonders.”
I couldn’t stop and look because I would get hit in the head with a ball, so I shouted back, “Nah, I’m just this good.”
My teammate Maurice Dawson crossed in front of me and flicked the switch, shutting the machine down. “How ’bout a little one-on-one?”
I crossed over to the bench and toweled off, grabbed my water, and took a swig while nodding. If he wanted to go toe-to-toe, that was his choice. He was going to lose this morning.
I tightened my laces while I waited for Mo to lace up his shoes. We’d been at Hafton together for three years. I’d come straight out of a pieced-together scholarship at a four-year Catholic high school, paid for using a little money from the diocese, some from the YMCA, and a bit more from my own parish.
He’d come from a year at prep school after four years at Saint Something-or-other, following in his brother’s footsteps. Now his brother coached for Brooklyn, and it was pretty much a given Mo would do something for that organization when he was done here. He was in no rush; he loved the athlete status even more than his brother had. Although Trey had been known at Hafton as a notorious womanizer and a lover of Crown Royal, he was apparently tame compared to his little bro.
Mo stood and stretched his wingspan, twisting his torso back and forth, and then bent to touch his toes. His dark skin, darker even than his reputation, wasn’t slicked with sweat yet like mine, but we’d soon take care of that.
I raised an eyebrow his way. “What are you doing in here early on a Sunday?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Not enough sex last night?”
I grabbed a ball and started gunning him chest passes. He shot the ball back to me with enough power to knock out a city.
“Nah. I got a situation.”
“Want to talk about it?”
A few passes later, he said, “Got a girl knocked up.”
I palmed the ball, stilling its movement, and looked up.
“Yep, I’m gonna be a dad. None of the other guys know, and I want to keep it on the DL during the season. I thought I’d come in here and get a little work done in the quiet. Wasn’t expecting to find you here.”
“Well, I got my own issues and couldn’t sleep either.”
“Not enough sex?” he asked with a grin, flipping my own question back at me.
“Well, there’s that, but my shot is on point, so maybe Sonny’s on to something.”
Mo snorted. “I don’t know, don’t care. That’s enough girl talk. Let’s play.”
And that’s what we did. We played for an hour, no talk, nothing. It was exactly what we both needed. Peace and quiet. Of course, Mo thought I only wanted respite from the bet with Sonny, but I knew better.
I’d been bored with the * parade for a while, and wasn’t sure why. Now I knew. Apparently, I enjoyed a side of brain with my women. At least, a half portion of wit and an appetizer of snark. Of course, I hadn’t sampled the lady goods that went along with my latest interest, but I imagined them to be tasty.