Blane was at the top of his game after that one dreadful loss, constantly moving the ball down the court toward the basket, his sweatband atop his head and his steps sure, like a lion chasing its prey. The other two losses came after Mo and Demetri found themselves in foul trouble and were seated on the bench.
But nothing stopped them tonight as they conquered the conference, not even my tarnished reputation. As I watched Blane sink a three and run back on defense, high-fiving his teammate, I knew—just knew—I’d done the right thing.
Blane
After we won the nationally televised conference on the road in front of our biggest audience ever, Conley gave up on quieting us down and hustled us out of the gymnasium. ESPN was waiting in the locker room when we filed in, so we gave TV interviews for what felt like hours.
When the reporters left, we slapped each other on the back and celebrated.
“Your dunk, my man, is sure to be top ten tomorrow,” Mo screamed in my ear. “That shit was insane, the way you went over that dick’s head!”
I managed a smile. Okay, more than a smile; I was damn fucking proud. We were over halfway to my dream . . . all of our dreams. The championship was staring us in the face. The league was going to come hard for me, and then I’d be able to buy my mom a house like I’d always wanted. I’d be living my life the way Cate had predicted. It was all fucking coming true, just like she’d wished for me when she set me free.
“That alley-oop was no joke either, brother,” I hollered back to my roommate. “Wouldn’t be surprised if your move beat me out on the list, Ash.”
He deserved the good juju after living with me for the last few weeks. To say I’d been a prick was putting it mildly.
Yeah, I was more driven than ever to win this fucking title, but not because I wanted the fame and fortune. I wanted to control my fucking destiny and go get my girl. Yeah, she’d cut ties and thought I’d easily accept all that. Little did she know, I was letting her have her way and watching her do her thing from afar.
She was demolishing common thought around here, and I smiled just thinking about it. I laughed to myself. She’d thought she was so cunning and smart, breaking free. We’d only been intimate a handful of times, but Cate and I were friends. Maybe even the best of friends, before the sex.
She’d grown on me quickly with her sassy mouth and cute ass. I missed our banter the most, and I had a few tricks up my sleeve. The shrimp thought she’d outsmarted me.
Nope. Not even close.
The guys made on like I was ridiculous not to use the “hall pass” Cate had given me. Alex moaned about it all the time. I didn’t know why he was so worried about my sex life; he wasn’t attached and could have as many ball babies as he wanted.
Mo whined that he wanted one pass before becoming a dad, and then he’d whisper in my ear he was lying. “On my soul, Steele, this baby, that woman, best thing ever. But I got to keep my rep,” he’d murmur.
“Fucking did it, yes!” Mo shouted, bringing me out of my stupor and back to the present.
“Where’s the party when we get back?” Alex called through the locker room as he pulled on his boots.
“Heard Sonny wants in,” Ashton said.
“No,” I said, raising my voice over the din.
It was one word, but firm. The guys knew one thing to be true—Sonny was dead to me. He could have controlled some of the burn, corralled his urge to spread the gossip. He could have stopped the dumb fucking intern, but he didn’t.
“We know, bro,” Ashton said. “No Sonny. Party’s at Alex’s, and D got some heavy hitters to make sure he doesn’t make his way in.”
Coach walked in and raised his hands to stop the chitchat. “Enough party talk, gentlemen. We now have a tournament to win. So get your heads outta your asses and get on the bus.”
We all nodded but grinned as we shuffled out to the bus in the dark night. There was no way we weren’t having a party.
Then we were going to win the whole fucking shebang, and I was going after my lady. After all, I wore her name on my body and she wore mine. As far as I was concerned, she was ruined for any other man.
Catie
Mid March
The game was over and my hands still shook. Adrenaline and pride flowed through my veins, making my whole body tingle.
Hafton won the championship!
I’d only been a part of it for a short while, on the far periphery of the world these guys lived in, yet I couldn’t help but cherish the moment. My guys did it.
The New York-based arena was a sea of dark green and white. Fans swarmed onto the court afterward, cheering for the players hefting a trophy over their heads. I’d watched from the nosebleed section, staring down at the hardwood from so far up, my guys in green had looked like tiny action figures moving the ball up and down the court.