“I gave up a long time ago.”
Zane and Evie leave, and I watch them go a minute before turning to Reid. “All right. Have a good night.”
His serious eyes meet mine. “Anytime you want to play, text me. You've got my number or just reach out through the pack link.”
“Any time?” I ask with a glint in my eye. “How about now?”
He just shakes his head, a wry smile tugging on his lips. “Sure.”
“Really?”
“Like I can ever say no to you,” he says with a smirk.
I grin. “Let me go get changed real quick. I’ll be right back. Do you need to change?”
“I’m good.”
I pause at the door. “Do you have a ball we can use?” He nods. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time.”
I head inside, excitement thrumming through me. I'm ready to work up a sweat and play some basketball. It takes me only a few minutes to change into shorts, a sports bra, a tank top, and my sneakers. I head back out less than five minutes later, and I find Reid right where I left him. He’s got a ball under his arm, and I don’t miss the once-over he gives me, lingering on my legs. “What?” I ask.
“Nothing. Let’s go.” I can’t see his expression because his eyes are covered by his sunglasses. “I have a basketball, but I figured you wouldn’t want to play with a girls’ ball,” I tease.
“That’s fine if you want to use that to practice.”
“No, actually playing with the guys’ ball helps me get stronger. I do it all the time.”
He glances down at me. “It doesn’t throw off your shot?”
“No. I just have to make sure I warm up with the right ball before we play a game, so I’m ready with that ball.”
He gives me a small smile. “You still do the same warm-up routine?”
“Every single time. If I don’t, it throws me off.” We approach the courts. “Wow, they’re busy.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty popular,” he says in response.
I notice there are no courts available. “So, are we going to join a group or...”
“Yo, Reid,” a tall, shirtless guy calls out. “Come join us.”
Reid glances down at me, and I eye the group of males playing. “Are they okay with females playing?”
“They will be,” he says, and I laugh.
“Okay.”
We walk over to the group, and I take them in quickly. I recognize a few of them as Reid’s teammates from years past. I wonder if the other ones are newer players or just guys that want to play a pick up game. The guy that called him over is Caden; I recognize him as one of Reid’s teammates. He sticks his hand out, and he and Reid do one of those bro hug things. “This is Riley; she’ll be on my team,” Reid says.
Okay then.
Caden glances down at me with a cockeyed grin. “Hi, Riley. I’m Caden.”
I smile up at him. “Nice to meet you, Caden. You play with Reid, right?”
“More like he plays withme,”he says with a big grin.
