“You wish,” Reid says, walking past him. “Are we doing this or not?”
“We are definitely doing this. Let’s see what your girl can do.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“Let’s see,” Reid says, cutting me off.
“All right, people, we’re going to regroup,” Caden calls out to the guys. “This is Riley; she’s going to play with us.” Thankfully, nobody disagrees with that. “She’s with Reid. Logan and Jay, you’re with them. The rest of you are with me.”
Two more tall guys walk over. “Logan,” Reid says, pointing to the guy with brown hair. “And Jay.” Jay has a buzz cut. I quickly memorize their names. He looks at the other team and then back at us. “Who do you guys want?”
“I’ll take Dawson,” Logan says.
“I’ll take Ace,” Jay adds.
Reid turns to me. “You’ve got Andres.” He points out a guy with dreads.
“Oh good. He’s shorter.”
“Don’t underestimate him; he’s fast,” he tells me.
“Okay.”
I watch Andres; he’s got a confident swagger to him. I figure he’s definitely one of the guys on Reid’s team. “All right. Are we ready?” Caden calls out. He holds the ball out to Reid. “We’ll even let you go first.”
Reid smirks. “How kind.” He gives the ball to Jay, and Jay starts at the top of the key. I move over to the left side, my dominant shooting side. Even though I’m right-handed, I’ve always been a better shot on the left side. Of course, I can shoot from both sides; but given the choice, I’ll always shoot from the left. It takes me a few minutes to get into the rhythm of the game. I’ve played with guys many times over the years, but I haven’t exactly played with college guys. This is a whole new level of basketball, but I remind myself that I'm also at a college level now and force myself to keep up. I haven’t done a whole lot more than keep up with Andres and give a few passes when we’re on offense. I'm giving myself a chance to warm up. But then Reid does a give and go and sets me up for a shot. I don’t second-guess it and take it. I smile when it goes right in. A few of the guys whoop, and I find Reid for a high-five.
“Thanks.”
“Whoa, who’s the new girl?” somebody shouts, but I ignore it. I’m used to people calling out things during games. But when the guys slow and stop, I turn to see who’s interrupting. I recognize Exavier right away. He's a senior, like Reid, and has been playing with Reid for three years. Another guy walks over behind him, and I know him as Adam, another senior basketball player.
Knowing how these things go, I speak up. “I’m Riley.”
Exavier saunters over to me. “Hi, Riley.” He grins. “So, you’re playing with the ballers today.”
I keep my expression relaxed. “I guess so; Reid invited me.”
He glances over to Reid. “Did he now?”
Reid comes over to stand beside me. “Are you going to play, or did you just come to interrupt?” he asks. I’m kind of surprised by his aggressive words, but I don’t get a chance to think about it for long.
“Oh, we’re totally playing,” Exavier says, reaching back with one hand and pulling off his shirt. I turn around, ready to get back to playing. “What’s the matter, Riley?” he calls out from behind me. “You afraid of seeing a little skin?” I barely refrain from rolling my eyes. Exavier whoops and comes over to join us. “All right.Now,you guys can get a real game going. Right, Riley?”
I don’t glance over at him. These kind of guys don’t need anything to stoke their ego. “Yep.” Exavier takes the ball from Caden, and I guess Adam’s on our team now. Adam stands in front of Exavier to guard him, and I move over to Andres and get ready to play again. I have a feeling it’s about to get much rougher. A smarter, saner girl would have walked away. Not me. I never backed down from a challenge, and I know guys like Exavier. That’s exactly what this is—a challenge.
Chapter 3
Riley
The game picks up, and I keep up with it. My breathing comes heavier now, but it feels good. I need the burn. It’s pretty much back and forth. They score, and then we run down to the other end and somebody on our team scores. The guys on my team have been pretty good to give me a chance with the ball every once in a while, but I haven’t done much with it, mainly because these guys are so tall. But Jay sets me up nicely and I take a jumper, nailing it. “Good one, Riley,” Jay says, hi-fiving me on the way down the court.
The longer we play, the less hold I have on my competitive spirit. I’ve always had a drive to win, no matter what it is we’re playing. But basketball brings it out the strongest. One of the things I have going for me is that I’m fast, and that’s not because of my wolf. I know how to pull strength and power from my wolf; all shifters do as they grow. Even though I’ve never shifted, I still have a wolf inside me that I can pull from. But I’ve played for years without the use of my wolf; I know how to separate myself from my wolf when it’s time to play. My speed is all just me, and I've used it over the years stealing the ball time and time again and scoring on a fastbreak. I don’t usually do it when I’m playing with guys, but sometimes, my instincts take over. I’m near the top of the key when a pass goes right past me. They should have used a bounce pass, but they didn’t. And I’m going to capitalize on it. I push the ball forward and race down the court. The hoop is wide open, but I’m not naive enough to not think somebody’s probably closing in on me from behind. I keep my speed up andgo right up for my layup. One minute, I'm in the air; the next, I hit a wall of muscle. I go down hard, unable to catch myself.
Exavier jumps back hooping and hollering, and I just ignore him. I start to stand, but then Reid is there pulling me to my feet. And then suddenly, all the guys are there. “Dude, you can’t do that. She’s agirl,” Caden says in anger.
Reid is suddenly in Exavier’s face. He says something so low I can’t hear, but Exavier is not backing down. “What’s your problem? If she can’t handle it then she shouldn't be playing.”
Reid steps closer, and I don’t know what’s come over him. Reid never fights. “Reid, it’s fine.” I put a hand on his arm, trying to stop him. He glances down at me, and I’m shocked by the way his eyes are flashing, a sign his wolf wants to make a presence. Now, there’s a whole new problem. I pull on his arm, pulling him towards me and away from Exavier. “Reid, get control of yourself,” I whisper hiss.
