“Doubt it.”
“No wonder your vag is such a ghost town,” I grumble under my breath.
“Hey, it is not a ghost town. It has an occasional visitor.”
“Battery-operated doesn’t count.”
Nessa scowls and leans back into her seat with a huff before flying straight forward again. “Oh, shit,” she gasps, sucking in a deep breath. Her eyes go wide and she points across the court to the massive crowd sitting on the other side. “That’s the scout that came the day you turned Slade blue.”
“What?” I demand, scanning the crowd but really not knowing who I’m looking for. “Where?”
Nessa points out the only guy in the stands that’s wearing an expensive suit and I fly to my feet, dragging her along behind me. “Come on,” I say, pulling on her hand. This is his big freaking chance, the one I stole from him last time. I can’t possibly let this go wrong.
“Where the hell are we going?” Nessa demands, tripping over random bags that lay in the middle of the aisle as we squeeze past.
“Where else?” I question, nodding across the gymnasium toward the scout. “I’m taking the role of the boys’ hype man. Every time any one of them score or do something even remotely alright, we’re going to scream for them and remind this guy why these boys need to be taken seriously.”
“Are you serious?”
“Hell yeah, I am. We’ll be discreet about it but enough for the guy to remember them. I want him wondering what is so special about these guys until they get a chance to prove it, which you know they will. You and I just became their biggest personal cheerleaders.”
“Oh, fine,” she groans, finally picking up her pace so I don’t have to pull her any longer.
We get down to the court and as we cross to the other side, Slade’s eyes meet mine. He jogs across the court, not caring that he has to intersect through the other team’s warm-up. “Where are you going?” he questions, taking my waist and looking at me as though he’s scared I’m about to leave.
“We’re getting new seats,” I explain.
Slade’s gaze flicks back towards the seat we just vacated to see them already being taken by other people. His brows furrow as confusion and suspicion mars his dark eyes. “What was wrong with those ones?”
“Nothing, they were great. But our new ones will be better.”
“Why do I feel like you’re up to something?”
“Because I am. There’s a scout over that side who we’re going to make sure falls madly in love with you.”
Slade’s brows shoot up into his hairline and he instantly spins to take a look but I grab his face and pull his attention back to me. “Geez, don’t make it obvious or anything. We’re going to go and cheer you on from behind him, make sure he knows who the real stars of this game are.”
Slade grins and he leans down, brushing his lips over mine. “You’re fucking incredible.”
“Look who’s talking.”
His hand curves down from my waist until it’s resting firmly over my ass and just when I think he’s done, he gives it a tight squeeze, making me press up into him. “Embarrass me in front of this guy and you’ll be paying the consequences all fucking night.”
“Damn,” I whisper. “I think I might have to.”
Slade’s eyes blaze as he drops his hand and slowly walks backward, not once taking his eyes off mine. He gets midcourt before finally turning away and freeing me. He jogs back to his team and I don’t doubt that within the space of three seconds, every one of them will know that tonight is their night to shine.
Nessa and I start making our way up the grandstand and as we scoot along the aisle to the seats we want, we find them already taken by two freshman girls who are more than happy to scoot over two spaces.
We take our new seats and I smile to myself. I’m a little higher than I usually sit during games but there’s no doubt that this position gives me a pretty good view of the court.
Nessa and I instantly get into action, cheering on the boys as they take a few warm-up shots and make comments to one another about their stats, improvements, and general awesomeness while watching as the scout takes notes in front of us.
The game finally starts and like lightning, the boys take off. They’re on fire. Tonight’s game is supposed to be one of their toughest with the opposition undefeated, but so are my boys and something tells me these guys are going to be going home with their tails between their legs.
This scout couldn’t have picked a better night to come and check these boys out. The other team is hard but they play clean, just like my boys. No one here is out to get Slade and no one here has tampered with his uniform. If this guy walks out of here without the need to boast about him to all of his superiors, then there’s something wrong with him.