“Would you like to shoot first?” Gavin asked, extending the ball her way. “Or should we see how good I am with my left hand?”
A blip of an image sprang to mind, of him planting that hand on her butt and hoisting her onto the counter.
She took a large step back. “Go ahead. I’m just gonna make sure you’ve got plenty of room.”
“Guess it’s been too long since we’ve played if you don’t remember that you’re the one with the wild shots.”
“You’re lucky that I gave you space, because otherwise I’d be required to shove you for that comment. Even if it meant we’d end up with an R.”
What she needed to do was erase yesterday evening from her mind so they could go back to friends who trash-talked. Friends who didn’t breathlessly watch the way the muscles in his arms stood out as he propped the ball in his left hand. Definitely not the type to experience a bigger thrill over the giant grin aimed her way than over his making the shot.
Rashad took his turn next, making his shot from the same spot where Gavin had, and then Niki swooshed it, nothing but net.
“This is actually good,” Gavin said, handing her the ball and then maneuvering himself directly behind her. “Now I can give you all the tips I withheld in the name of winning.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Are you serious? There are tips that I could’ve used to avoid feeling like a loser and you purposely kept them from me?”
He placed a hand on her hip. “That was a joke.”
“Kinda like my shots?”
His warm breath wafted over her cheek, and her thoughts turned fuzzy. “You and I can totally win this. You always let your doubts get the best of you. Who was the one who told you that you were going to get that promotion?”
“My parents, your parents, a few of my coworkers, and…” She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes toward the ultra-blue sky, as if one of the cotton clouds might contain the answer. “It seems like there was someone else, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
Gavin pinched her side, and she jerked, a giggle spilling out.
“Oh, right,” Julie said. “It was you.”
“And I was correct, so by that same logic, you should always listen to me.”
“That’s not the same logic at all.”
“Shhh. Just go with it.”
Niki sighed, nice and loud. “Are you guys gonna get a room already? Or are we going to play ball?”
Gavin’s fingers tightened on her waist, digging in and leading her to believe she might not be the only one fighting her inner thoughts. “It’s been a while since Jules last played, so we’re gonna give her a chance to catch up.”
The way Niki raised her hands in concession confirmed there’d been at least a glare or two exchanged. The Frost siblings regarded life as one big competition, the years that separated them bridged by their compulsion to one-up each other. When it came to their games, though, no one cheered louder than whichever one of them was in the stands.
In fact, Niki had taught Julie how to do the two-finger whistle so they could be the most obnoxious spectators ever. Next time she goes to shoot, I’ll have to use it against her. If she hadn’t been trying to expose her and Gavin at every turn, Julie might feel bad about it. As it was, they could use any advantage they could get.
After another minute or so of lining up and reminders about where to aim and how to follow through, it was go-for-launch time.
“You’ve got this,” Gavin whispered. “You’re all lined up. Now just…” He made a swish noise, as if he already knew the outcome, and she let the air billow out of her. Then she put her weight behind the shot as he’d instructed, her wrist folding over the orange brim in her eyeline.
The ball hit the red square, ricocheted from one side of the rim to the other, and the world froze for a second.
Two.
Swish.
Julie completed a pirouette more fitted to a ballet studio than a concrete court and flung her arms around Gavin. A squeal escaped, and the proud smile on his lips made her think about, well, kissing them, naturally.
Since that wouldn’t do, she kept the hug brief, pulling away instead of lingering and letting more of his exquisite body heat soak into her.
As she was lowering herself flat to her feet again, though, she caught the quick shift of the blinds. There, in the window that overlooked the driveway, were their mothers’ scheming faces. She supposed she and Gavin should commend themselves for lasting so long against their constant holiday hijinks.
But the joke wasn’t just on their mothers.
It felt like getting a taste of the most amazing dessert in the world, one Julie knew she’d never be able to top. Then being told she’d have to stand on the other side of the display, fogging the glass with her needy breath as she stared at the deliciousness she could never allow herself to indulge in again.
Yep, the joke was definitely on her.
Chapter Seventeen
Gavin scanned the shelf in the local antique shop, but nothing registered, his mind off in another state entirely. Two states, if he were getting technical: Texas and Arizona. On an average day, they would be nearly a thousand miles apart. Two days’ drive or a two-hour flight. Which was the way he’d prefer, but his weekends were so filled with travel already, the days with practice, and as it was, it’d already been hard enough to fit in a visit to Julie.
Add in the complications of a full-blown relationship, not living in the same city, and…hadn’t he decided to drop this line of thinking? After their game of hoops, where Niki demonstrated exactly why she’d landed a starter spot with a college team, Julie headed to her grandparents’ house to hang out with her extended family and to help prep for tonight’s celebration.
“Hey, Gav.” Niki slipped between a china cabinet filled with gilded plates, bowls, and teacups and a glass jewelry display. “Check out this cool find.” She held up a golden creature that appeared to be a cross between an ewok and an owl.
“What is it?”
She blew at the stray curl that’d fallen from her bun, which emphasized the crinkles forming between her eyebrows. “I’m not exactly sure.”
Light glinted off the gemstones in the creature’s eyes as Niki twisted it this way and that.
“But doesn’t it look like something Mom would like?”
“Yeah, until she accidentally releases the curse and ends up possessed,” he said. Nikita tilted her head, and he shrugged his good shoulder. “You asked.”
“And boy do I regret it,” she snarked as they continued down the cluttered aisle. Homemade soaps and lotions sat among the rest of the treasures, and he snagged one and sniffed it.