2
Sydney
When I was a little girl, the boys loved having me on their team. Kick ball, tag, soccer, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t afraid to get dirty and play hard. I didn’t even know that made me somehow different from a lot of other girls until I started school.
I showed up for kindergarten in my pretty new dresses and shiny shoes and went home with scrapes on my knees and dirt from head to toe. After the first week and five ruined dresses, my mother suggested we go shopping for more practical clothes I could play in. That’s not what I wanted, though. I liked my pretty dresses and I liked running through the playground wearing them.
There was always something magical to me about being the girliest girl but still being a badass, even if that’s not how I would have described it at five. Fifteen years later and it still feels pretty magical to see the admiration in Tanner Shaw’s eyes as I drill a jumper from behind the free throw line.
“Bet you can’t do it again.” He rebounds the ball and walks it to me. His light brown hair and blue eyes look darker in the shadowed room.
When I reach out to take it, he holds on, the tips of our fingers touching. A fluttering in my stomach reminds me I had a purpose for the evening and unfortunately it isn’t getting friendly with Tanner Shaw. My competitive side really wants to make him eat his words.
“I should get back to my teammates.”
“You sure?” It doesn’t seem like he’s asking me because he doesn’t want to leave, but because he doesn’t believe I really want to.
And I don’t. Basketball may not be my first love, but I miss it. I gave it up in high school to focus on volleyball. While Tanner makes it look easy juggling more than one sport, it’s almost impossible for anyone to do it and be successful at either, let alone both.
“I’m sure. Tonight is supposed to be about team building, getting Chloe and the new freshmen into the fold.”
He nods slowly. “I get that.”
After racking the ball, he leads me out of the gym and back downstairs. We get fresh drinks and I think he’s going to leave me, but instead he follows me back to the group.
“Hey,” Chloe says, looking happy I’ve returned. She’s the real reason I need to be out here. Chloe is a senior transfer who came to Valley after a scandal at her last university. I’ve avoided reading any of the headlines myself, but from the gossip, I know her parents paid to get her in. There are also rumors that they made sure she played, but her performance speaks for itself—she’s one of the best collegiate beach volleyball players in the country.
The girls on the team, mainly our captain Bri, are dead set on shunning her, but I like Chloe. She’s rooming with Emily, Bri, and me, and so far everything I’ve seen from her has been genuine. She hasn’t given me any reason to dislike her, and she works harder at practice than anyone. I appreciate a good work ethic.
So, tonight is about letting the rest of the team get a glimpse of the real Chloe. Tanner Shaw wasn’t on the agenda, but I can’t say I’m disappointed I finally got to meet him.
When I saw him in our shared communications class, I thought that was going to be my opening, but he hasn’t so much as glanced my way until tonight. Dresses for the win again.
“Be right back,” Tanner whispers in my ear. His warm breath sends a new host of goose bumps racing over my skin.
I take a seat, half-listening to the conversation around me as I watch Tanner navigate around the party. He’s stopped every couple of steps by someone calling to him—guys and girls. The hot pink trunks he’s wearing make me smile. They’ve got little alligators all over them. Not a lot of guys would dare try to pull off hot pink, but he does and pulling them off he is. I love that he doesn’t take himself too seriously.
His body is lean and muscular. He has a great back and his ass… a real work of art. He leans over, giving me a really good view of said artwork, and I sigh. Emily shoots me a weird look.
I attempt to make my staring a little less obvious as I continue to watch Tanner grab his T-shirt from a chair and pull it on. He glances back at me and a slow smile pulls at his lips.
As he walks through the party, across the large back yard, I can’t take my eyes off him. And his gaze only diverts from me when someone speaks to him. I’ve never had this sort of instant chemistry with someone. Or instant as soon as he noticed me.
I mean, I’ve been into the guy for more than a year, ever since I stepped onto the Valley U campus and first saw him. He’d been at The Hideout, a local restaurant and bar, with a group of basketball players. That was the first time, and since then, it feels like he’s everywhere I turn. My body is highly tuned to Tanner Shaw.
When he reaches our group, he goes around my chair and drops into the small space behind me. His shoulder rests against my back and I lean into him.
“What’d I miss?”
“Oh, uh…” I can’t very well admit I haven’t been listening. “Not much. Nice trunks, by the way.”
He looks down. “You like? My sister picked these out.”
Tanner is better at following the conversation than I am. Yet somehow he still makes me feel special. A brush of his fingertips against mine, a whispered comment where only I can hear, the constant contact of his body against mine. There’s nothing overtly sexual about any of his touches, but I am so keyed up that I barely notice the hours fly by.
Much sooner than I’d like, the girls are fading. Chloe yawns and it sets off a domino effect.
“We should probably go. Sydney and I have an eight o’clock class in the morning,” Chloe says.
“Me too,” Em agrees and stretches.
I groan. I know they’re right, it’s time to go, but I’m afraid that after tonight, things will go back to how they were before where Tanner doesn’t notice me.
We all stand and start walking toward the house.
“Hey, wait,” Tanner says before I’m through the door.
I fall back and let the rest of my teammates go ahead.
“Can I get your number?”
Hesitating, I wonder what the right move is. Am I being too eager if I give him my number? The last guy I jumped into things too quickly with stopped calling after I slept with him on our second date.
But do I really want to blow my chance with Tanner?
“How about you give me your number?” I suggest.
He smirks but takes my phone as I hold it out to him. He punches in his number and hands it back, holding on when I try to pull it away. “You’re going to call, right?”
“Sydney!” Emily shouts ahead of me.
“I have to go.” He lets go of my phone and I take a step. “I’ll see you in class.”
“Are you almost ready?” Emily asks, sticking her head into my room. Her brows furrow. “Did you change?”
“The other shirt was wrinkled.” Not untrue but normally I couldn’t care less about what I look like for classes. Is it a coincidence that the first time Tanner noticed me was when I was in a dress and not my everyday clothes of shorts and a T-shirt? I’m guessing not.
It’s been two days since he gave me his number and so far I’ve just stared at it a lot trying to decide what to do with it. Having the power, as it turns out, is a lot of responsibility.