Play Maker (Bitsberg Knights Duet)

“Well, I must be doing something right, Shelby. You’re here. In New York. With me.”

18

Shelby

Our breakfast ended when Ross’s teammates crashed the party, playfully snatching up his leftovers while they dragged him away. We stole one quick kiss—to the cheers and catcalls of three of his teammates—and then he was gone. I carted my suitcase out to the lobby and was about to ask the front desk clerk to call me a taxi when Lacey appeared at my side. “Come on, girl. Ross and Chance arranged a ride for us.”

“Oh?” I followed her outside and spotted a sleek SUV with dark tinted windows. A driver in a polished, all-black suit stood at the ready and sprang into action as Lacey and I headed his way.

Everything about Ross’s life was a whirlwind. When it was just the two of us, alone, or lost in conversation like we had been over breakfast, it felt normal, like he was just a normal guy. But then, everything would go crazy all over again, and I was left reeling once I remembered that his life was far from normal and that as long as I was a part of it, mine wasn’t likely to be either.

“Does this whole thing ever get easier?” I asked Lacey, leaning back against the seat.

Lacey flashed a crooked smile. “You mean less surreal?”

I nodded. “I guess so.”

She gave me a slight shrug. “If it does, I haven’t hit that part yet. It’s all still fun and exciting right now. Although, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was also exhausting at times. I don’t come to all Chance’s away games, but when I do, it’s always this kind of mad dash.”

“What’s it like when he’s home?”

“Pretty normal, I guess. I mean, we make a point to do breakfast together. Him, me, and Aria, his foster daughter. Then he goes to practice, I go to work, and Aria goes to school and physical therapy. Most nights, when there isn’t a game, at least, he’s home for dinner and we have a pretty low-key night. Game nights are a different story, and yeah, it’s rough when he’s traveling, but it’s all worth it. He’s worth it.”

I envied the stars in her eyes look. I was crazy for Ross, but I didn’t feel anywhere near ready to settle into a routine or start envisioning a real life with him. Lacey had the ring, the house, the promise for the future. Meanwhile, my life was still idling, ready to take off at any given moment, and when that time came, I wasn’t sure it would be going in a direction Ross could follow.

The SUV pulled off the highway, and I glanced over my shoulder, out the dark window, and saw the airport coming into focus. Lacey wound her shoulder length hair into a topknot, slid on a pair of dark sunglasses, and slung her travel bag over her shoulder. She looked like a pro.

The driver dropped us off at the departure lane, and we hustled through the check-in process before making our way to a coffee shop and then a first class lounge. I’d never flown first class before this trip and had never imagined I’d set foot in a fancy first class lounge. I tried to keep my cool, but as I sipped my coffee, I found myself perking up every time someone new came in through the doors, silently hoping to catch sight of Chris Hemsworth or Emma Watson.

When we boarded the plane, Lacey and I were seated next to each other and quickly made ourselves comfortable. Once the plane was mid-air, I rooted through my shoulder bag stashed above us in an overhead compartment and found the plastic folder I used to keep notes and details about Hudson’s case. I was set to meet with the public defender’s office in the morning and wanted to be refreshed, even though I knew I had the details of the case committed to memory.

“What’s that?” Lacey asked as I sank back down into my seat.

“This is the case I’m trying to get reopened,” I explained, pulling back the cover of the folder. “It’s a friend of the family who got caught up in a wrong place, wrong time situation.”

“Wait a minute,” Lacey said, reaching for the folder. She stopped short and glanced up at me through her thick, dark lashes. “Do you mind?”

“Go ahead,” I replied, waving my hand over the stack of papers inside the cover. Nothing about it was confidential, and even if it was, I’d come to trust Lacey.

She peeled back the pages and picked out a picture that was paper-clipped to the stack. It was a photo of Rayna and Hudson, back in high school. Rayna was sixteen, Hudson eighteen, right on the cusp of graduation. They were smiling, their arms around each other, posed in front of a highway sign for Orlando, Florida. They were with their parents, on their way to Disney World for spring break. I remembered seeing the picture later and teasing Hudson for just being excited about going to the beach and spying on girls in bikinis.