I served, putting everything I had left into it.
I closed my eyes as the ball went through the air. I didn't need to see it. I knew. I knew already.
The whistle blew again – it was an ace. A game-winning ace. A match-winning ace.
The crowd went wild, and my teammates grabbed me, picking me up among the cheers, but when I opened my eyes, all I could see was Wade — his striking eyes, his proud smile, and the pure joy written across his face. It was amazing.
It was also heartbreaking. All I wanted to do was run across the court, jump into his arms and feel his lips press hungrily against mine, but I couldn't. All I could do was, like the other players, politely shake his hand.
Still, a smoldering look of desire passed between us as we shook each other's hands. We didn't allow it to linger. Instead, I walked quickly over to Anne and jumped into her arms, hugging her tightly.
“You were on fire out there!” she exclaimed. “Seriously, I've never seen you play like that. You've always been great, but today, you were just...just phenomenal!”
“Thanks so much, Annie! I think having you here to support me added that extra oomph I needed for that second wind.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Wade
I watched with bated breath as Eryn took the ball to serve the match point. While Eryn was
easily the best player on the team, serving wasn't her strongest point. It wasn’t that she couldn't do it, but it just wasn't something she focused on.
Still, if Leena had injured her wrist, Eryn was definitely the next best choice. I held my breath as she served – and then let it out in a roar of triumph as I watched the ace bounce on the floor in the corner of the opposing court.
All I wanted was to rush onto the court and sweep her up in my arms – but of course, I couldn't do that. We had to make do with a polite handshake, and then another polite wave in the parking lot later.
Since her sister was in town, there would be no meeting up later to celebrate. Eryn had previously told Anne about the kiss she and I shared, and Anne had warned her in no uncertain terms to stay away from me outside of volleyball.
It was, of course, perfectly understandable. We both knew how much trouble would come from anyone finding out about our relationship, so we had to simply keep it on the shadows.
It was hard, though, especially seeing as we'd managed to spend a lot of time together over the last week when Eryn had been recovering from her ankle injury. Now, as desperately as we longed to be together, that wasn’t an option.
I was pulling into my driveway when my phone rang. I took it out and answered the call just as I put the car in park. I didn't recognize the number.
“Hello, Wade Vinson here, what can I do for you?”
“Hello, Mr. Vinson, my name is Charlie Jefferson. I was at the volleyball game earlier.”
“All right,” I replied, already curious as to what the call was about and how this man had my number. “And how can I help you, Mr. Jefferson?”
“Please, call me Charlie. I'd like to speak to you about some of your players, actually. I'm a talent scout, you see.”
“Really? Well, sure, we can do that.”
“Are you able to meet up with me shortly for a late lunch? I have another game to get to this evening, and it's a two-hour drive away.”
“Sure thing. We can meet up at Captain Dorego's if you like? They have great seafood,” I suggested.
“Sounds good. See you there in say, 40 minutes?”
“See you there. Uh, how will I recognize you?”
“I'm wearing a brown sports coat, black pants, red T-shirt. Short brown hair, goatee,” he said.
“Got it. I'll see you soon.”
I cut the call off, wondering what this guy wanted to say. I knew, of course, that if he was interested in some of my players, Eryn would no doubt be top of the list – and the fact both worried and excited me.