Addicted

"About an hour and a half, maybe?" Cindy took a sip of her wine.

"Let's go shoot hoops for an hour and get back to clean up and eat?" I stood up, turning my attention back to Dedra.

"Sounds good to me." She bolted up. "I'd never give up the opportunity to play."

"You guys wanna come?" I turned my attention to Emily and Cindy.

"No." They answered in tandem.

"Let me change into some shorts." I moved out of the dining room and grabbed my suitcase, walking down the hall and taking the last bedroom available. They were all about the same size—not that I cared. I lugged my suitcase onto the bed and grabbed a pair of shorts, a tank top, and some thicker socks.

After changing as quickly as I could, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and walked back into the kitchen, finding Dedra already bouncing the basketball.

"Where is the court? Do we need to drive?" I reached for my keys.

"No. We can walk. They're about half a mile, but it's nice out. No more than a ten minute drive at most?" Dedra cupped the basketball against her chest and moved to the door. "You bums sure you don't want to join us?"

"Not only no, but hell no." Emily glanced over her shoulder as she slouched in her chair and yawned again.

"Suit yourself." I plucked a crouton from the large salad bowl on the table and walked out to the patio where Dedra waited for me.

"Thanks for this. I love Cindy, but I'm at my limit on shopping and ogling at men for the week. The month. The year?" She chuckled as she looked over at me.

"I'm just going to enjoy myself this summer." I reached over and took the ball from her. "If I want to shop, I'll shop. Sleep in? I'll do that, too."

"Have a one-night stand?" She took the ball back, bouncing it around me as we moved down the sidewalk. Her skills were incredible. It almost seemed like a waste to not watch her go into the WNBA, and yet her shoulders were giving her far too many issues to push her body to perform the way she would have to. She wasn't over the devastation of turning down the offer, nor did I think she would ever be.

"A one-night stand sounds fun, but I'm usually horrible with those." I shrugged and glanced over my shoulder. "Let's cross the street."

"I think a one-night stand would be perfectly acceptable. It's much better than falling for some guy that's headed to Maine after college and you having to stay here."

"This is true, but I'm not worried about any of it. Guys are the least of my worries, right now."

"Oh, yeah? What's your top worry?"

"How I'm going to hold my tongue when I whoop the Arizona State girls’ basketball captain at her own sport." I ran by her and stole the ball, laughing as she raced after me.

She might be on the team, but she was right about one thing: I could have been, too.

Chapter 6

Cora

Dedra let me get a few good shots in the night before, but once I got within ten points of her score, that was it. She pulled out the stops and stomped me to the ground without much effort on her part. Where I should have been upset, I wasn't at all. Seeing her come alive was well worth the massive loss on my part.

Dinner was outstanding, but with Cindy in the kitchen, it was expected. Her dream of opening her own restaurant seemed like a high possibility in the next ten years. She batted off our comments like she always did, and we settled down in front of a movie with our bottle of wine. I passed out before getting past the credits.

I woke the next morning from a dreamless night to the sound of someone pounding on my bedroom door.

"Come on, sleepyhead. We're making cinnamon rolls from scratch, and if you think you're missing out on this, you're wrong." Cindy poked her head into the room and gave me a big smile. Her red hair was a mess, leaving her looking beyond cute. Some guy was going to finally realize what a steal she was and treat her right. I could only pray he would show up before too many more of them used her and threw her away. How she had the strength to keep moving forward and give anyone a chance was beyond me.

"Alright. Give me five minutes to brush my teeth and wake up." I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair, stretching and letting out a yawn. The boy from the day before still played along the edge of my mind. That he was blond and a total dick should have sent me scurrying away from even the thought of him, but it would seem my hormones had a mind of their own.

"Let's go." Emily opened the door and gave me a look. "Your only job today is to help Cindy understand that we're not having an alarm clock this summer. Do I look happy?"

Emily's black hair framed her face and accentuated the blue of her eyes, making her almost look like a Goth princess.

"You do look happy now that I'm really looking." I tilted my head to the side and smiled. "Alright. I'll figure out a nice way to tell her."