Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 187(@200wpm)___ 149(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
“Why would my brother tell me that then?” I ask.
“I can think of two reasons,” he says. “First, he’s your brother and he doesn’t think Ben is good enough for you.”
“That checks out. He’s always tried to control my life, including who I see,” I reply with a roll of the eyes. “And the second reason?”
“The second reason is that he doesn’t like Ben very much and doesn’t want to see him happy,” Ian replies. “Especially if that happiness comes with his sister, which also relates back to my first reason.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because Ben is going to take the starting job from your brother. I think that’s almost a certainty,” Ian says. “Having Ben on the roster means his minutes are going to be vastly reduced, which pisses him off. So, he’s going to torpedo Ben in any way he can.”
I shake my head. “I’ve just assumed they’ll find a way to have them both on the floor at the same time. I haven’t heard anything about Eric losing floor time.”
“That’s my educated guess, but I’m not often wrong. I mean, let's face it, Bailey, your brother is good, but Ben is on a completely different level. Add to that, the fact that basketball doesn't seem like your brother's first priority. He seems more interested in all the trappings of being a pro athlete than in being, you know, a pro athlete.”
That much is true. My brother is hard to get along with because he’s a diva. He’s got all the talent in the world but doesn’t have the right mindset. Or the maturity. He’ll never be able to elevate a franchise and all the players around him the way Ben can.
It makes sense that he’d be threatened by Ben’s arrival. It makes sense that he’ll try to sabotage him in whatever immature, petty ways he could dream up.
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Ian asks.
“I honestly don’t know right now.”
“I suggest you figure it out,” he replies with a grin. “Like I said, men like Ben Givens seem to be an endangered species.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I reply softly. “Thanks, Ian.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
I sit back in my seat and let Ian’s words bounce around in my head for a while. I think about it all, and a wicked little grin curls the corners of my mouth as the first pieces of a plan start coming together.
9
BEN
I put my feet up on the coffee table, lay an ice pack over my left knee, and let out a small groan. I could have stayed at the arena and gotten the trainers to give me a little treatment, but things with Eric were chippier than normal today and I thought the best thing was to just get the hell out of there after practice ended.
If I didn’t leave, I was afraid I was going to punch him. No, he was being such a little bitch I was sure I was going to punch him.
He was giving me hard fouls, taking some cheap shots, and talking more shit than usual. I had no idea what his problem was, but he definitely had a bug up his ass about something. It was pissing me off, and if I’d stayed at the facility, things were going to get ugly. So, since I was trying to keep my nose clean, I thought it best if I go home, have a pizza and some beer, watch a little TV, and chill the fuck out.
“Just what the doctor ordered,” I muse and take a pull off my beer bottle.
I flip the channel and find a hockey game and glance at my watch, my stomach rumbling as I wait for my pizza to arrive. When a knock sounds at the door, I pull the ice pack off my knee and drop it on the coffee table then walk down the hall. The second I open the door, all thoughts of food flee my mind.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey,” Bailey says with a smile.
“What are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?”
“Yeah, of course. Sorry.”
I stand aside and let her in then close the door behind her. She’s wrapped up in a long coat and scarf, which I find odd. It’s chilly out tonight, but it doesn’t seem that cold to me. I guess everybody’s body temperature runs differently. I lead her into the living room and offer her a seat, but she remains standing, her arms folded over her chest almost defensively.
Bailey’s got a strange look on her face I can’t quite interpret, but I presume she still feels awkward about what happened between us. Or maybe more accurately, what didn’t happen between us. I got the feeling she’d been avoiding me at the arena the past few days because of it and not wanting to force the issue with her, I gave her some space.