push myself away from the wall, standing perfectly straight as if he were right in front of me to see. “I hope you know that.”
“I don’t want to scare you.” He infuses his words with artificial warmth. “I want to love you.”
“Love?” A bitter laugh leaves an aftertaste on my lips. “The way my father loves my mother? The way your father loves yours? No, thank you. If I ever do marry, it won’t be to a man who needs other women like they do. A man who humiliates me with his infidelities.”
“I’m sure you can persuade me not to stray,” he says, sounding pleased that it matters to me. “I had no idea you were so possessive.”
“I’m not possessive of you, and any man I have to persuade not to stray is welcome to do so. If I have to convince him I’m worth his fidelity, then he isn’t the one for me.”
“I love your spirit, Bristol.” He sounds a little like he’s . . . panting? “It turns me on.”
“All right.” I wish he were here to see my eyes rolling. He’s like a hound dog after a rabbit. A swift rabbit he won’t get ahold of again. “On that note, I’m gonna go.”
“But, baby—”
“I’m working,” I say, cutting into whatever bullshit he planned to say. “And don’t call me baby.”
I hang up before he has the chance to protest further and quietly ease back through the gym doors so I don’t disturb Grip’s talk.
Only he isn’t talking. He’s at one end of the court, poised to shoot the basketball. He’s no longer wearing his black leather jacket and Kelly green hoodie, but just a plain white T-shirt and black jeans. One of the students, as tall as Grip and with an athletic build, guards him with a hand in his face.
“What’s going on?” I ask Meryl. “What’d I miss?”
“It was great.” Meryl’s eyes glimmer with her eagerness. “One of the kids challenged Grip when he talked about the value of an education. He said Grip didn’t go to college, but he’s still, and I quote, ‘stacking dollars’. Then Grip said everyone doesn’t have to go to college, but an education is something that cannot be taken away.”
“Wow. Sounds intense.” I watch the two guys run back up to our end of the court. “How did they end up playing basketball?”
“Then Grip said he’s enrolled in online courses now.” Meryl gives me a curious look. “Did you know that?”
“Uh, no.” I shake my head, watching the student make a difficult shot. “I had no idea.”
He never told me. Why would he not tell me something that huge?
“So then Grip calls him out about some writing contest he apparently won’t enter,” Meryl says. “Before I knew it, Grip said he’d play him for it, one on one. If Grip wins, the student—I think they called him Bop—has to enter the contest.”
“And if Grip loses?”
“If Grip loses, Bop wins his shoes.”
“His shoes?”
Grip has a massive tennis shoe collection, and the classic Jordans in his closet are his prized possessions. I recognize the pair he’s wearing now as especially expensive and rare.
“We haven’t even sat down for the interview yet,” Meryl says gleefully. “And I’ve already gotten a lot.”
I notice Grip’s leather jacket and hoodie on the floor. I pick them up so they won’t get stepped on or dirty. As soon as they’re within sniffing distance, his clean, masculine scent surrounds me. I hold the material to my chest and surreptitiously inhale, closing my eyes to absorb this small part of him. The items still have the warmth of his body, and holding them, even for a few seconds, warms my chilled places.
When I open my eyes, I encounter Ms. James’ golden brown gaze locked on me. Even fully dressed with Grip’s jacket and hoodie hugged to my chest, I feel naked under her stare. She sees everything. I clear discomfort from my throat and turn back to the court.
Grip takes one final shot, which apparently puts the game away, and the students go crazy, emptying the bleachers and rushing the basket- ball court. Even Amir, Shondra, Ms. James, and Meryl join the exuberant knot of students surrounding Grip on the court. I hang back, observing. He’s laughing, at ease, at home, the basketball pressed to his hip.
I’ve never been in this position with him. On the outside, out of favor. It’s awkward, and it hurts. Maybe I could mitigate this by telling him that Parker and I aren’t dating.