Page 76 of The Player

There he was.

She leaned against the rail, watching him come closer. He stopped to shake somebody’s hand, said a few words, then found her again as he let go.

His hair was tousled and damp, and dirt streaked the front of his navy jersey. Up close, she could see the color high in his cheeks and sweat shining at his temples. The pads made him look even broader, but it was his face she kept looking at, that smile he was bringing straight to her.

“There she is. Hey, gorgeous.” He said it loudly enough to carry over the crowd, and Nicole laughed as she bent toward him.

He set his helmet beside his feet and stepped up to the barrier. Nicole braced one hand on the rail and reached for him with the other. Drew tipped his head back as she leaned down. Their noses brushed, and she stopped with her mouth just above his, smiling.

“You gonna kiss me or make me beg?”

She laughed. “I’m thinking about it.”

“Come here, baby.”

His hand settled against her back, steadying her as she closed the last little space between them and kissed him.

A camera flashed just as she opened her eyes. Beyond his shoulder, a photographer lowered his camera, then raised it again. Oh. He’d gotten that. For a second she looked straight at the lens. Then Drew tipped her chin back toward him and kissed her again.

Someone called Drew’s name. And then again, louder this time. Drew glanced back without letting her go. A few feet away, Lauren had both arms around Dayshawn’s neck. He kissed her cheek before looking toward the same voice.

“I’ve gotta go talk to these people,” Drew said, turning back to Nicole.

“I know. I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah you will.” He grinned and reached up to kiss her once more.

Nicole held on for another second, then let her fingers slide from his neck to the hard curve of his shoulder pad. “Go.” She gave the pad a little push. “They’re waiting.”

He picked up his helmet and joined Dayshawn. Nicole stayed beside Lauren at the railing, watching them head toward the cameras.

Lauren waited until the guys were out of earshot before turning to her. “You know there’s no going back to being discreet after that, right?”

Nicole laughed, her eyes on Drew. “I wasn’t exactly hiding.”

“No, you were not.” Lauren’s smile widened. “And neither was he.”

Drew stopped beside a woman holding a microphone. He pushed his hair back, then lowered his head to hear what she was saying. Nicole watched him nod, his helmet hanging from one hand.

“You saw the photographer?” Lauren asked.

“Girl, yes.” Nicole looked toward the spot where the photographer had been standing. He’d moved farther down the sideline, his camera pointed at another player now. She wondered how many pictures he’d taken of them. In one, at least, she was probably looking right into the camera with her hand still on Drew’s face.

She wanted to see that picture, and that surprised her. She wanted to know what they looked like together, whether it had caught his hand on her back and the way he’d been smiling up at her before she kissed him. She could already imagine showing Bailey. Then she pictured that same photograph in the stack of newspapers outside the dining hall. Well. Bailey wouldn’t be the only one looking.

Lauren touched her elbow. “Come on. Before they leave us.”

Nicole followed her toward the steps, moving aside for a boy trying to carry a rolled stadium blanket nearly as big as he was. His mother thanked her and took his free hand.

The crowd had thinned enough that they could climb without stopping at every row. Nicole ran her fingers along the railing, the metal warm where the sun still reached it. Up ahead, Bailey was talking with Jackie while Toni stood with their collected cups stacked in one hand. Halfway up the steps, another thought caught up with her. The game had been on television.

Oh, God. MJ.

Her brother hardly ever missed a televised game. Odds were he’d caught at least some of this one. But watching Drew play and watching his little sister lean out of the stands to kiss him were two very different things. Had a television camera been pointed at them too?

“What?” Lauren asked.

Nicole shook her head and laughed a little. “Just doing the math on how many people saw that.”