Played (24 page)
Authors: Natasha Stories
He and Russ spent most of the afternoon
closeted in Russ's office. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear
what they talked about. I'd worm it out of Drew that evening, or if necessary,
out of Russ after Drew left. I hated that he was leaving, now that we'd
repaired our relationship. But it was imperative for him that he spend the
summer earning money, and now he had a project to take back to his dad that
sounded like it would help him get ahead.
I knew that Russ would spare no expense to
make his investment nice, even though it might not be good business in the
short run. That was just his nature, and besides, Amber and I would be living
there, and even though his obligation to us as foster children was over, he
continued to spoil us rotten.
When Drew finally emerged from Russ's
office, Gracie was napping, so I pulled him outside for a walk. The
now-neglected swimming pool was still covered despite the heat, and we left the
sidewalk and the ugly cover behind as we strolled arm in arm.
"Did you get any good ideas?" I
ventured.
"A few," he answered, grinning at
me. I dug my elbow into his ribs. "Non-responsive answer, good one."
"Yeah, we talked about where to stash
any money I didn't need for living expenses," he said, relenting. "A
first-year rookie doesn't really make all that much money, less than two
hundred thou, usually. I'll try to live modestly until after I'm a free agent.
This assumes all that happens. At that point, I can count on a lot more.
Meanwhile, if it doesn't happen, I'll have put away enough to start a small business
and Russ said he'd back me if it comes to that. I guess an athlete with a 3.8
grade point average is worth betting on," he joked.
"Oh, Drew, I'm so glad! So, no matter
what happens, you'll be okay, and you'll be able to take care of your
family."
"That's what it looks like," he
mused, staring into the hazy distance.
Eight months later
And so it went. Drew's season had been stellar
so far, and we would know later that the team would go deep into the playoffs
with him leading them. Amber and I developed a nice routine that left us both
time to attend classes, pay attention to our kids, and have her do most of the
cooking so we wouldn't be poisoned by my efforts. I did the laundry.
With Drew right next door, we had lots of
fun in the evenings after his practice, and on weekends. Now, instead of going
to Pancake Haus for the after-game get-together, everyone came to our house, and
the party spilled from one unit to the other as if it were one big house, which
I suppose it had been at one time.
Drew and I became closer and closer
friends, with benefits of course. I'd worried about Amber's opinion at first,
but when I screwed up my courage to ask her about it, she gave me a
long-suffering look.
"Janey, give me some credit. I'm not a
child."
"Yeah, bi-otch, she's not a
child," chimed in Ri, who was a frequent visitor and had walked in without
knocking. "What are we talking about?"
"Janey thinks I'm worried about her
fucking Drew," Amber answered. My mouth dropped. When had she started
talking like that? I turned to Ri with an accusation in my eyes.
"Don't look at me, she was talking
that way before I met her, weren't you chica?" she asked Amber.
"I don't know. Hey, who wants a
beer?"
I gave up, then. Amber was no longer a
child, and besides, I had a hot date with Drew that night. It was Valentine's
Day. I was going to tell him something very important tonight. I was going to
tell him I was finally sure, that what I felt for him was love. Then we'd make
love, and everything would be perfect—we would have weathered the anniversary
of our worst disaster and made a new memory instead.
Drew had important news when he returned
home, though, and it made the day even more special. He rushed in not long
after Ri, and swooped me up in his arms to twirl me around.
"What's going on?" I asked when
he set me down and I'd regained my breath.
"I just talked to a scout with the
Utah Jazz," he almost shouted. "They're inviting me to a workshop
after the playoffs. Janey, do you know what that means?"
"Um, that they're interested in
you?" I asked, thinking I was missing something.
"YES! And if they draft me, I'll live
right here, in Salt Lake! I won't have to go somewhere too far away from you
and Gracie. Isn't that great?"
I heard 'won't have to go' and 'you and
Gracie' and knew he'd said something far more important than he thought. He was
thinking forever. I held the knowledge to me like a teddy bear. He already
thought of us as a family, because he'd included Gracie. He'd been worried
about leaving us behind.
I guessed he’d forgotten his desire to move
to California right away. The knowledge made me love him even more. I was so
happy for him, for the affirmation of his NBA hopes, and most of all that I was
going to complete his happiness tonight when I told him.
I loved him, too. No matter what else
happened, we were going to make a life together. I just knew it.
The End
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But loving a cowboy comes with problems of its own. . .
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