“You talk like my playing is a permanent thing.”
“Well, I think that based on what you proved out there today, it can be, if you want it to.”
“Mm.”
“Anyway,” Cat continued lightly, knowing this was a subject at its end, “it?s something to think about. Right now, though, all I can think about is my aching muscles.”
“This is the best thing for you. Just sit in here for about a half hour and tomorrow it won?t hurt nearly as much.”
“You?re trying to make it better aren?t you?”
“Yes.”
“You?re lying aren?t you?”
“Yes.”
Cat smiled and slid closer, giving Dylan a kiss on the cheek. “You?re sweet.”
“I had plans tonight,” Dylan sighed. “I was going to treat the team to dinner and then come back here and make love to you.”
“Just me or the whole team?”
Dylan growled and splashed water at Cat. “Brat.” She grimaced and straightened her own leg.
“Your knee?”
“It?s a little stiff,” she allowed.
“You know a very wise person once told me if you soak in a hot tub for a half hour the pain won?t be so bad in the morning.”
One blue eye opened and looked at the grinning blonde. “I could drown you, you know?”
“True, but you won?t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I?m the only one who knows how to make you forget when your knee is bothering you.”
“You are in no condition to do that.”
“Well, perhaps I could invite you into the shower with me and I could wash your back. It might not make you forget, but it certainly couldn?t hurt.”
Dylan?s brow rose as she sipped her own juice. “True.”
Cat rubbed her hands over Dylan?s back, knowing she should be using the sponge to actually do some washing, but why anyone would want a sponge between them and Dylan?s silky skin, she just couldn?t fathom.
The water ran over them from multiple jets set to massage their bodies gently, though as Dylan leaned with her hands against the wall, she realized Cat was doing a much better job than the showerheads ever could. “I have I told you tonight, I love you?”
“You haven?t mentioned it tonight.”
Dylan turned and looked into Cat?s eyes. “My mistake. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“How?s your knee?”
“I?ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Cat smiled and leaned up to kiss her lover.
The kiss, which was meant to be chaste, quickly turned passionate. The warmth of the water enhanced the heat between them as their hands began to explore well-known flesh. Cat forgot the pain in her body as Dylan?s touch turned insistent, causing her nerve endings to focus on other things.
The wall of she shower was cool against her back, making a delightful contrast for her as her eyes slipped closed when she felt Dylan, kissing her way down her body. There was soft moan when the sensation of the water running over her stomach continued down, only to have Dylan kissing it away.
“Your knee?” Cat managed to concentrate long enough to gasp it out even as her fingers tangled in dark, wet hair.
“Shhhh?” Dylan whispered, becoming more focused on her task.
It didn?t take long before they were both on the floor of the shower. What had started with Dylan taking charge was now a mutual exploration in pleasure and satisfaction. As their bodies released and fell together, Dylan managed to pull them up against the wall to keep the water from overwhelming them.
“Oh to hell with the hot tub,” Cat sighed, pushing her hair from her eyes.
“How ya feelin??” Shaniqua Chaney asked Cat as she came to sit next to her on the locker-room bench. Though they were deep in the underground of Metropolitan Sports Arena, they could feel the crowd noise pulsing around them like the beat of a heart. It was, in a word, unnerving.
“Well,” Cat replied, taking a sip of water and praying it would stay down this time, “breakfast, lunch, and all three of yesterday?s meals never got a chance to become fat cells, and my toenails were in danger of coming up through my throat, so if that?s any indication?.” Chaney winced in sympathy. “How about you?”
“Well, my food managed to stay where it?s supposed to, but I?m about as nervous as a longtailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
“How?quaint.”
“You dissin my grandpappy?”
“God forbid,” Cat replied, hand over her heart to show her sincerity. “I?m sure he was a very wise old fellow in his day.”
“Was? Girl, he?s sitting in the stands somewhere with his cane, his hearing aids, and his air horn. Best be hopin? it?s not too close to the court! He?ll blast you one and you won?t come down till after you?ve gone around Mars a few times!”
Cat?s laughter had the desired effect on her belly, and her nerves settled to a dull roar. The next sip of water went down easier than the first into a stomach that was now calm, cool, and steady. “Thanks, Chane,” she said, finally, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
“No problem, Shortchange. Can?t have our point guard with a case of the terminal jitters. Bad for business, ya know.”
“I guess you?re right about that.”
“Speaking of terminal, where?s Coach D?”
“I wish I knew,” Cat sighed, throwing her hands in the air. “We split up after we came here and I haven?t seen her since.”
“So, you rode in together,” Chaney said slyly. “Must be nice.” The guard laughed at Cat?s expression. “Oh, c?mon, Shortchange. It?s not like I?m blind to the situation, you know. Hell, I don?t think anyone is. We all think it?s kickin, actually.”
“I don?t want to talk about it,” Cat mumbled, flushed face hidden in her hands.
“You?re gonna be up in the sky box with him, right?” Dylan asked, leaning against the wall in her warm-ups.
“Yeah, yeah. You just worry about playing. Let me worry about the old man, alright?”
“Mac, something?s going on. I can feel it in my gut. I haven?t been able to get ahold of him for the last three days, and if you?d have seen the look on his face when I stepped out onto the court?.”
“I know. And I?m trying to get to the bottom of it. And I will, I promise.”
“By then, it might be too late.”
“Let me do my job, D,” he replied, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing lightly. “You just concentrate on winning this damn thing. If it?s what you think, and he?s stacking his cards against the Badgers taking it all, winning will piss him off more than anything else could. Then we?ll see what happens.”
Dylan sighed. “I don?t like it.”
“Either do I. Just?trust me, okay?”
“Alright,” Dylan replied, summoning up a small smile. “Good luck.”
“To you as well, my friend. Kick some ass.”
Dylan took a blistering pass from Cat on the fly and didn?t even bother to dribble as she left her feet for a thunderous jam. At the last second, Tanisha Bradford, center for the Monarch, slipped into a blocking stance after Dylan?s feet had already left the ground. The two collided and Jackson, no doubt trying for the Best Actress award at the next year?s Oscars, fell to her back with a loud cry.
“Foul!” the ref shouted, waving his arm. “No basket!”
“What the hell?!?” Cat yelled, running up to the ref. She would have grabbed his arm and spun him around, no doubt earning her an ejection, if Chaney hadn?t luckily gotten there first and grabbed her arm, pulling her quickly away. “Let me go,” Cat growled from between clenched teeth. “Now!”
“No way, man!” Chaney growled back, shaking Cat like a terrier with a bone. “That?s just what they want, don?t you get it? The refs are shit, man! They?re gettin? paid off!” The guard held tight as Cat tried to wriggle free, her gaze rapt to Dylan as she pulled herself out of a tangle of arms and legs and slowly straightened, testing out the strength in her knee. “Listen, Shortchange. This ain?t college ball.” Chaney?s breath was hot on her face. “This is business, man! All fuckin? business! Look at it! Big D?s got three fouls on her and she ain?t touched nobody! You! You got four fuckin traveling calls! I bet you ain?t traveled since you were in grade school!”