Dylan thought, privately, that Catherine?s blush was rather charming, but elected to keep that particular bit of information to herself.

?Thank you,? Hodge replied, forcing herself to relax. ?It was a lot of fun.?

Dylan smiled. ?Fun. I seem to remember that feeling.?

Hodge cocked her head. ?Basketball isn?t fun for you anymore??

?It can be,? Dylan replied smoothly. ?It?s also a good deal of work. Particularly when you?re striving for a championship.?

?Yes, I guess it would be.?

The room fell silent for a moment. Mac decided to spur the conversation along. ?We were wondering if you were planning on attending pre-draft came in Minneapolis this year.?

Hodge looked startled. ?Well, yes, I was planning on going. Why? Is something wrong??

Mac held up his hands. ?No, nothing?s wrong. It?s just?as Dylan?s already mentioned, you were pretty impressive in that game against the Vols. Pre-draft camp will give us, and everyone else, a chance to evaluate your skills under many different sets of circumstances.?

Hodge nodded. Mac wasn?t telling her anything she didn?t know already.

?Not everyone participates, though,? Dylan continued. ?Some don?t want to risk a chance of injury. Others believe that their selection is a foregone conclusion.?

?Sort of like an actor who thinks he?s too good to audition for a part?? Hodge asked.

?Something like that, yes,? Dylan replied, grinning.

?Well, pardon me for saying so, but that just doesn?t make much sense.? Forgetting for a moment exactly who she was talking to, Hodge became much more animated as her thoughts received free rein. ?I mean, maybe it would if we were all professional superstars or something, but we?re not. We?re just a bunch of college kids looking for a job, just like everyone else. I mean, if I didn?t have basketball and had to get by on my teaching degree, I really don?t think I?d just walk into some elementary school somewhere and say ?Hire me. I?m good.??

Mac and Dylan looked at one another and broke out in identical grins. The young woman?s enthusiasm and openness were definitely points in her favor.

Realizing she?d just gone on a tear, Catherine pulled up short, and her blush appeared again. ?I?m sorry. I didn?t mean to?um?.?

Mac laughed. ?That?s quite alright, Catherine. As you probably already guessed, one of the reasons we?re here is to get to know a little bit about you as a person. The woman behind the basketball player, in other words.?

Hodge?s face fell. ?Oh. I guess I didn?t do so well in that department,? she said, more to herself than to her two visitors.

Mac shot Dylan a ?this one?s all yours? look. Dylan rolled her eyes and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. ?That?s not necessarily true.?

Hodge?s normally vibrant eyes were dull and clouded. ?No? From where I?m standing it is. I mean, a professional basketball team goes out of its way to send its head coach?who also happens to be somewhat of an idol of mine?and its general manager here to evaluate my personality. And here I am in yesterday?s clothes, probably stinking like stale smoke and cheap booze, caught in my room with a woman whose name I don?t even know. If this doesn?t go down in the record books as the worst first impression in history, I?m not sure what will.?

Dylan chuckled. ?Well, I?ll admit that it isn?t the best one you could have made, no. But even under an enormous amount of pressure, you?ve managed to acquit yourself surprisingly well. And that?s the kind of player we?re looking for. Someone who doesn?t crumble when the going gets tough. That kind of person won?t lead a team to the championship.?

Hodge stared at her, wide-eyed.

?Besides, I get the impression that whatever happened here wasn?t a routine thing.?

Hodge couldn?t help but laugh a little. ?You?ve got that right.?

Dylan?s gaze softened, as did her tone. ?We all make mistakes. It?s how we learn. How you respond to those mistakes is what counts with me. And frankly, I think you responded pretty well.?

?Really?? The awe was back in Hodge?s voice, but this time, she didn?t feel embarrassed.

Dylan smiled. ?Really.? Shooting a quick glance to Mac, she stood. ?We?ll see you at pre-draft camp, then??

A radiant grin lit Hodge?s face. ?You bet!?

Reaching out, Dylan gently clasped Hodge?s hand in her own. ?It was very nice to have met you, Catherine. Thanks for letting us talk to you.?

Reveling in the warmth of the large hand, Hodge looked up and was caught in the mesmerizing blue of Dylan?s eyes. ?No,? she breathed. ?Thank you.?

With a final nod, Dylan released the handclasp, and with a look, collected Mac. A moment later, both were gone, leaving a completely stunned Catherine Hodges staring at the now closed door and cradling her hand against her chest.

Mac managed to make it to the rental car before he collapsed, laughing so hard tears sprung into his eyes. Dylan patted him companionably on the back as choked out the last of his hysteria.

?Oh my god,? he wheezed. ?Did you see the look on her face when she opened the door?? The memory sent him off into another gale of laughter.

Dylan could only roll her eyes and wait out the storm.

When Mac was finally able to loosen his cramped stomach muscles enough to lean back in the seat, he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and turned to Dylan. ?You know, if Johnson was with us, that would have been the end of any dream you might have had of drafting her.?

?Johnson isn?t with us, and he?s not gonna hear about this. Ever.?

Mac nodded. ?Not from me. Mum?s the word.? Somehow, that set off another laughing spell.

Shaking her head, Dylan started the car and shifted into reverse. ?Let?s just get the hell out of here before you have a stroke.?

And so they went.

Hodge stood in the sidelines with the rest of the women chosen to show what they could do in hopes of finding a spot with the Birmingham Badgers or one of the other pro teams present.

The camp was in its third day, and Hodge was looking forward to actually playing some basketball. The previous days had had the young women poked, pricked and prodded, weighed and measured, and generally treated like prime horseflesh. She?d run windsprints till it felt as if her lungs were going to exit through her ears, covered two miles in a very respectable time, and had shown off her vertical leaping abilities like some sort of demented kangaroo.

Today was the day to show what she could do on the court, and she was awaiting it with eager anticipation. She made sure to check everyone out, sizing up the competition. Seven other point guards had been invited to attend the pre-draft camp, including Hodges? nemesis, Keisha Brown of the Stanford Cardinal. Topping Hodge in height, weight and attitude, Keisha was a woman who believed her own hype. And, early in the season when Brown was selected by most to go first in the draft, that hype seemed well founded.

Hodge?s late stretch run, however, cast what was once a certainty into the deep shadows of doubt.

Moving a bit away from the rest, Hodge began her warm up routine, every now and then casting what she hoped were covert glances toward the bench area, where Dylan and Mac stood. Dylan appeared to be in full ?head coach? mode; focused and intent on the job at hand.

Which was fine with Hodge, since she knew from previous experience that if their glances so much as crossed, she?d be reduced to a blushing schoolgirl once again. And that wouldn?t do at all. After their near disastrous and completely embarrassing first meeting she decided that it was absolutely imperative that she concentrate entirely on the tryout. She had to prove to The Goddess that her decision to ask her to compete was not a bad one.

Of course, she had made a solemn vow never to be caught in a situation like that again. Even if it meant given up women forever. Well, maybe forever was a bit of a stretch, but at least until Pallas Dylan Lambert and the Birmingham Badgers were out of her life.

Decision made, Hodge hit her warm up routine with gusto, stopping only when she felt a presence looming over her. She straightened, looking up into the dark, flashing eyes of Keisha Brown.

?I seen you eyeballing Lambert over there, shorty. Just keep lookin?, girl, cause that?s the closest you?re ever gonna get.?

Hodge easily stood her ground. ?Think so, huh??

Brown beamed. ?Oh, honey, I know so.? With that, Brown moved swiftly by, making sure to slam Hodge hard with her shoulder as she passed.

The whistle blew, and the camp?s directors filed out onto the court, basketballs in hand.

?Okay ladies, listen up. Now?s your chance to show our esteemed guests what you?re really made of.?

Hearty cheering echoed through the gymnasium.

?First up are shooting drills. When I call your name, go to the ball racks and start shooting. One shot per rack. The whistle will tell you when time?s up. Good luck. Brown! You?re up.?

Hodge took in a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her stomach. Looking around, she could see other women wiping sweating palms on their shorts and shifting nervously foot to foot, anxious to prove their worth to the coaches. Perversely, this made the butterflies in her own stomach vanish entirely.

When her turn came, Hodge trotted up to the first rack and began shooting without an ounce of nervousness.

Dylan took a seat courtside, rather than in the benches set aside for the staff members. She wanted to watch the women play, not sit around and talk about what color new Mercedes some half-assed coach had just bought with a bonus they didn?t deserve. She was here to do a job, not schmooze and eat the free buffet.