Checking her out now in her short skirt and tight black T-shirt, I was surprised at how much she had changed. She definitely wasn’t the tomboy I remembered who used to climb trees with me or trade Pokémon cards. She was still short, but her body had developed and filled out the package nicely. Who would ever have thought she’d grow up to be such a knockout? As a matter of fact, the longer she stood in front of me, the cuter she was getting. The height difference might be weird. I bet if I stood up she’d barely reach my chest, which actually could make for some interesting possibilities. She had a tiny waist with a gorgeous ass that looked like it had been crafted for my big hands. Not to mention she was completely stacked. I shifted in my seat since I was suddenly more than a little turned on just looking at her. I needed to get a grip. This was Courtney. How weird would it be if we hooked up after all these years?

She took everyone else’s orders but still hadn’t looked at me. It was like she didn’t recognize me. I remember being pretty bummed back in seventh grade when we started drifting apart, but at the time my dad was riding my ass hard, claiming my days of screwing off were over and that I had to get serious about my game. After that, he made sure I had no time for anything in my life except basketball.

“Anything else?” Courtney asked, finally looking at me like she was bored.

Her expression threw me off. Maybe she did recognize me and just didn’t care or was too embarrassed to say anything. Even though this was a different situation, I’d had my fair share of awkward encounters with women. I always tried to be up front with any girl I met, but sometimes they wanted more than I could give them. Unfortunately basketball took up the majority of the free time I had after classes. That was why I’d never gotten serious with anyone. I never made false promises about where any relationship was going. Up to this point most ladies had been cool with that.

I decided to go for broke. “It’s good to see you, Courtney.”

“Hey, Dalton.” She looked extremely uncomfortable. I guess that answered my question as to whether she remembered me.

“It’s been a long time. Do you go to Michigan?” I was doing my best to break the ice, but she still wouldn’t look me in the eye.

“Yeah, I do. I’ll get your orders in.” She hastily tucked the menus under her arm and flashed the others a smile before hurrying away. I got nothing.

“That was a little cold. Is she an ex or something?” Collin asked once she was out of earshot.

“Man, I wish I could have ordered a beer,” Dave muttered.

“Nah, we knew each other way back in grade school,” I answered. “And don’t even think about it, Dave. You never know who’s watching.” Coach had laid down the law now that the season was heating up. No drinking and no staying up late chasing ass. Dave, who was hoping to get more court time, had taken those words to heart. He’d given up partying and even dumped Jessica, his girlfriend for the past six months. That was why we came to Gruby’s tonight. We hadn’t been here in a couple of months and figured good food and hot waitresses in skimpy uniforms would do him some good.

“That’s cool. Talk about some small-world shit, though,” Collin commented about Courtney. “I had to ask to make sure I wasn’t about to eat a burger that had been dunked in toilet water or something, you know?”

“Damn, dude. Give me a little credit. I’ve never had a chick hate me that bad.”

“My ass. You don’t remember—damn, what was her name?” He paused, snapping his fingers. “We called her Black Widow.”

I slapped the table, nearly falling backward out of my chair. “Oh, shit. You mean Aubrey. Okay, but she was crazy.” Collin did have a point, though. Aubrey was cool at first, but after a while I had to cut it off because she got seriously possessive. She would pick fights with chicks that did nothing but look at me. After I told her we were done, she spray-painted the word asshole down the entire hallway of the dorm where I lived at the time.

“This fucking sucks,” Dave whined, checking his phone for a text that obviously hadn’t come in. He tossed the phone on the table like a total pussy.

“Dude, I don’t think Coach meant you needed to break up with your lady. He just didn’t want anyone hanging out at the bars all night trying to score,” I pointed out as he picked up his phone on the off chance a message had come through in the two seconds it was out of his hand.

“Yeah, you look like a total pussy whip,” Collin added, elbowing him.

“Fuck off, Collin,” he said as Courtney approached the table carrying our drinks.

I flashed her a smile when our eyes met, but her glance slid right on by like she wasn’t even aware I was there.

“Here you go.” She smiled at Dave as she handed him his Coke. Collin got the same greeting, but when Courtney turned to me, her face was blank.

“Thanks,” I said as she set my drink down. She nodded in response but turned back to Collin and Dave. “Your food should be up in a few minutes. If you need anything, ring the buzzer,” she said to them, pointing at the buzzer attached to the wall. It was supposed to sound like the time-out buzzers at the arena, but it sounded more like some annoying horn you’d find in a smart car or something.

My eyes focused on Courtney’s backside as she walked away. I’m not going to lie. I was completely puzzled by her attitude toward me. Collin was right. She was acting like someone I’d had a bad breakup from, not someone I had once been friends with. Sure, it was a long time ago. Hell, she was the first girl I’d ever kissed. Although calling it a kiss was a stretch. It was more like me awkwardly smashing my lips against hers without asking when we were ten years old. We were watching a movie at her house and I took a shot. Courtney retaliated by socking me in the arm. I never tried to kiss her again after that.

chapter three

Courtney


“Hey, Chuck, how much longer on my order?” I drummed my fingers on the serving counter, staring off into space in the crowded kitchen.

“Coming up.”

I was so ready for the evening to be over, and past ready to get rid of Dalton. Having him grin at me and act like we were still friends was making me shaky and off-kilter. Obviously he didn’t remember how he’d tossed me aside like I was no longer important. He moved on, leaving me behind without my best friend. More important, I was confused about the feelings I had started having for him. One moment I was daydreaming about us becoming boyfriend and girlfriend and then, poof, he was gone.

I had tried convincing myself I hated him for ditching me, but I couldn’t do it. I had a crush. What could I say? Over the years I’d watched him from afar, but we never really ran in the same circles again. In eighth grade his talent on the court earned him a lot of attention, and in high school basketball had made him a legitimate star. When I saw him in the hallways, he always seemed to have a new girl on his arm. I found my own circle of friends in high school, and eventually I realized I had romanticized our friendship into something it wasn’t and I got over him.

Facing him now while he attempted to flirt with me like I was a typical girl he’d just met was seriously screwing with my head. I could see why girls were into him. It took all my concentration to ignore his come-hither looks and deep, sexy voice. How one person could be blessed with so many gifts was beyond me. Most men would trade their left nut for even a smidge of his talent on the basketball court, but combining that with rugged good looks and a voice that would make any girl’s panties wet was just unfair.

Amanda interrupted my inner whine-fest, snagging a fry from one of the plates waiting to go out. “So, how’s it going?”

I smacked her hand without hesitation, making the fry drop to the floor.

“Hey.” She reached for another in spite of her complaint, but I slid the plate out of her reach.

“You know Chris will have your head if he sees you munching off the customers’ plates.” I didn’t know why I had to remind her. She knew the rules as well as I did.

She pouted, folding her arms across her chest. “You’re such a brownnoser.”

“And you should know how gross that is. I’d hurl if I found out someone had their fingers in my food. You know Chuck would make you something if you asked.”

“I don’t want a whole dish of something. I’m on a diet, hence why I was only after one fry.” She patted her model-thin waist for emphasis. I was tempted to throat-punch her. I wasn’t fat. I just had more curves than I would have preferred. My waist was tiny, but my ass seemed determined to be seen. I was okay with my boobs being on the larger side, although at times I worried they were too large for my frame. Maybe I wouldn’t mind my figure as much if I were taller. Being five foot nothing made my hourglass curves look like they had been smooshed in a compactor.

“Thanks, Chuck,” I said, placing the last plate from my order on my tray.

He tipped his chef’s hat in response. “Anytime, sweetheart.”

“I saw that you lucked out with table twelve,” Amanda said, opening a package of saltines since I had deflected her attempts at taking a fry.

I balanced the heavy tray on my palm before heading for the swinging door to the dining area. “Lucked out?” I asked incredulously before reminding myself that she knew nothing about my history with Dalton. In the year and a half that Amanda and I had been friends, I never once let on that I knew Dalton before he became the basketball savior of the university.