“Did you just check her out, you moron?” Hailey yelled, jumping up from the bed.
“What?” Grant laughed.
Hailey punched Grant in the arm, hard enough to make him rub it. “Get out of here you dirty dog!” she snapped as she forced Grant out the door and slammed it in his face. “I can’t believe you!”
“What are you talking about, you raging lunatic?” Grant called as he pounded on the door. “Are you ready to go?”
“I’m not going anywhere with you, Jerk,” Hailey protested. “You just gave my sister a total once over.”
“What? I did no such thing!” Grant insisted, trying to open the door only to find it locked.
“Grant, what was I wearing?” Hailey replied calmly.
“You looked great, Babe,” Grant called back. “Open the door.”
“What was I wearing, Grant? What color was it?” Hailey insisted.
“Hopefully, it’s black and blue to match my arm, Psycho!” Grant groaned.
Hailey looked at Jessica. “What are you waiting for?” she shrugged. “I want every guy at this party looking at me like he just looked at you.” And, with those words, Jessica and Emily sprung into action.
When the girls finally opened their bedroom door again, Grant stared at Hailey. She was wearing short denim shorts and a hot pink shirt from Jessica’s closet. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
“It’s hot pink,” Grant nodded, his mouth slightly open, “emphasis on the hot!”
“Don’t look at me like that,” Hailey sighed.
“That was the point,” Jessica whispered under her breath as she admired the way Grant’s eyes fell on her sister.
Grant shrugged. “So, I can’t look at Jessica, though I wasn’t looking in the manner of which I was accused, and I can’t look at you…shall I just pluck my eyes out now, Dear?”
“I know…I’m sorry…I just feel funny,” Hailey sighed. “I feel like…”
“A girl,” Grant smiled.
“A girl,” Hailey rolled her eyes, “no…gosh, I hate you…I was going to say I feel like a freak. Jessica put like a pound of this black gunk on my eye lashes…”
“Okay,” Grant nodded, “not to sound like the effeminate one in this relationship, but I’m pretty sure it’s called mascara…and it looks…hot.”
“Whatever,” Hailey grumbled. “I just can’t wait to come out of these clothes.”
Grant’s eyes widened as he flashed her a mischievous grin.
“Ugh. You are such a guy,” Hailey rolled her eyes.
“Yes, that’s part of my charm,” Grant winked.
Emily tapped her watch. “We better get going!”
“Can we catch a ride with y’all?” Jessica asked.
Hailey took a deep breath. “Dad’s gonna know,” she sighed. “We don’t exactly look like we’re dressed for a fall evening in Hope Hull…everything about our clothes screams that we’re going to Austin Harper’s party.”
“She’s right,” Emily agreed.
“I’ve got an idea,” Grant suggested, shuffling the girls back into their room.
Jack and Nora were sitting on the couch when the kids walked into the living room. “Hey, Mom,” Grant smiled. “Hey, Coach. We’re all going over to Misty’s house to watch a movie.”
“Together…that’s so sweet,” Nora smiled as she looked up from her magazine.
Hailey put her arm around Emily. “We just all love our movies!”
“Hoosiers…you know…for inspiration,” Grant added.
“Don’t be out too late,” Jack warned as he stared at the sea of gray hoodies standing in front of him.
The kids all nodded as they started to leave.
“Grant,” Jack said seriously as the kids reached the front door, “if you see any of your buddies while you’re out, remind them that I better not find out they were at that ridiculous party tonight.”
“Do you really think anyone would be dumb enough to actually go after you threatened to bench them?” Grant gasped. “Judging by the game films I’ve watched, the teams that are going to be at this tournament are nothing to fool around with.”
“You’ve got that right,” Jack nodded, “but you’d be surprised.”
The kids walked out the door, and Jack turned to Nora. “Did you notice what Jessica was wearing?” he asked curiously.
“I think she had on a University of Tennessee sweatshirt,” Nora nodded.
