Grant and Hailey stared at each other as Jack left. Then they both fell back onto the bed, each shushing the other as their laughter filled the air.
Jack stepped back into the room, silencing them again. “Guys, there is something I think you should know,” he said seriously.
Grant and Hailey stared back at him, careful to make sure they were not touching as they sat on the bed. Grant went for the casual approach, lounging across the bed, propped up on one elbow, while Hailey opted for perfect posture and nervously folded hands placed properly on her lap. Hailey’s heart raced. He knew! He had to know! He knew they had gone to that party, and he knew that, albeit accidental, she has spent the night in Grant’s bedroom! He would never look at her the same way again! Daddy’s little girl had let him down! She could explain…if only he would give her a chance!
Jack’s voice snapped Hailey back to reality. “Because they chose to break my rules, this weekend we will be playing without two of our starting five,” he said sternly. “Billy Wayne and Paul will make the trip, but, as promised, they will not play.”
“Paul?” Grant and Hailey exclaimed in unison.
“Yeah,” Jack nodded, “I was disappointed too, but I drove by the Harper farm last night, and, sure enough, he was there. I caught him getting into Dale Munk’s new pickup truck. I thought for a minute that you two might be with him…”
“Dad,” Hailey gulped, “there’ll be scouts there this weekend and Paul…”
“My rules were clear, Baby,” Jack shrugged. He thought for a moment. “I was scared I was going to find the two of you at that party, but Paul told me that y’all were still watching the movie when he and Misty bailed on you.” Jack smiled. “I’m proud of you both for doing the right thing.” He squeezed Grant’s shoulder and kissed the top of Hailey’s head before heading back down the hall.
Grant and Hailey stared at each other, not a lot to say after that. “I didn’t drink the punch, but I think it’s my turn to throw up,” Hailey finally sighed.
As the team, all wearing their green and white, travel, windsuits, gathered in the visitors’ locker room before their first game, Billy Wayne stared at himself in the mirror, fixing his hair, which he had gelled back, presumably so he would look great sitting on the bench.
“Warning,” Grant quipped as he walked behind Billy Wayne. “Objects in the mirror may be dumber than they appear!”
Paul draped an unfriendly arm around Grant’s neck. “Cohen, it’s probably not the best idea to tick off someone who is keeping such a guarded secret.”
“About that…” Grant nodded.
“You owe me, Cohen,” Paul said with his arms crossed. “That’s all there is to say.”
Grant agreed. “Name your price, man. I’ll do your homework for the rest of the season…I’ll bale hay…I’ll drop your name every time a college coach calls me…what do you want?”
“Simple,” Paul offered, putting his arm back around Grant. “I want you to walk away from Hailey before you walk away for good and break her heart.”
Grant stared back at Paul, moving away from him with a shove. “I won’t do that,” he shook his head.
“Maybe you don’t get it, Cohen, but I have the upper hand here,” Paul laughed. “With just a few words I can have you benched for this entire tournament. You can sit right there next to me as all the scouts in the stands watch our opponents wipe the floor with a couple freshmen, or you can go out there and show this entire gymnasium full of people why you’re a shoo-in for tournament MVP.”
“So basically you’re asking me to trade Hailey for a trophy?” Grant nodded.
“Alright, team, let’s gather around,” Jack clapped his hands as he stood in front of a white marker board mounted on the wall.
“It’s almost game time,” Paul shrugged. “I’m gonna need an answer. Hailey is just a girl in a long string of girls that will come along. So what do you say?”
“I say, I’ll go and tell Coach the bad news myself,” Grant said confidently.
“Wow!” Paul chuckled. He shook his head in disbelief. “Misty said she got the vibe from Hailey that things were getting serious between the two of you. I was convinced it was probably a little one-sided.” Paul put his hand on Grant’s shoulder. “But I guess you’re a better man than I thought, Cohen.”
“Yeah, just got word last night I’ve been short-listed for sainthood,” Grant shrugged casually.
Paul rolled his eyes.
“So, what was that? Some kind of test?” Grant scoffed.
Hailey walked up, stretching her arms as she prepared for the game, and, without acknowledging her, Paul walked off to go stand next to Joe John and Billy Wayne on the opposite side of the room.
“What was that about?” Hailey asked, her conscience taunting her.
Grant rolled his shoulders trying to relieve the stress. He didn’t know what the future held, and the unanswered questions were draining him of energy. He had felt that way all morning. He tried to forget about the future; its complexities were much too complicated to contemplate at that moment, but Paul’s words were sticking with him. Would he walk away? Did it have to happen that way? Should he walk away now and spare her of days, weeks or months of expectations? He smiled at Hailey, determined not to let her see his fears. “Let’s just win this game, okay?”
Grant put his arm around Jessica as she stood in front of the scorers’ table wearing black leather pants and an expensive looking red, satin top. She clinched her microphone in both hands, ready for her big moment. “You look like you’re about to sing the national anthem at the Staples Center before the NBA playoffs, girl…you know this is just high school basketball, right?”
“No,” Jessica shook her head, her smile radiant. “This is high school basketball in the heart of Nashville.”
“You never know who’s listening,” Grant winked. “I heard that Garth Brooks’ son plays for one of these teams!”
“Really?” Jessica exclaimed.
“No,” Grant laughed. “I totally made that up.”
Jessica put her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m gonna pretend it’s true! Besides, Stacy and Clinton always say, ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you have!’”
“Who?” Grant grinned.
“Forget it,” Jessica laughed.
“My job here is done,” Grant smiled, rubbing his hands together. “You look nice and relaxed now. Did you do all those crazy rebel yells you do?”
