Swish

.03

And I wouldn't complain. Nope. Not once...Okay, maybe a little, but only in my head.

"Virginia?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry you were just zoned out for a second, and you were humming Shawn Mendes I think. Anyway, this is Miles, Wilt and Eli. They're Patrick's best friends," Maddie said in introduction and once again I felt my cheeks flame up. I had a bad habit of zoning out, if that wasn't obvious already.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, noting that all eyes were on me, and I should have burst into flames on the spot.

Once it was clear that no one had run to grab the fire extinguisher, I allowed my eyes to peek around and realize that there were four large basketball players circled around me and Maddie, and I was completely intimidated.

"Nice to meet you," I continued awkwardly, not sure how to go on with life after how royally screwed I was. This had to be the most awkward first meet anyone had ever had.

"So you're the new girl, huh? Are you a ball chaser or do you just really need the money?" One of the guys that had walked in with Eli had asked me that, and I trailed my eyes over his dark brown skin that shone like caramel underneath the lights, his hair completely buzzed, his neck showing off an intricate tattoo curled on the side of his neck that was reminiscent of a coiled snake prepared to pounce.

"Ball chaser?"

My confusion was either naive or cute, both of which I deemed were bad things.

They all cracked up, all except for Maddie of course, who threw a scowl at the guy who'd asked me that.

"No, Wilt, and I hate that you call women that, it's so disgusting. Ignore Wilt, he's a giant douchebag."

"Noted," I said, earning a chuckle from the man, Wilt, in question, and with my super powers of deduction, noted also that the second man with Eli must've been Miles, his pale white skin a stark contrast to the rest of us and matching only Maddie in color, and probably Eli if it wasn't obvious that he sun tanned, but his bright red hair was unique and most likely made him an adorable kid once upon a time.

"I'm Miles," said the red haired guy I'd just been looking over, which only left Eli for me to have an introduction with.

"You didn't answer his question," Eli rasped out, and long gone was that sex-dripping smirk that he'd thrown my way before he'd retreated to the locker room. No, in its place was a calculating grin, almost...mean? That didn't make any sense, because what could I have done in the past thirty minutes for him to suddenly dislike me?

"Which question?"

"Are you just a ball chaser, or did you only take a job like this for the money?"

I didn't even have to think before I 'answered' his question.

"Did you ask Maddie that when she got a job here?"

Patrick stiffened and threw a look to his friend, who only raised an eyebrow in response to what I'd asked him.

"I'm pretty sure I can figure out what you mean by 'ball chaser' and if I ever decided to go for someone, it most definitely wouldn't be a basketball player. Does that answer your question?"

I dialed up my 'bitch' meter to a solid seven, because the way he was acting and speaking about women was really getting on my fucking nerves. So what if it made the rest of them not like me?If they didn't like me for calling out misogyny then they didn't deserve to be my friends anyway.

"Damn girl, we're not all assholes like him. What do you have against the players?"

I turned my attention to Wilt and answered his question as honestly as I could.

"Nothing against the players, well, not those kinds of players anyway. I do, however, have a bad habit of attracting the wrong kind of guy, so pretty much all of them are being sworn off. Probably for good. I think I'll get a cat instead, they're better company anyway and aren't sexist assholes."

Maddie cracked up along with Patrick and a few of the other guys close enough to hear but I didn't even get a smirk out of Mr. Sex God of my Dreams, no, he was pretending to play on his phone while keeping a keen ear on the conversation, that much was obvious.

"Okay Bruins, we gotta go and do some paperwork before the next team comes in for practice. See you later guys," Maddie said, pulling me away after placing a chaste kiss on her boyfriend's lips. I didn't miss the snort and eye roll that Wilt threw their way, either. Did he have a thing for Maddie? Or did he really just hate public displays of affection? Or maybe I was just way too nosy? All of the above could be true, and it still wasn't any of my business.

"Bruins?"

"Like Mike Bruins?"

"Mike Bruins is your dad?!"

So many questions at once, all from Patrick, Wilt and Miles, all at once, but the only reaction from Eli was him picking his head up from his phone and I prayed to the beings above that no one would Google me, or my dad. He was all over my social media. Note to self: turn all family photos private and all social media private as well. I did not need that messing up this job for me.

"No, it was just a coincidence. I don't even know who that is," I lied, hoping that it was a winning performance.

"Oh, I was so excited there for a minute. Can you imagine, being able to meet a legend like that?"

"I know right, shame about that accident, and what happened to his wife too! Fucking crazy, man."

I stiffened to a board right then and there, and a slight breeze could've knocked me down. Flashes of my mother floated through my mind, her bright and shining face, warm mocha tresses and chocolate eyes...

I had to tune it out, hum a different song. 'Praying' by Kesha was the first song that came to mind so that was what I went with, humming along to the low notes of the intro and the first chorus quietly.

"Okay, we really have to get to work," Maddie said with a concerned look towards me, and I could tell she thought my behavior was weird but she didn't comment on it.

Eli left without so much as a 'nice to meet you' or a goodbye, both of which I received from Patrick, Wilt and Miles.

What an asshole. Why did such a shitty attitude have to be put in such a beautiful body? What a waste.

But I did watch his retreating body as he left the courts, head almost reaching the top of the door frame on the way out. He was going to be trouble, I felt it in my bones, but there was also something in my bones just desperate to itch its way out. It was grief, and I had way too much of it for just an eighteen year old girl, and the only tried and true method to get it out was through singing.

I couldn't wait until this night shift, where I could use the acoustics to my benefit and just let it all out so I could get back to my usual sarcastic self. If only I could sing out my pent up desire for a certain basketball player who'd already gotten under my skin...