Play It Cool

Chapter 3

Kihyun stood at the edge of the court with Hyungwon and while Changkyun jogged over to play with Minhyuk. Kihyun watched Min with a smile on his face.

"He is so interested. You can tell. He can't hide shit from us." He looked over at Hyungwon and fist bumped him before making his way onto the court.

They all started to play and it got serious. The conversation was forgotten as the guys all got competitive with one another. They were too busy to notice that Ann had finally arrived and had made herself comfortable sitting in the shade of a tree after setting down a blanket. She had packed a little basket with the cookies she just made and some cold drinks. She watched them on the court as she nibbled on a cookie.

Her eyes automatically went to Minhyuk. She found herself fascinated by how gracefully his body moved. How his muscles flexed when he had the ball. He moved his body so fluidly it almost seemed like that whale tattoo on his leg was actually swimming through the air. He was stunning to watch.

This wasn't the first time she had caught herself staring at him in awe. She would always get excited for training days when the guys would all spare with each other. It meant that she could watch him unabashedly and not feel bad about it. She would silently cheer him on with a smile on her face and everyone else just assumed she was just enjoying the show.

And considering they would usually train shirtless, she certainly was enjoying every bit of the show. Of course for her the only star of that show was Min. His back tattoo always caught her attention. It was a rose inside of a mirror and it would always make her curious if there was a hidden meaning to it.

She had experienced more than one dream recently in which instead of him just leaving to go to his room and ignore her, he would actually approach her after training. His body would be glistening with perspiration and she would hand him a cold water from the cooler. He would smile and wink at her and her breath would hitch in her throat. He would get really close to her face and... That's usually when she would wake up sweating herself.

She sat there watching the man that plagued her dreams at night and tried very hard to figure out why he disliked her. She thought maybe she would pick the other guy's brains to see if he had mentioned anything to them. Or maybe she would muster up the courage to ask him herself.  Eitherc way,  she had to get some kind of answers. She was coming close to losing her mind and Ann was too curious about it all to continue to live this way.

Kihyun was the first to notice that Ann had finally showed up. He decided to use it to his advantage. The guys had been playing for awhile and Kihyun and Minhyuk were ahead in points. He called a time out, having Minhyuk come over so he could whisper something to him.

"Hey... Ann is here watching us. Help me out and try and make me look good while we win this, ok? I want to show off a bit for her." He nudged Min with his elbow and then jogged away. He smiled over at Ann waving to make sure he had her attention. He knew Min was annoyed before but hoped he had pushed just enough. He heard Min dribbling the ball harder than usual and grinned.

Minhyuk couldn't believe that Kihyun had had the gaul to even say that to him, let alone think that he was going to play a part in making him look good for some girl. But... She wasn't just some girl. She was Ann. And something in him just refused to allow him to make another man look good in her eyes. Unless HE was the man her eyes were focused on. But that thought confused him because he had told himself that he didn't want to get close to her. However, the thought of her getting close to anyone else infuriated him. Especially, Kihyun. He was close enough to her, as it was. He did not want them to get any closer.

Kihyun motioned to Min to throw him the ball but Min had an open shot and decided to take it. He moved with impressive speed and agility making the jump shot. Ann began clapping for him and cheering him on. Kihyun checked the ball to him and then Min made a solid three point shot from half court. He heard Ann giggle with excitement. It made him want to show her more. They were already winning and only needed a few more points. Kihyun had the ball, passed it to him the ball but kept yelling for him to pass it back because both Hyungwon and Changkyun were guarding him steadily but... Minhyuk turned and faked out Changkyun and then moved past Hyungwon and made a layup, winning the game

Once again, the sound of Ann's cheers rang in his ears. He smiled as Kihyun high five him and clapped him on the back. The other two guys came over and congratulated them on the win before joking back and forth with each other about how much the other sucked because they lost.

Ann called them over, waving cold bottles of water. She motioned with her hand for them to join her in the blanket she had spread out. Hyungwon and Changkyun headed over waving back and took the bottles of water Ann tossed to them then fell onto the grass. Kihyun caught the water bottle Ann tossed to him and sat next to her. Minhyuk grudgingly made his way over. Ann tossed him the water and he almost dropped it because he was too busy staring at her smile. He sat down on the blanket and quickly took a drink from the bottle.

"That was quite a game, guys! I'm impressed at your skills. Especially you, Minhyuk. You were pretty awesome out there."
Ann said smiling brightly at him.  The blush on Min's cheeks was evident, even though he was trying to hide his face. He grabbed a cookie and took a bite.

"Mmmm... Ann, these are really good." Min said with a mouthful of cookie hoping that his blush had faded. It was Ann's turn to blush. This was probably the first time he had ever really spoken to her directly. She smiled and let her head fall slightly. Hyungwon noticed the interaction between the two of them and mind linked Kihyun.

Hey... Look at those two. Do you have any idea of how you are gonna get them together?

As a matter of fact... I do! Watch this...

He winked at Hyungwon before he began to speak.

"So... I was thinking... Maybe we should throw a party. Ya know, to welcome Ann into the pack house. She could invite some of her friends that she hasn't been able to hang out with or see since she's moved in and we could all have some fun. What do you guys think?" Changkyun was the first one to look excited but then looked a little anxious.

"We wouldn't be inviting too many people, right? Just a few? You know I'm good with you guys but... other people not so much."

"Awww Kyunie... Since when are you antisocial?"

"Actually, he usually always is, for the most part. He's pretty quiet and is an introvert, like me.  He just doesn't act like that around us because we've all known each other so long." Hyungwon had said as he tousled Changkyun's hair.