Flagrant Foul (gxg)

Chapter 25

When Gee and Leah came in, they looked around, walking to a different booth before Gee did a double take and then screamed as she ran over to my booth. "Look at that hair! Holy shit that is so cool!"

Leah wandered over with a grin. "Damn, that is going to look so good on the court!"

"Thanks, it came out better than I thought it would. I wasn't sure how the hair would look once everything was cut off.

"It came out amazing," Gee assured me. "What does Skye think of it?"

I dipped my head in embarrassment for a moment, remembering the feel of her fingers on my head. "She liked it a lot. It was a good choice. I miss the dreadlocks, but this looks sharp, and I really wanted the new start."

"How did it go with Coach Austin?" Leah asked.

"Not well." I gave a little shrug, not caring about them any more. "She wasn't happy, and then Tegan showed up. There is going to be a lot of fallout over this, and it might get ugly." Not ugly for us, but for Tegan. Maybe Coach too depending on how things went down. Maybe on the court as well, if we played them.

"The video is already online," Leah said, pulling out her phone and then showing me the video from a local news channel. I wasn't sure how they got it, but I had a feeling it was going to spread fast now that it was out there. "You might want to allow messages on your account again, I bet you get a lot more support now."

I nodded at the idea, and then did exactly that. I even posted a link to the news story there and on Twitter so that people could stop blaming me for what Tegan did. I knew that would only be putting fuel on the fire that was just a spark at the moment. By the time the weekend was over, it might be a raging inferno though.

I was okay with that.

"How many schools have contacted you?" I asked Leah.

"They were so fast! Less than an hour after we were in the transfer portal, I started getting messages. A bunch of them! Are you ready to go over them?"

"Yeah, read them off." Leah had already made a list, and I started adding them to my spreadsheet as she read them off. I couldn't help but notice that Gee got quiet as she got to the schools that were further away, especially on the west coast. By the time she was done, we had a lot of overlapping schools, some of which were close by. The current closest school was Wake Forest, which was less than 90 minutes to the west, but they were a team that wasn't going to inspire much fear in Tegan or her teammates, even with Leah and I added to them.

The closest school that would be able to make an NCAA tournament run would be South Carolina. But looking at Gee's face, I didn't think that would work well. They'd already told each other that they were in love, and now she might lose Leah. Hell, I didn't even have my first date with Skye yet, and I didn't want to go too far either. I also needed to stay close to my grandparents! Maybe Wake Forest, with our help, could kick some ass. This was going to be a tough decision.

Skye arrived as we were sitting there feeling dejected, Leah having come to the same realization that I had and deposited four plates of burgers and fries on the table before sliding in next to me. "For people that should be pretty happy right now, you're looking pretty glum."

I looked over at her with a sad smile. "I guess we're just realizing what happens if we transfer, and what we might leave behind." I saw Leah put her arm around Gee and pull her in close.

"You don't want to leave me and Gee alone?" she asked with a smirk. I know that was what Leah was worried about. I was too, even though we were still two days from our first date.

"Yeah. Exactly. I'd hoped to play here close to my grandparents, but the only solution so far is Wake Forest, and they're still over an hour away, and not on the same level as NC State," I explained.

"What about staying here and playing for UNC instead? You were both recruited by them before you chose NC State, right?" she asked.

"That would be perfect, but they haven't contacted either one of us," Leah said glumly. "I could even stay in the same house that I'm in now, and have Gee stay with me."

"And I could stay on your couch still!" I didn't even have a house right now.

Skye looked down at her watch, then sat back with a sigh. "You know, Coach Bates from UNC would probably prefer a face to face meeting. Say in about 45 minutes or so, right here."

I'd met Coach Bates when she came to Florida to recruit me, and I'm assuming Leah did too since she sat up straight at the mention of her name. "She's really coming here?" Leah confirmed.

"Let's just say when Reign was texting you after the NCAA meeting, I was texting her. She has been dying to meet you."

"When you said you were still tight with the team, I didn't know you meant that tight!" I nudged her in the ribs, and she just nudged me right back.

"When you spend four years together like that, you form an attachment. I knew I was never going pro, but I loved the game, and Coach Bates and I were good friends. I know they have two scholarships, because they never filled one, and another girl backed out because she got pregnant over the summer, so they'd love to have you."

I turned in the seat, and pulled Skye into my lap, hugging her to me with my mouth right up against her ear. "You are the most fucking amazing person I've ever met. I can't wait for our date, you have no idea the things I want to do to you."

"Tell me," she whispered back. "Tell me what you wanna do."

"I want to taste every inch of you. I want to make you scream my name until you lose your voice. I want you to ride my face till your legs are jelly. I wanna grind my pussy onto yours, and I want to fuck you with my fingers till you have an out of body experience."

"Damn. But what about the second date?" she asked with a giggle.

I couldn't help but snort in laughter as she said that, but I wasn't lying either. I wanted to make her whole body limp with pleasure. "Do these nights count as dates? I've spent every day here with you for a week, right?"

"I don't see why they wouldn't count as dates. We've found out a lot about each other, and we both know we like each other. Plus we had a little Indianapolis trip too. Is it wrong to ask you to be my girlfriend before we've done something other than stay at the bar?"

"Ask me." My heart was racing right now, and I just hoped she would.

She pulled back a little, looking me in the eyes. "Reign, would you please be my girlfriend?"

"Absolutely!" My face hurt because I was smiling too much.

"Wait, you weren't already girlfriends?" Gee asked. "I thought you were gonna U-Haul already!"

"What, like you two?" I shot right back.

"I haven't completely moved into her place. I just spend all my time there."

"Yeah, in my bed!" Leah added while nuzzling Gee's neck.

I could tell everyone's mood had improved by the prospect of us transferring to UNC so we wouldn't have to leave, but until that actually happened, I still had a tiny bit of doubt.

But right on time, Skye got a text, and then nudged me in the ribs. "She's here."

My eyes went right to the door, and a moment later the figure of Coach Bates marched through the door. If Coach Austin was tough and strict, Coach Bates had struck me as more of a players' coach. Based on Skye telling me about her friendship with her, even after graduation, I'd say I was right about that. She was tall and thin, with skin a shade darker than mine, and a ready smile. It didn't take long for her to see our table and wave before coming over. Skye scootched over and I pulled her back onto my lap to make room, and Coach Bates slid right onto the bench.

"I heard a rumor that you girls might want to be Lady Tar Heels." she said with a smile. "Let's make that happen!"