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“Right. So, when he tells you he doesn't date, I tend to believe him. He’s all about ball. Lives, breathes, eats, and sleeps it,” he says. “You two are a lot alike that way. You’re the same way with this job. It's all-consuming for you.”
“That’s true.”
“Honestly, I’ve never even seen him with a woman or heard about him dating anybody,” he continues. “I don’t think anybody has because rumors that he’s gay have been running around for a while now.”
“I haven’t heard any rumors like that.”
“That’s the quiet part that people don’t say out loud. But if you listen close enough, you’ll hear the whispers,” Ian tells me.
“Well, I can tell you with certainty that man is not gay,” I say with a blush.
“That’s also how I know that you mean something to him. That he thinks you’re special.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s never not locked in. Ball is all-consuming for the guy, and he tends to shut everything around him out, including personal relationships,” he explains. “The fact that he's engaging with you on such a personal level—it speaks volumes, kid.”
I sit back in my chair and think about what Ian just said, feeling my heart skip a beat or twelve as I do. It’s a perspective I haven’t considered. It’s one I haven’t even seen in this tangled gnarl of emotions inside of me.
The only thing that’s clear to me right now is that Ben makes me feel a way I’ve never felt before. In addition to all the physical things, he makes me feel special. Respected. He makes me feel like he cares about me.
“Why would my brother tell me that then?” I ask.
“I can think of two reasons,” he says. “First, he’s your brother and he doesn’t think Ben is good enough for you.”
“That checks out. He’s always tried to control my life, including who I see,” I reply with a roll of the eyes. “And the second reason?”
“The second reason is that he doesn’t like Ben very much and doesn’t want to see him happy,” Ian replies. “Especially if that happiness comes with his sister, which also relates back to my first reason.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because Ben is going to take the starting job from your brother. I think that’s almost a certainty,” Ian says. “Having Ben on the roster means his minutes are going to be vastly reduced, which pisses him off. So, he’s going to torpedo Ben in any way he can.”
I shake my head. “I’ve just assumed they’ll find a way to have them both on the floor at the same time. I haven’t heard anything about Eric losing floor time.”
“That’s my educated guess, but I’m not often wrong. I mean, let's face it, Bailey, your brother is good, but Ben is on a completely different level. Add to that, the fact that basketball doesn't seem like your brother's first priority. He seems more interested in all the trappings of being a pro athlete than in being, you know, a pro athlete.”
That much is true. My brother is hard to get along with because he’s a diva. He’s got all the talent in the world but doesn’t have the right mindset. Or the maturity. He’ll never be able to elevate a franchise and all the players around him the way Ben can.
It makes sense that he’d be threatened by Ben’s arrival. It makes sense that he’ll try to sabotage him in whatever immature, petty ways he could dream up.
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Ian asks.
“I honestly don’t know right now.”
“I suggest you figure it out,” he replies with a grin. “Like I said, men like Ben Givens seem to be an endangered species.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I reply softly. “Thanks, Ian.”
“You’re more than welcome.”
I sit back in my seat and let Ian’s words bounce around in my head for a while. I think about it all, and a wicked little grin curls the corners of my mouth as the first pieces of a plan start coming together.
9
BEN
Iput my feet up on the coffee table, lay an ice pack over my left knee, and let out a small groan. I could have stayed at the arena and gotten the trainers to give me a little treatment, but things with Eric were chippier than normal today and I thought the best thing was to just get the hell out of there after practice ended.
