But then the door opened again and Reese’s manager stepped out. He had turned to look down the hall, so seeing me across from him drew him up short. He straightened up, smoothing out his collar and adjusting the Thunder pin before stepping toward me.

“Can we talk?”

“Why?”

He cringed. “You’re…not what I expected, I’ll admit.”

The appropriate thing would be to ask what he meant. I did nothing.

His response to me cooled. “I’d imagine you wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on Reese’s manager since I’ve worked for him since the second he turned pro.”

Seriously? “After how you talked to me at his house? You laid the groundwork first. And—” My fourth lay-your-cards-down moment. “—I’m not permanent.”

“What?”

The door opened behind him, and it was Marie. She crossed the hallway, standing to the side of Stan.

“I get that you guys want to protect him, but it’s not him you have to protect. We became friends, oddly enough, and that’s all I’m going to say. You want information, you ask him. You want my name, you ask him. You want to know my intentions, you ask him. I have no problem walking away from this. Like I told Reese before, I could ditch and watch his game from the aisle because that’s the type of girl I am. Whatever girls you’re used to, that’s not me. Promise.”

They were both quiet.

“I don’t like you,” Stan announced.

“I think I love you,” Marie countered.

Yeah. Okay then.

I stepped away from the wall. “I’m going to go find a bathroom. I can meet you at the seats?”

The door opened and a woman stepped out, calling Marie’s name. I was going to give her an option to sit with me, or stay in there. It would be up to her, but I saw the conflict flash over her face. Her mouth tightened a second.

“Hey.” I infused my voice with warmth. I was being so fake, but I was selling it. “You called me low-maintenance earlier. Well, I really am. I’m a true sports fan, so if you want to watch with your friend in there, I have no problem sitting by myself. I’m totally okay with it.”

“The fuck are you talking about?” She looked back. “I’ll be right there, Tawnia.” She looked back to me. “I was right.” She dipped her forehead to me, walking backward with her beer. “Baggage. Lots of it.”

I had to give her that one. “More than you could imagine.” I nodded behind her. “Go. Talk. I’ll be at the seats.”

She rolled her eyes. “You and me. We’re getting drunk later, and you’re gonna tell me something about you.” She dug in her pocket with her free hand and handed over one of the tickets. “I’ll see you there later.”