Raising a finger, I continued. “No, he doesn’t lead in rebounds, but that’s why they have Crusky, or Lestroy even. And no, he doesn’t lead in three-pointers, but seriously, he’s really good at those too. He’s the youngest captain that team has ever had, and that’s a feat all by itself.”

I needed a breath. My face was getting hot.

And once I stopped, I started noticing the looks.

A few guys wanted to argue, but the guy beside me was just smiling. Leering, slightly. He leaned forward. “You wanna go on a date, honey? I think I could get tickets to the Chasers game.”

I couldn’t stop myself. My retort came before I knew I was going to say it. “Oh, fuck you.”

Half the plane erupted in laughter.

I sat back, and one of the middle-aged ladies waved at me. “You go, girl. You put those men in their place. They ain’t used to girls knowing about sports.”

As I put my seatbelt back on, I noticed my neighbor eyeing me. “What?”

“I’m not hitting on you—I have a girlfriend in New York—but do you wanna go to the game? I’m sure my friend would have room for one more. I didn’t know you were that big of a fan.”

I wanted to huff, but only because I was still feeling spicy. Instead, I shook my head. “I think I’m already going with the friend I’m flying in to see.”

“Okay. Well, if I see you, I’ll give you a shout.”

“Same here.”

The fight drained from me once we landed, and I headed for the exit. My seat neighbor ended up keeping pace with me. We both had only carry-ons, so once we were outside, I waved Trent down and turned to him. “You got a ride coming?”

“Yeah…” But he was looking at Trent, his eyes narrowed.

Then, as Trent’s SUV pulled over and he got out to meet me, my neighbor’s eyes went wide. “Fuck, man. I thought we were meeting at the game tomorrow?”

Uh…back up. Screeching brake sounds.

Trent stopped, and his shocked gaze jumped between the two of us. He scratched the back of his head. “Um. Huh?”

“Give me a hug, man. It’s good to see you. I don’t know how you—” He stopped, catching on that Trent was staring just as hard at me. “Oooh.” He motioned between us. “You two know each other?”

It was clicking in place now.

Of all the ironies.

I gestured to Trent. “This is the friend with the box seats?”

When my plane neighbor nodded, I turned to Trent. “You have box seats?”

He coughed, his face pinking. “I, uh, kinda know the team.”

Oh. Duh!

Oh my God.

I wanted to smack myself in the forehead.