“Y-yes.”

She holds her hand out for me to shake, and I try not to squeeze too tight from excitement. “I’m Coach Naughton from Rice.” I nod my head enthusiastically. It’s all I can do to keep from screaming in her face. She laughs as if she can see the energy pouring out of me. “That was an amazing game.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ve got raw talent and good instincts. I like how you led the team out there.”

You better say something better than thank you. “Thank you, Coach.” Oh my gosh, something else! “Our team works well together.” Okay, that’s something.

“Getting seniors to follow you as a sophomore is pretty damn impressive. Is your plan to join the league?”

“Absolutely.”

She nods her head. “You’ll definitely get there. Hell, you’re almost ready for it now. You just need more experience leading and to work on your dribbling a little bit. I’ve gotta run but I’ll be keeping tabs on you, Olivia.”

“I appreciate that.”

She waves goodbye, and I hold my breath until she’s out of my line of vision.

I barely turn back toward the field when I’m tackled by my friends, Janelle and Imani. Kai follows closely behind them but gives them their space to shower me with love. He shoves his hands in his pockets and winks at me.

“Bitch, you did that!” Janelle shrieks.

“Yeah, that was your best game yet,” Imani cosigns.

I give a fake curtsy and dust my shoulders off. “Thank you, ladies.”

We spend another three minutes gushing over the highlights of tonight’s game and my brief conversation with Coach Naughton. From the corner of my eye, I see none other than my dad moving toward me. I thought he’d be tied up talking to Coach Turner a little longer but no such luck. The girls see him heading our way and they send me a determined look before they run to cut him off. He won’t entertain a conversation with them for long, but it will be long enough for me to have a moment with Kai before he ruins my night.

“That was incredible, baby,” he says as he kisses my lips softly. “Brandy and Monica did the trick, huh?”

I shrug. “Apparently. So, I hope you know that’s my new pregame ritual now.”

“Cool, as long as I get front row seats to every show.”

“Of course. I can’t perform without my number one fan.”

“That’s right. I want merch.” He looks over my head and his face falls so I have to assume my dad shook off my friends. “Can I see you tonight?”

“Yeah. He should be in bed by ten. Come over then.” Sneaking Kai into my room at night is easy because Jason Harding may be a hard ass, but he’s an even harder sleeper. Nothing wakes him up once he’s out.

Kai nods his approval and kisses my forehead, nose, and lips before walking off.

“That was a decent game, Liv.” I turn at the sound of his stiff voice. His eyes are following Kai off the field.