Steamy Dunk (F*** on the Court)

Chapter Three

Was it wrong that Violet was having a good time with Parker? And was it wrong if she wanted to think of it as a date?

She noticed the way he looked at her when he saw her in the lobby earlier that night and it definitely wasn't the look a guy would give her if he just needed a date to something.

She noticed the way he helped her out of the car, his eyes lingering on her red high heels before traveling up her bare leg. Yeah, this green dress had a high slit in it and she liked it that way, especially when she got a look like that.

And when they walked through the crowd, she saw how he kept an eye on her or put his hand on her back to steer in a certain direction.

Of course, she also couldn't help but keep an eye on him too. It wasn't that hard when he was a basketball player and one of the tallest people in the room.

There was a point when they were standing at the bar waiting for their drinks when his eyes narrowed a bit as he took in the unique mirror behind the bar that refracted the light at different angles instead of being a typical flat mirror.

"You didn't do that mirror, did you?"

She looked up at him -- way up at him. "Sort of. I had the idea, but it was made by a local glass company."

She watched the smile spread across his face as he continued to stare at it. "I think it's my second favorite thing here."

"Only second? What's your first?"

Violet was expecting him to say the purple velvet wallpaper or the huge chandelier she had picked out that makes for a dramatic entrance when you walk in.

Instead, he looked down and gave her a huge smile with a look in his eyes that made them almost sparkle in the light.

Oh. Oh, wow. Was she his favorite thing there?

Before she could ask him though, the bartender interrupted them with their drinks and the moment was gone.

But it nagged at her throughout the night. She wondered if he really meant that she was his favorite thing there or perhaps it was just his way of flirting with her. Even just flirting with her was enough though for tonight.

Really, all of this was enough for tonight. She never expected any of it when she went downstairs to get her packages this morning and yet here she was. It was a bit much and a bit totally perfect.

Parker introduced her to his friends and they didn't seem to pry or ask too many questions, which was fine because it helped with their cover. After all, she definitely didn't know what they were even for tonight and didn't want to answer anything beyond that.

And then there was the way he introduced her to some friends of his. Tyler was another player on his team, which was pretty obvious when Violet noticed how tall he was. His wife, Shalee, seemed kind and welcoming until Parker explained who Violet was.

"She lived in my building," Parker said. "She's actually an interior designer and she designed this place!"

He said it with such pride that Violet couldn't help but feel her entire body flush with heat -- and he really did seem proud to be with her.

"Wait, are you the one who picked out the sconces behind the bar?"

Parker leaned over, bending his lanky frame down to be closer to her. "I told you she would ask about the light things."

And then Shalee was off asking her all kinds of questions about design and why Violet had chosen certain pieces in the restaurant.

"Wait, did you choose the purple wallpaper because your name is Violet?"

She laughed at Shalee's joke. "I promise, it was just a coincidence."

There was another round of drinks and some fancy passed appetizers and a buffet at some point. And every time, Parker was right next to her. He asked her questions and talked to her about her job. It felt weird because she sort of knew about his. After all, everyone in Chicago heard of the Chicago Ignition. They even won the championship a few years ago.

It all felt so natural, as if they were on a date but not on a date. But no matter what happened throughout the night, she always felt like Parker was watching out for her even though he wasn't standing right next to her.

After dinner, she walked into the lounge area with Shalee, Tyler, and Parker, sitting down on a long sofa that she had picked out for the space with cocktail tables she commissioned from a local furniture maker with explicit instructions to have a shiny surface that wasn't too shiny.

"I love this place," Shalee said as she sunk into the sofa. "Everything in this room is just put together in my exact style. Wait." She sat up and grabbed Violet's arm. "Did you design this space too?"

Violet saw the smile spread across Parker's face, again it was that look like he was proud of her and proud to be her date. "I designed this space."

Shalee let out a note of excitement and started bouncing on the sofa's cushion. "I've been wanting to design a room in our house just for me. Do you think you can do that?"

"Oh, hell!" Tyler exclaimed from the other side of the table. "You had to bring an interior designer with you."

"Not just any interior designer," Parker said. "A very talented one."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "A talented one that's going to cost me alot of money. You owe me a drink." Then he turned and smiled at Violet. "Don't tell Shalee -- or Parker -- but I will pay you well."

"It'll be our secret," Violet said loudly enough for everyone at the table to hear.

Parker shook his head playfully and winked at Violet before walking off to the bar with his teammate to get them more drinks.

Yeah, tonight was fun and Violet was glad she came along with Parker. Would it be wrong if she made this a thing? Because she couldn't see any downsides to that.

What she could see was a woman in a short, tight red dress slinking her way with her eyes directly on Violet.

"Oh, fuck," she heard Shalee mutter.

"Hi, Shalee!" the woman exclaimed. "It's so great to see you again. It's been so long!"

"Hi, Katherine."

Violet could tell Shalee's enthusiasm was totally contrived as this Katherine woman pushed ahead without seeming to notice.

"I wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend, Dr. Tom."

Huh. That was kind of odd for a person to refer to the boyfriend with their doctor title, right?

That's when Violet looked over Dr. Tom's shoulder and caught Parker's eye at the bar. He smiled at her and gave her a little nod, then his eyes drifted over the rest of the scene that was laid out in front of him. His smile faded and was replaced with a look of shock.

That's when Violet put it all together. Katherine was Parker's ex and Dr. Tom was the doctor neighbor she was cheating on Parker with.

"I don't think we've met before." Violet was pulled out of her thoughts by the woman in the red dress staring at her now. "I'm Katherine."

"Uh, Violet."

"Nice to meet you."

Her voice was too sweet and fake and it was obvious she was fishing for information. She probably saw Violet with Parker and had purposely come over to size up the woman with her ex-boyfriend.

"So who are you here with?"

Yep. She was totally transparent. Gross. Katherine knew the answer to that question, which is why she came over here in the first place to ask it. Violet couldn't get out of there fast enough.

"Um, sorry, but could you excuse me for a moment?"

She turned and saw Shalee give her a reassuring smile. It turned out that she wasn't the only one who could see through Katherine's ploy. But Shalee's smile seemed genuine enough, like saying "I know you're abandoning me, but it's OK. I understand."

Violet stood up, gave Katherine a quick "Nice meeting you," and left.

Parker was waiting for her at the bar with the bartender asking, "What can I get you?" But he didn't seem to notice, instead nodding his head toward the curtain-framed doorway to a side lounge. Violet actually designed and sewed the curtains herself.

There were a few people sitting at tables in the darkened room, but it wasn't as crowded. It was a little more cozy than the main area as well, which Violet was now keenly aware of as Parker had pulled her closer to him to tuck themselves out of the way of prying eyes.

And yet, his eyes were prying into her. It made her nervous in a delicious way to see him standing there looking so far down at her. She could get used to this basketball player thing.

"You OK?" he asked in a quiet tone.

"Was that your ex-girlfriend that was talking to me? With the red dress?"

She watched him swallow hard and nod his head. "I'm really sorry about that."

But Violet just waved her hand aimlessly in the air. "Oh, it's fine. It's just..." Her voice trailed off as she realized just how much Parker was staring at her, wondering what her next words would be. "Um, did you know she refers to her boyfriend as Dr. Tom?"

A smile started to creep at the corners of his lips. "Yeah." He gave her a small laugh and shook his head. "It's weird, right?"

"Very weird!"

Parker's mouth tightened just a bit, licking his lips a little as his bigger smile faded and into a smaller one. There was something starting to crackle in the air and Violet liked it. But was she supposed to? She just met Parker this morning and already he seemed to have this flirtatious pull on her that made her want to do more than just be his date for tonight.

"Um, hey." He reached out and brushed a piece of her loose hair over her shoulder. "I put in my appearance so we can head out anytime you want. Like, we can go now if you want to."

Now? Sure, Violet's feet her in her red shoes and she was getting a little sick of the strapless bra she was wearing. Going home wouldn't be a bad thing.

She didn't want to just go home. She wanted to go home with Parker. There was something pulling her to him that she couldn't explain. But then she really couldn't explain anything about today, starting with how she got here to The Cheshire Cat in this green dress with a gorgeous basketball player. She was wearing sweatpants this morning and didn't even know who Parker Blakeman was. And now...

"Can we get out of here?"

Parker released a breath that she hadn't realized he was holding in and that big smile of his returned. Then his hand slid into her and he pulled her close to him. He was warm and even more rock solid than she expected for a lanky basketball player.

He leaned down -- far down -- so he was close enough to her ear that she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Let's go."