My Night Breeze (The Breeze Series) by M.L. Newman Read Free Book Online

She liked blocking with Molly, a comfortable companion on the court with as much passion for the game as she had. Audra walked over to the bleachers pulling a fresh towel to wipe her face and locked eyes with Stephen. An unstoppable grin forced its way upon her face. He gave her the thumbs up and a wink, which made her chuckle to herself.
    Audra got back into the lineup with confidence. As she waited for the ref to blow the whistle to get started, Jim and Tobias walked into the gym. She took another deep breath, trying to focus on the game that was about to start. She didn’t expect Jim to show up after yesterday, but she was grateful for his appearance. The opposing side served the ball first, and she prepared for the double block when it was short. It barely got over the net, but with a quick adjustment, Audra set it high enough for Molly to get up and spike it down earning the point.
    Their team easily won the remainder of round two and round three, as well . The crowd on the home bleachers cheered loudly as the opposing team hit the ball out of bounds. Audra slapped hands with the opposing team before huddling back by the bleachers with her teammates.
    “You guys did good , but we have some work to do,” Coach advised.
    Audra towel ed off her face and gulped down a bit more water before replacing the items back on the bench. Molly nudged her shoulder with a huge grin. Tonight was an easy win, but she knew to appreciate every single one of them. The next game would be more challenging. As the crowd descended the bleachers, Stephen made point of being first to cheer her on.
    “You were awesome ! Not that I expected any less,” Stephen said.
    “Thanks ,” Audra said.
    “Great game. We’ll have to come to the next one ,” Chris said cheerfully.
    “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
    As Audra turned, her eyes met Mateo’s, and her heartbeat started to pick up. She was so focused on the game, she forgot that he was here watching. She couldn’t even begin to take stock of what she might have looked like. At least she didn’t look worse off than the other players.
    “Ryan! I can’t believe you came ,” Molly called out.
    The friend beside Mateo laugh ed and fist-bumped Molly. “I said that I’d come to one of these things.”
    Ryan and Molly start ed joking about the game while Stephen and Chris started to walk away, waving. The opposing team had already left, along with the majority of her teammates; only the minimal crowd was left. Audra skimmed the crowd and noticed Tobias talking to a friend while Jim talked to another female. Her eyes came back down and rested on Mateo with a reassuring smirk. Audra raised her eyebrow in question.
    “I’m surprised nothing else came up.”
    “You’re lucky nothing did,” Mateo replied.
    “You don’t have to come to another one then.”
    “Audra…” Mateo responded with a smirk, “I probably won’t.”
    “Mean.”
    “Nope,” he said.
    “Go back to being a mime , please.”
    Mateo use d his hands to zip his lips with a devious smirk, and it made Audra smile in return. She couldn’t explain the reasons behind the way she felt around him. It was nice to have a good laugh with a friend. She glanced down at the floor for a minute when a heat of warmth touched her side.
    “Congratulations ,” Mateo said.
    His deep voice ran its course throughout her body.
    “Thanks ,” Audra replied softly.
    “AUDRA!” Jim shout ed.
    Audra turn ed to find Jim and Tobias giving her dubious looks while Jim thumbed towards the parking lot. She huffed out a puff of air before letting them know she had to get her things from the locker. She waved good-bye to her friends while she grabbed her clothes in the locker room before going to her school locker to grab her backpack and books. As she pushed out of the school and into the parking lot, she realized that her hands were trembling. Her veins were throbbing with adrenaline.
     
    *****
                Audra flipped through the