Dolce (Love at Center Court #2) Read Online Free PDF

nodding. If he wanted to go toe-to-toe, that was his choice. He was going to lose this morning.
    I tightened my laces while I waited for Mo to lace up his shoes. We’d been at Hafton together for three years. I’d come straight out of a pieced-together scholarship at a four-year Catholic high school, paid for using a little money from the diocese, some from the YMCA, and a bit more from my own parish.
    He’d come from a year at prep school after four years at Saint Something-or-other, following in his brother’s footsteps. Now his brother coached for Brooklyn, and it was pretty much a given Mo would do something for that organization when he was done here. He was in no rush; he loved the athlete status even more than his brother had. Although Trey had been known at Hafton as a notorious womanizer and a lover of Crown Royal, he was apparently tame compared to his little bro.
    Mo stood and stretched his wingspan, twisting his torso back and forth, and then bent to touch his toes. His dark skin, darker even than his reputation, wasn’t slicked with sweat yet like mine, but we’d soon take care of that.
    I raised an eyebrow his way. “What are you doing in here early on a Sunday?”
    “Couldn’t sleep.”
    “Not enough sex last night?”
    I grabbed a ball and started gunning him chest passes. He shot the ball back to me with enough power to knock out a city.
    “Nah. I got a situation.”
    “Want to talk about it?”
    A few passes later, he said, “Got a girl knocked up.”
    I palmed the ball, stilling its movement, and looked up.
    “Yep, I’m gonna be a dad. None of the other guys know, and I want to keep it on the DL during the season. I thought I’d come in here and get a little work done in the quiet. Wasn’t expecting to find you here.”
    “Well, I got my own issues and couldn’t sleep either.”
    “Not enough sex?” he asked with a grin, flipping my own question back at me.
    “Well, there’s that, but my shot is on point, so maybe Sonny’s on to something.”
    Mo snorted. “I don’t know, don’t care. That’s enough girl talk. Let’s play.”
    And that’s what we did. We played for an hour, no talk, nothing. It was exactly what we both needed. Peace and quiet. Of course, Mo thought I only wanted respite from the bet with Sonny, but I knew better.
    I’d been bored with the pussy parade for a while, and wasn’t sure why. Now I knew. Apparently, I enjoyed a side of brain with my women. At least, a half portion of wit and an appetizer of snark. Of course, I hadn’t sampled the lady goods that went along with my latest interest, but I imagined them to be tasty.
    With growing responsibility on my shoulders, a need to look for something more meaningful felt appropriate. But Sonny had effectively clipped my balls and hung them on his studio wall, stalling any attempts at starting a relationship. At least, for the rest of the season.
    Against my better judgment, I’d partied pretty hard last night, holding up the bar and crushing one drink after another. Yet when I got home, I’d spent the better part of the night unable to crash, my brain on overdrive thinking about Caterina—Cate—and what it was about her that gave me pause.
    “Let’s get some breakfast,” Mo shouted from the bleachers. “Wanna go to the diner?”
    I nodded, tossed a hoodie over my drenched chest, lifted the hood over my damp hair, and shoved my feet into slides. We slipped out of the field house and made our way toward College Avenue. The fall air was damp and the campus still quiet; mostly everyone who was anyone was sleeping off a hangover.
    Once we were seated in our usual corner of the diner, Cassie came over to take our order.
    “You’re early?” Her statement came out as a question.
    I gave her a chin bump and a wink. “What’s up, Cass?”
    “Not much. Working a double like always, paying the bills.” She rested her hands on the table, leaning forward the slightest bit to give us a full view of her