Author's Note: Thank you for the kind reviews! My knowledge of basketball is fairly basic, so please let me know if I make a mistake. Upgraded the rating for suggestive language, but still no actual cursing. What can I say? It's called trash talk for a reason, people.

Chapter 2

"Hi! Hi, Terry." Charlie swept a hand over his suddenly pounding heart and tried to downplay how much she'd startled him. Her amused expression suggested he wasn't very successful.

"We, ah…" he gestured toward Don, "…we were just discussing the teams for the upcoming basketball game." He clapped his hands together and desperately tried to resist the urge to fidget under her steady gaze. Swallowing nervously, he looked over to Don for help.

"Alex was just here," Don supplied. "He called you 'not tall' by the way."

Terry arched an eyebrow.

"He also predicted the game would be a blowout," he continued with a smile. Charlie was surprised he was being so blunt, but Don seemed to think it was funny.

Terry blinked. "Because of me?" she asked.

Charlie jumped back into the conversation. "No, no. Because of me. Well, us, I guess," he shrugged.

"So, you are on the team?" she inquired.

Reluctant to start another round of proclaiming his athletic ability, particularly given Don's lukewarm support before, Charlie hesitated. Before he could say anything, Don broke out in a big smile and declared, "He's on the team!"

She smiled back at Don, "And I'm guessing you didn't tell him?"

"Nope," Don answered happily.

Charlie looked back and forth between them, confused. "Tell me what?"

Terry explained, "Not you. Alex. Your brother's been bragging about you all day. He says you're really good. Wouldn't stop talking about it, actually."

Charlie ducked his head, but couldn't stop the smile he felt stretching across his face at this revelation. After struggling all his life to fit in, he sometimes took greater pleasure in being recognized for his non-academic talents than his mind.

Terry turned back to Don. "But I'm guessing you didn't do that in front of Alex."

"I said Charlie could play," Don replied honestly. With a smirk he added, "I was non-specific as to how well."

Terry chortled with glee. "This is gonna be good. Where's Alex?"

Don licked his lips and paused as if considering saying something, but gave up when he saw she was already heading off in the direction Charlie had pointed.

Charlie caught his brother's eye, wondering if he'd made a mistake in pointing Terry toward Alex.

Don sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Now it starts."

Before Charlie could ask what that meant, he heard Terry call out from the next room, "Hey, Alex! Not tall? Is that seriously the best you can do? And what are you, a giant?"

"Wow." Charlie exclaimed. Accustomed to the composed professionalism she normally displayed, he realized it would take some time to get used to this more aggressive side of her personality.

Don laughed softly. "Oh, yeah. She wouldn't last long at this job without being able to go toe to toe with guys a lot tougher than Alex."

Charlie noticed the pride and admiration in his voice, but decided not to comment upon it. Any inquiries into whether Don was interested in Terry as more than a partner were always met with swift denials. Instead, he focused on the subject at hand. "So, how good a player is she?"

"Good. Fast, good passing skills, decent shooter."

"Decent." Charlie repeated.

Realizing his mistake, Don breathed out a loud sigh and hung his head.

"I'm telling her you said that," Charlie teased.

Don raised his head and rubbed at his forehead as if to fight off an impending headache. "Don't. Or I'll never hear the end of it."

They were interrupted by Terry's raised voice, which once again carried from the other room. "Yeah? Well, prepare to be cut down to size, little man, because your team is going down!"

Charlie theorized, "You know, the more she talks our team up, the more humiliating it would be to lose."

Don nodded. "Yeah, we're definitely gonna have to get some practice in before the game. I figure sometime next week…"

Terry's voice rang out. "We're gonna spank you so hard you won't be able to sit down for a week!"

After a pause, Don asked, "You think we should start this week?"

Charlie nodded vigorously.

"Oh, really? You know what it takes to win, Alex? Ball control and stamina. And from what I hear, you boys might want to work on that."

"How's now? We could start now." Charlie offered.

Don was already getting out of his chair. "Now's good."

As they headed off to collect Terry on the way to the gym, Charlie couldn't resist asking, "You bragged about me?"

Don clapped a hand on Charlie's shoulder, looked him in the eye, and scoffed, "No."

Charlie ignored the obvious lie and adopted a smug expression.

Don tried threatening, "If you don't stop gloating, I'm kicking you off the team."

Charlie pretended to ponder that claim. "Are you sure about that? Because I think there's a decent chance you won't."

Charlie continued to walk on as Don stopped dead in his tracks. His grin only widened at the sound of Don's muttered curse behind him.

TBC