Author's Note: Warning for some suggestive language, but no cursing.

Chapter 7

They turned to see Alex, captain of the opposing team, strolling toward them.

Before Don could reply, Terry started forward to intercept Alex. As she passed, Don muttered, "Hey, maybe we could get through one game without starting a war. How would that be?"

"I'll be nice," she breezily assured him without slowing down.

"Right," he mumbled.

She stopped a few paces in front of Don and Charlie and happily called out in greeting, "Alex! Here to practice? Glad to see you're taking my advice about working on your stamina. Nothing worse than a guy too proud to admit his shortcomings."

Alex fixed her with a tight grin as he continued to approach. "Always happy to take advice from a little lady."

"Funny! Think of that one all by yourself, did ya?" Terry tossed back. "I hope you're better at rebounds than comebacks. Otherwise, that might be yet another area you need to work on." She continued with a note of mock concern, "You sure you're going to be ready in time for the game? We could postpone it if you needed to."

Alex got in Terry's face and growled, "Oh, we'll be ready."

Terry held up her hands, but refused to back up. "Just offering a little help. Thought you might need it."

"Such a little helper," Alex sneered as he continued to crowd her.

"Hope I haven't hurt your feelings?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"Oh, no," he assured her. "Nothing wrong with offering help. In fact, anytime you want an opportunity to work on your ball handling technique, I'd be happy to make myself available to you."

Charlie didn't even realize he'd started forward until he felt Don's hand on his shoulder, holding him back. When he glanced back, Don shook his head slightly.

"Aww, that's sweet," Terry cooed back at Alex. "But I think you'll have to settle for hand-checking yourself. And if that was your idea of a pick-up line, I'm guessing you spend a lot of Saturday nights that way."

Don's chuckle caught Alex's attention. "What, you got something to say?" he challenged.

Don casually bounced the ball a couple of times. His expression didn't give anything away, but something about his body language suggested he was resisting the urge to throw the ball at Alex. Hard.

Still, Don simply shook his head. "She's doing fine," he replied in a tranquil tone.

"No?" Alex grumbled. "You two just gonna let her do all the talking? Maybe she's the only member of your team who's got a pair."

Don arched an eyebrow at Terry. She glanced back over her shoulder and commented, "I'd like to take this one."

One corner of Don's mouth turned up and he nodded once to indicate she had the floor.

Rounding on Alex, Terry explained, "Most people don't consider the ability to produce speech a sign of masculinity. Of course, based on your weak attempts at wit, I'm not surprised to hear you let that part of your anatomy you're so fond of handling do all your thinking. But some guys occasionally let the brain have a turn."

This time, it was the sound of Charlie's laughter that drew Alex's attention. He glared at Don and Charlie. "You guys gonna let her fight your battles for you?"

Don turned his head to look at Charlie. Charlie shrugged, "Why not? She's good at it."

Don nodded and replied serenely, "She is."

They turned back to look at Alex, who didn't seem to have a comeback for that. Instead, he blustered, "Well, if you ladies are done here, we'd like to get our practice started."

Don handed the ball over to Charlie while gently propelling him forward by the shoulder. Throwing his other arm over Terry's shoulder, he steered them both off the court. "Come on, let's go. First round's on me."

By this time, a few of the other players on Alex's team had arrived. Seeing familiar faces from Don's office helped Charlie calm down and remember that the point of the game was to have fun, not make enemies.

As they passed the other players, Don called out with a smile, "Have a good practice, guys."

But his smile only grew wider when Terry added, "You're gonna need it."