The Tip-Off (Smart Jocks, #3)

by Rebecca Jenshak

push through the crowd careening my neck left and then right and walking on my tiptoes to try and see through the mass of people. There are a lot of great things about being short… not being able to see over tall people isn’t one of them.

In all honesty, I’m more excited about starting over than trying to make up

for the past, but I appreciate the thought.

“Tall and muscular, for sure. I’m curvy and I don’t want to feel like I’m going to crush some poor guy if I straddle him while doing the reverse cowgirl.”

That’s me. Fun, adventurous, and spontaneous… in the closet.

“My assistant Colleen tells me you still haven’t set up a social media account.”

“Because in an instant, my life changed. So did his. He was a movie director. Is a movie director, I guess. He left when I was eleven. Moved to Hollywood to try and make it big. He succeeded too. He became a hotshot Hollywood director and never looked back. It’s not about the time, though, it’s that at any time things can change on a dime. I don’t want to forget that. Every moment counts.”

He is seizing the day – his priorities are just different. I don’t know if he has it right or if I do, but maybe it doesn’t matter.

Personal goals, awards, they don’t mean anything without people to share them with.” She turns to look at me. “When you’re a big NBA star traveling around the country with fans screaming and paparazzi everywhere, you’re going to miss this.”

“Gabby is a cool chick and she and I were probably never going to happen anyway, but if you break her heart, I will not hesitate to punch you in the face. I don’t care how many times you think you’ve saved my ass.”

“You’re stunning in that dress. Scratch that, you’re stunning. The dress is just along for the ride.”

“Every passing minute is another chance—” “To turn it all around,” we finish the Vanilla Sky movie quote together.

“Cocksaurus. Dicksaurus. Nope, penisaurus is the funniest. Oooh, does yours have a name? I always wondered if guys really did that.”

“You are beautiful. Not in spite of the scars, but because of

them.”

“They mean that you lived. You’re here with me right now. If you think that your scars make me want you any less, you’re wrong. I want you because

of them. I want you because you’re here and you’ve made me feel more alive in the past month than I have my entire life. You lived and you brought me to life.”

basketball, we refer to this moment as the triple threat. It’s when a player first gets possession of the ball and can pass, shoot, or dribble. The full range of offensive options are at his disposal. For five seconds, he can question which move to make, but after that, after he makes a move, the options

dwindle. Do nothing and he turns the ball over to the other team. Five perfect seconds under pressure to make a decision that can make or break an offense.

want someone to love me for the ugly and the beautiful, and every shade in between. True vulnerability is being seen for everything you are, the good and the bad, and Zeke is the first person I’ve let see every part of me.

“Will you marry me, Gabby?” I open the box so she can see the ring, but her eyes don’t so much as glance down at the round two carat diamond I’m holding. “I promise to love you so damn much. You’ve made me happier than I’ve ever been. And, yeah, you do things like paint your boobs to look like basketballs and I wonder how I got so lucky. I don’t ever want to stop being surprised by you and your crazy shenanigans. Marry me because before you I thought I couldn’t have a relationship and be a great ball player, but now I know that being with you makes me better in every way. Marry me because if it came between you or food, I’d pick you every time.”