Breaking the Rules by Melinda Dozier

his life.”
    â€œHold on right there. I don’t intend to take this further than friends.”
    â€œWell, make sure you tell him that.” Kelly walked away, and clapped and cheered for the teams, leaving Hope thinking about her choices and what friendships really meant.
    â€¢ • •
    An hour and a half later, Hope found her cell phone in her purse after hearing it beep. A text message from Colin.
    Hey, Soxy, took longer than I expected. On my way.
    She smiled and wrote back,
Okay, Yank. We’ll wait for you at school.
    So, they were texting now? What did that mean? She tapped her index finger against her lip, knowing the answer to her question. They’d obviously passed some line and moved into another category. Friends.
    She stuffed her phone back into her purse. For the first time in a long time, contentment enveloped her. It was a successful Friendly Games Morning, she enjoyed giving awards to all the players, plus she had a little fun with Colin. Keeping an eye on Jason turned out to be an easy job. He kept himself busy playing basketball the entire time. After the awards ceremony, he hopped back on the court until everyone left. His next shot was from ten feet back, and the echo of the ball banging the backboard swelled in the air.
    â€œThat was a good one.” She smiled.
    He yawned an answer. “Thanks. I like to play basketball, but I never really get a chance.”
    The yawn was contagious and she made a groaning sound. “I’m tired too. Let’s sit for a second.” She pointed toward a picnic table.
    He shrugged and bounced the ball a last time.
    â€œSo, no time for basketball. Tell me what you like to do.”
    â€œSwim.” He sat next to her and put the ball between his knees. “Like my dad.”
    Hope sat at the edge of the bench, wanting to learn more about his father. In her gut, she knew it was wrong to pry, but the tingling in her body told her to find out more about sexy single dad, Dr. Calaway. “Your dad swims?”
    â€œNot so much anymore. He used to be on a swim team, too. Now he’s like my own private coach.” He threw the ball up in the air and caught it. “We have a pool at home.”
    â€œGotta love Florida. I noticed a lot of people in my neighborhood have pools.”
    â€œI bet my dad wouldn’t mind if you came to swim at our house.”
    She laughed and then his wide eyes, round and full of expectation, stared at her, which made her smile waver. This boy touched her heart. The way he looked up at her, as if needing a woman to talk to, made her want to wrap him in a bear hug. He didn’t have that and it wasn’t fair. How did Colin deal with it all? He lived through tragedy and still kept his family together. “I bet your dad would be shocked if I showed up.”
    â€œMaybe a little bit.” He smirked and there it was, a dimple just like his dad’s.
    Get your head in the game, Robinson.
She tugged at her ponytail then reached into her purse to pull out her iPad.
    His eyes sparkled. “Cool. I want one of those, but Dad says I’m too young. What are you doing?”
    â€œMy grocery list. I have an app.” She touched the screen and opened the program. “It’s like shopping without a fuss.”
    â€œHave you played Minecraft?”
    She laughed, knowing this was
the
game for middle schoolers. “I tried once, but I can’t seem to get the hang of it.”
    After adding a few ingredients to her list, she smiled at Jason. “Your dad said he’s on his way. If he doesn’t get here soon, I’ll have to take you to the grocery store with me. Talk about torture.”
    He stilled. “I used to go with my mom all the time.”
    The familiar tug in her heart pulled again. She squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them, Jason stood. “I’m just going to try a few more baskets.”
    â€œOkay.” The knot in her belly tightened.