, he could hear the voices and heavy footsteps before it swung open. Carter was expecting it to be Malayna, and was taken back when a man answered the door. Of course it wasn't just any man, Carter recognized him; it was her father.

"Ah," he smiled, "you must be Carter. I'm Tom," he said, extending his hand out for Carter to shake. Tom was a tall, average looking man with glasses and grey scruff, lining his chin. His hair was dark brown with hints of grey. If he wasn't Malayna's father, he wouldn't be intimidating at all.

"I-It's nice to meet you,"Carter replied shaking Tom's hand, his voice loud and clear but filled with nerves.

"Malayna's just finishing getting ready. Woman," he murmured well letting out a low chuckle, opening the door more and stepping aside to let the boy inside.

Carter only chuckled as he stepped inside the warm house, rubbing his hands together out of nervous habit. He glanced around the foyer of the house, very modern with splashes of grey, white and dark colours throughout the house.

"So," Tom started making Carter snap his attention to him. "It must be nice to have an off day, huh?"

Carter nodded, forcing a smile as he was still anxious. "Yeah, it's definitely nice to be able to relax and have some fun. And then with no games tomorrow it gives us a chance to reenergize. It's nice."

Tom nodded, his lips pulling up into the tiniest smile which calmed Carter. "Yeah, you boys deserve it, too. It must be a lot to take on. You guys are playing great, though."

Carter grinned at the praise, ducking his head slightly while his hands found their way to his pants pocket. "Yeah, thank you. I have a good feeling about this group."

"Me too."

As if on cue, Malayna bounded down the stairs wearing dark washed skinny jeans and a red sparkly top, the same black dress coat thrown overtop. This time, her hair was straightened, her blonde hair resting beautifully off her shoulders. "Hey sorry," she breathed, jumping the last two steps, her all black converse landing with a thud.

"Oh no, it's no problem," Carter smiled as she walked over and stood beside him, facing her father. "You look beautiful," he complimented, placing a hand gently on the small of her back.

"Thank you," she blushed, toying through her purse for a moment before pulling out her phone. "Alright, we should probably get going, it's already eight-thirty, you gotta be back at the hotel by twelve-fifteen," Malayna mumbled, making sure the times were all right.

"Okay, well have fun and be safe. Don't get into trouble," Tom declared, though his voice was soft. Carter's heart warmed at the thought of her father trusting him enough to take care of them both.

"Can't promise anything," she winked at her dad. "Bye mom!" she yelled loudly before lowering her voice, "bye dad."

"Oh!" A voice sounded from the kitchen, before her mom ran out to stand next to her dad. "Hi Carter! Bye Carter! You two have fun! And text us if you need anything, like a ride or something."

"Okay, thanks mom. I'll see you later," Malayna smiled, opening the door before walking out.

"It was nice meeting you two," Carter smiled and nodded to Malayna's parents before closing the door softly, bounding down the steps to Malayna.

"Okay, so, the club is just right across the street from the hotel, and I walked here from there. But if you want we can call a cab," Carter informed her as they walked down the driveway.

"Oh no, we can walk. It's not snowing right now," Malayna smiled.

"Are you sure? It is cold-"

"No, it's okay Carter, I'll be okay."

Carter nodded, scooping up her small hand in his. "Okay, well let me know if you get cold, and I'll give you my jacket."

"Oh don't tempt me," Malayna mumbled before intertwining their fingers, starting their walk to the club. "But okay, thank you."

The two walked in silence for a few minutes, casting glances at the dark streets that were lit up because of the street lights. "Remind me again how we're getting into a club at age nineteen?" Malayna broke the silence, glancing up at the boy who swivelled his head to look at her.

"One of the boys on the team knows someone, they're letting us in. Coach said it's okay as long as we don't drink too much, he said we needed to be back right after the countdown though." Carter explained as they crossed a street, passing the park they met at a few days ago.

"Oh. Well thats really nice of him to let you boys have fun, you'd think he'd be pretty strict," Malayna replied, she was genuinely shocked their coach knew about them going out to a club.

"Yeah, I think he trusts us, though. Plus he sees how much we all want this, we're just as serious about this as he is. We want to win, and we're aware of what it takes. No one's going to be stupid tonight, this is more for us to just relax and cool down from the past few days. For us to just be kids for a few hours," Carter spoke with certainty and a sense of wisdom. Though this was his night off, he was still focussed on the tournament.

"Thats awesome, I'm glad you guys get this little break."

Carter gave her hand a small squeeze as they neared the strip where the teams hotel and club was. "Me too."

The two entered the club, people already crowded the dance floor and bar, music blared and strobe lights blinded them as they made their way to the section the team was in. "Carter! Malayna!" Dante yelled, bouncing up from the couch he was on, his drink sloshing around in his cup.

"Hey!" Malayna waved with her free hand, a wide smile appearing on her face.

Carter smiled and greeted the few boys that were in their little section, the rest either at the bar or on the dance floor. Though, his hand never left Malayna's as he talked to his teammates or pushed his way to through the dance floor to the bar.

Carter took a seat at the bar, plopping down and swivelling the stool so it somewhat faced Malayna. "Just give me a sec, I'm gonna go to the bathroom," she announced loudly over the music. Carter replied with a nod, not finding much sense in trying to communicate with the loud music playing.

Carter ordered two rum and cokes, one for him and one for Malayna. As he sat watching the bartender make the drinks, a girl came up and plopped down in seat reserved for Malayna. "Hey," she grinned widely as she turned towards Carter, flipping her hair slightly that was half up in a ponytail.

"Uh, hi," Carter mumbled, shifting his head slightly to look at the girl. "I- uh, that seat was actually being reserved. I'm sorry," he mumbled uncomfortably.

"Oh, haha! You're so funny!" She giggled, reaching out and swatting at Carter's arm that rested on top of the bar's counter.

Immediately, the boy tensed up at the girls touch. He yanked his arm away being uncomfortable, and watched as the girl tilted her head confused, puffing out her chest to try and show off her cleavage.

The girl bit her lip as she gazed at a clearly uncomfortable Carter. "I'm Brittany," she giggled sweetly, the sound making Carter's stomach churn.

"And I'm Malayna," the girl shot around to see Malayna standing there with her arms crossed over her chest. "Thanks for keeping my seat warm," she faked a sweet smile.

The girl's jaw dropped before she recovered, crossing her arms over her chest as well and narrowing her eyes into slits. "I think you should find your ass a different spot."

Malayna stayed still for a moment before closing her mouth, giving off a tightlipped smile. "Fine," she stated before taking a few steps to Carter, his chair now spun around and body facing her.

Malayna plopped down on his knee, turning her body slightly to face the boy who sat with surprise written all over his face. As malayna gazed up at Carter, his eyes lit up and the surprise washed away, his lips turning upwards into a smile.

Brittany scoffed, but stayed in her spot for a moment, watching the two look at each other happily. "I didn't peg you as the jealous type," Carter whispered in her ear as Malayna placed a long kiss on his cheek.

The girl pulled back, biting her lip well looking down shamefully. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Carter immediately frowned, mad at himself for saying that wrong. He found it absolutely adorable that Malayna was jealous. "Oh no," he leaned forward, his breath hot on her ear. "Don't ever, ever apologize. It's cute, trust me. Plus, I cannot complain about having a beautiful girl on my lap." He smirked, but it soon turned into a lighthearted grin.

Malayna blushed at the compliment, looking down and beginning to play with his fingers. The girl, Brittany, finally gave up, scoffing before stalking away to try and pick up another guy.

Carter watched the girl walk away before returning his attention back to Malayna. Leaning in to place a kiss on her cheek, he started to stand up, gently placing Malayna back on the ground before pulling out his wallet, placing a few dollars on the bar counter.

"C'mon," he said to the blonde, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers. "Lets get out of here," he smiled as he lead the two out of the club.