Page 87 of Brick Wall
I need to break away unless I want to get hot and heavy on Quinn’s basketball court right now, where anyone, including a child, could come in and watch.
I take a step, pivot, and then break free from Sebastian’s grasp. To distract myself, I dribble down the court and do a simple lay-up as my ball easily sails through the hoop.
Sebastian grabs the ball and passes it back to me. “Nice shot.”
“Thanks. Want to make it interesting,” I say as I causally dribble around him.
“What are you thinking?”
“Just a simple game of one on one. The loser is at the mercy of the winner, naturally.”
“I’m kind of at a disadvantage here,” Sebastian admits.
“Oh, yeah?” I playfully question.
“I’ve already been playing basketball for a while.”
“Ten minutes tops,” I take my best guess. Plus, they were rolling on the ground. Sebastian and I have wildly different definitions of basketball, if that’s the case. “Plus, isn’t he five?”
“Charlie is six, and he’s very fast.”
A laugh bursts out of me.
“All right, let’s keep it simple, one on one, five minutes,” Sebastian explains while he pulls out his phone, most likely to set a timer.
“A five-minute game?” I say, surprised. “That’s…quick.”
He stares at me intently, lifting a brow, daring me to make a joke. I pass the ball to him to start.
“The winner gets to pick their prize,” I remind Sebastian two minutes into our game.
It’s just the two of us in Quinn’s gym, and very quickly, I wish we weren’t alone. We really need a referee for this game.
Sebastian is cheating. He’s throwing elbows, double-dribbling, and tripping me up. He’s disregarding rules in this quick game. Sebastian is also losing, hence the cheating.
We are having fun, though. I haven’t laughed this much all week. It’s nice to spend quality time with Sebastian, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
I make a jump shot, and the ball sails through the net as Sebastian’s timer goes off.
“That would be eight for me and two for you, sir.”
I grab the ball as it bounces on the court and dribble it in place.
“I’m pretty sure you cheated, ma’am,” Sebastian says while tickling me and stealing the ball away from me.
“No such thing! Now pay up!” I declare.
“Yeah, what will it be?” Sebastian says curiously. “Do you want services rendered now, or do you need some time to decide?”
I try to ignore the sexual innuendo and decide to steal the ball again, a simple task. “Nope! I know exactly what I want.” I dribble around Sebastian again.
Before either of us can say anything further, the door to the gym opens. A few teammates, many of the younger guys I met earlier, enter the court.
Sebastian stiffens immediately.
“Let’s do it later,” Sebastian says to me. “Hey, guys!” hesays as he throws one of his teammates the ball. “Give up on watching the game?”
“Nah, it’s halftime, so we thought we’d get some free throws in.”
