Page 13 of Bad Habit
“Language!” Faith scolded.
“My mom’s gonna kill me.” Jeremy raced for the exit, and a few of the other boys followed.
“Thanks, Sister!” Madison waved at Faith as she slung her backpack onto her shoulder. “Thanks, Mac!”
“Children! Be careful on your way home.” Faith held one ball awkwardly in front of her as she walked toward the second one that had been abandoned by one of the kids and was rolling toward the opposite end of the court, where a group of teenaged girls were playing.
She bent to pick it up, but dropped the other one. Trying to focus on the balls—not her ass—I headed over.
“Let me.” I picked up the first, tucked it under an arm, then using my foot, I flipped the other one up, catching it in my palm.
“Oh, my.” Faith shook her head. “How did you manage that?” Some stray hairs had escaped her tight bun, and they floated around her like feathers caught in the wind.
She seemed like something out of a children’s book, a fairy you could only find in an enchanted garden. I shook my head. Where the hell had that thought come from?
“Are you laughing at me?” She raised her chin, and her pale cheeks pinked.
“No, sorry.” I passed one of the balls to her. “Just had a funny thought.”
“One you can share?” Her smile just about wrecked me right there. If this girl weren’t off-limits…
“It was nothing.”
“It was a good match today, don’t you think?”
“Yup. Good game.”
“Thanks again for your help. I think the children enjoyed it.” She bounced the ball a few times using both hands.
“Can you do me another quick favor?” She tipped her head to the side.
“Sure.”
“Can you teach me how to throw the ball so it goes in the circle?”
“Teach you how to shoot a basket?” I asked.
“Yes. Shoot a basket.” Grinning, she shook her head, and the stray hairs danced around her face. “I’ll get the jargon down yet.”
“Can I ask you something?” I tucked the ball under my arm.
She looked up at me with way more expectation than was warranted. Like she was dying to answer whatever question I planned to ask.
“If you’ve never played basketball, how did you get roped into coaching?”
“Oh.” Her expression collapsed for an instant. Whatever she thought I was going to ask, that hadn’t been it. “Well, the Sister who used to supervise basketball was reassigned to another mission. I’d hoped to use the time slot to lead the children in Bible lessons, or some raucous hymn singing, or even arts and crafts, but Sister Henry thought they’d be better off exercising outside. Blowing off steam.”
She bounced the ball again, her expression shocked as the ball slapped up into her hands, like she hadn’t expected its return. “I’m so out of my depth.”
“Well, you can count on my help.”
“You’re so kind.” Looking directly into my eyes, she smiled again.
My cock stirred, which made me feel even dirtier. Going forward, clearly I needed to prepare myself before seeing Faith. Maybe get laid before coming. Or take a cold shower. Or wear an ice pack in my shorts.
I swallowed, hard. “Let’s try a basic shot, first.”
“Basic. That sounds good.”
