Page 12 of Anatomy of a Meet Cute
“Guess I don’t need trash talk.” Sam let a slow smile creep over her face.
By the time Grant checked the ball, the mood on the court had changed. Everything up to that point had been a warm-up, but Sam’s three-pointer was a warning volley, and it did not go unanswered. Grant was quick and precise, and if Sam let up for even a millisecond, his sharp instincts took advantage of her slack. Like three seconds ago, when he’d sunk a jumper and tied the score.
“Nice shot,” Sam called, in spite of her competitive streak, as she brought the ball down the court.
“Thanks.” The muscles in Grant’s cheeks twitched toward a smile, and then he focused again. Apparently, she had fooled him one too many times with small talk today.
Sam kept her dribble close to the ground and pivoted quickly, using her ass to back Grant closer to the hoop. Stutter-stepping three inches back, Sam could feel his sweat on her shoulder as she pressed into him and tried not to notice the smell of him. The mix of salty skin and spicy deodorant coming off a good-looking man was almost intoxicating.
Not that she was enjoying Grant. Or the way he smelled. She shoved the thoughts out of her head, focusing on Duke as he swung wide and clapped for the ball. They were four points away from winning thegame. Sam stuttered back another inch, hoping Grant would give her a little more room to execute the pass. She wasn’t a tiny girl, and most guys got out of the way if she put even a quarter of her body weight on them. Unfortunately, Grant must have been into squats, because he didn’t back up. Tossing a glance over her shoulder, Sam caught him smiling at her like she could rest her weight on him all day. She growled in frustration, which seemed to heighten his enjoyment of the situation. He was laughing at her. She was going to have to fight dirty.
He was leaning over her so close that she could feel him breathing on her neck. This could work for her. Without warning, she stood up suddenly, her shoulder catching Grant in the chest and knocking him off balance. She passed the ball to Duke, who pulled up for a midrange jumper that circled the rim exactly twice before it sank with a satisfying swish.
“Ugh.” Grant let his head drop to his chest, and she felt the sheer joy of having backed him into a corner start to well inside her.
If ever there was a time to reprise trash talk, it was now. Waiting until he had the ball, she said, “Don’t feel bad, Grant. Everyone loses sometimes. Maybe you should have been more assertive?” Her tone was innocent enough, but the look on Grant’s face sagged as he remembered his crappy advice to her. On either side of them, Grant’s teammates ran up and called for the ball. Grant smirked and looked over like he was going to pass the ball to Kelly. Instinctively, Sam moved toward her, trying to fill the gap and intercept the pass. She was halfway through the movement when she realized her error. Grant hadn’t telegraphed a pass; he had faked her out and thrown a no-look pass at Danny.
Sam scrambled to get back into position as the ball whizzed toward Danny. In that moment, time seemed to stand still. Grant came to a halt as Sam ran toward him, and ... Danny was not paying attention to the ball.
“Yo—” Grant’s face froze in horror as soon as he realized what Sam and half the court already saw. Danny turned just in time for the pass to hit him directly in the face with enough force to dent a car.
A collective yelp went around the group as Danny hit the ground with a thud, his limbs splayed like in one of da Vinci’s anatomy drawings from the fifteenth century.
“Ow,” Danny moaned from the floor as the entire court jogged over to check on him.
“Don’t move,” Theo and Kelly shouted at the same time. Sam was torn between running over to help and trying not to crowd the people in the room with actual emergency medical training.
“I’m pretty sure I’m just rattled,” Danny said. To his credit, he did obey the roomful of doctors, who were all watching him like a hawk. He wiggled his ankles but didn’t try to get up, and Sam’s neck muscles started to relax. Gratitude that someone else was there to handle the emergency flooded her senses. No repeat of the plane for her.
“Maybe. But I didn’t like the sound of that fall,” Kelly said, leaning over him. “Can you look at me?”
Sam felt Grant stand next to her before she saw him. Looking over at him, she felt instantly guilty for mocking him all night. The poor guy looked like he had accidentally punched both of his grandmothers as Kelly helped Danny sit up.
Without thinking, Sam leaned into Grant and whispered, “You all right?”
“Better than Danny. Jeez.” Grant scrubbed his hand over his face. “I hope he doesn’t have a concussion. He is supposed to work tomorrow.”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. He clearly remembers getting hit by the ball, which is a good sign,” Sam said as Danny reenacted getting socked with his hands. That knowledge did not seem to have any effect on Grant’s mood. Sam sighed. “For what it’s worth. That was a really good pass.”
Grant blinked at her for a few moments, the corners of his mouth lifting. “Thanks.”
“Maybe you were a touch too assertive for poor Danny,” Sam said, watching Grant’s smile broaden as he shook his head.
“I earned that,” Grant said, shrugging at her. Something stretched between them, and she wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. She’d liked it better when she’d just wanted to avoid speaking to him ever again.
“We went to elementary school together, and I gave that guy a concussion when we were like ten. Apparently, he is still holding a grudge,” Danny shouted, getting slowly to his feet and drawing Grant’s attention.
“I waited twenty-four years to pay you back,” Grant called, making his way through the group of people to get to Danny’s side. “Sorry, man.”
“I’m all right, really. We could finish the game.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. I said you could probably get up, notyou can get your head knocked again.” Kelly chuckled.
“It’s their possession anyway. I think they won this one. I’m not trying to let Duke dunk on you again.” Grant laughed.
“I’m willing to call it a draw, given the loss of one of your star players,” Raphael said, with a magnanimous bow.
“You’re too kind,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes.
