Page 105 of The Fake
“How are we dividing teams?” Wes asks. “Boys versus girls or are we splitting a couple to play five on five?”
“A basketball game is how we’re celebrating?” I question Blair.
She sighs, a dreamy look on her face. “It’s fitting, really. One last game before we all leave.”
“You and Wes are staying in Valley, right?”
Her eyes slowly meet mine and she nods. “Yeah, I’m going to grad school, and Wes signed a two-year assistant coach contract.” She shrugs. “It’s going to be sad with everyone leaving, but Gabby will only be a couple of hours away and with the wedding this summer, we’ll get to see everyone at least one more time. But I know these guys; they’ll be finding excuses to see each other and if they don’t, we will.” She hip checks me playfully.
“Definitely,” I agree.
“So, what do you say?” She nods her head toward the group.
“I’m awful at basketball.”
“I find that hard to believe, but you can be on my team because I’m the reigning PIG champion.”
She links her arm through mine, and we head toward the guys.
“Girls versus guys,” she states confidently. “We get the ball first.”
The girls spread out, and the guys match up to defend their respective partners. Nathan walks toward me, all swagger, with a competitive gleam in his eyes.
“You can’t handle this, Payne.”
“That so?”
I nod, head held high with false confidence.
Blair checks the ball to Wes and so it begins. I think the guys are going easy on us at first, but when Gabby and Blair pull off some pick and roll play and actually score, their shocked boyfriends up their defense.
Vanessa shoots and it bounces off the front of the rim. Zeke rebounds and tosses it with one hand to Nathan. I square off, blocking his direct path to the basket. He dribbles left to right, behind his back, between his legs. He’s showing off, and I’m enjoying every second of it. I lunge for the ball and come up empty, but instead of blowing by me, Nathan keeps taunting me.
I narrow my gaze and deepen my stance. I mean business. One side of his mouth pulls up, and he leans down so that our faces are only inches apart.
“I’m sorry to have to do this to you,” he says right before he spins to my left and takes the basketball to the hoop and scores.
The guys fist bump him, and I move to the top of the three-point line. “Give me the ball.”
“Ah, shit,” Blair says as she bounces it to me. “Chloe is pissed.”
Nathan walks up toward me with a rueful grin. “Sorry, princess, had to be done.”
“Mhmm, too late for apologies.”
Wes chuckles. “Don’t you know you’re supposed to let your girl beat you, Payne?”
“That’s not what you do, is it?” Blair asks, her voice going up an octave with each word.
Everyone laughs except Blair. Wes pulls her into a hug and shoots us all an “oh, shit” look over the top of her head. “Of course not.”
I dribble, concentrating hard. I don’t have any mad skills to do anything fancy, so I decide to go with brute force. I step on his left foot with my right and Imaythrow an elbow in the process. It all happens so fast it’s hard to say.
Whoopsies.
The rest of the guys part to let me through, and I manage to make a shot right under the basket. When I turn around, Nathan is sprawled out on the floor on his butt. He’s got both eyebrows raised, but he smiles as I approach. I offer him a hand, and he pulls me down on top of him.
“I scored.”
