me think—or hope — she ' s kidding . Kira ' s already walking toward the basketball court she saw me at the first day we met. Grabbing my basketball out of the cab , I push the door closed and run after her.
The court is set far off the street and down a path. We really shouldn ' t get caught. I ' ve played here enough at night , but I still throw a quick request to the big guy upstairs that we get by unscathed tonight. The last thing I need is to have the cops call my mom to pick me up.
Suddenly , my feet won ' t move. Holy shit. What would I do if the cops called M om? She couldn ' t come and get me. Would they make her? Send me home on my own? " Hey ... You sure we should stay? I mean , I don ' t want you to get into trouble or anything. "
She doesn ' t stop walking and I make my feet move again. It always feels like I ' m trying to catch up with this girl. " You won ' t. I ' ll be fine. Unless ..." Finally , she stops walking.
When I reach her , I ' m shaking my head. " No , no. I ' m cool. Come on. Let ' s go. "
When we get to the court , I start to feel a little stupid. Why did I invite a girl who ' s not into ball to the basketball court? I mean , I ' m sure she really doesn ' t want to spend her Friday night learning basketball 101 when she ' s already told me it ' s not her thing. Now that we ' re here , I don ' t even know if she really wants me to show her or if she just came because she felt sorry for me. Or maybe she wants to watch me. Usually it doesn ' t bother me when people watch , but times like tonight , where I just need the leather between my hands to feel grounded to something , I don ' t really want an audience.
Which makes me wonder why I invited her here in the first place.
" So I ' m guessing heels and basketball don ' t really go well together? " Kira ' s steady voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
" Um ... no. " I dribble the ball to keep myself busy. " I guess I didn ' t really think this through very well. "
She shrugs , pulling off her shoes and tossing them to the side.
" You can ' t play with no shoes on. What if you step on something? "
" I ' ll be okay , Mom. Just make sure you don ' t stomp on my feet. "
Like always she pulls a small laugh out of me. " Ha ha. See? I try to be a gentleman and you make fun of me. Nice. "
" Are those the same shoes you play your games in? "
" Um , no. Why? "
" Give them to me. "
" What? Then what will I wear? "
Kira crosses her arms. " Oh , I was under the impression you were being a gentleman. "
My eyes fall closed and I shake my head , knowing she got me. " Fine , but just so you know , I wouldn ' t do this for just anyone. And if I step on something and get hurt , I ' m totally suing. "
" Deal. " She takes my Nikes and pulls them on. They ' re obviously big on her. I doubt she ' ll even be able to run without tripping. " And at least you have socks. That ' s some protection. "
" Socks? Protection my ass. " This time , it ' s me who mumbles , " girls " the same way she did boys.
" Okay , so what ' s first , coach? " S he holds out her hand , answering my question about whether we ' re really playing basketball class or not. I toss her the ball.
" Let me see how you shoot. " I grab her arm and pull her forward a little , about where the free throw line is.
With her feet apart , she pulls her hands in the air and I stop her. " Nope. Not right at all. Here. " I step up behind her. Patting one of her legs , I say , " Move this leg a little. Yep , like that. Raise the ball up , with two hands , but put one on the side a little. " She does it , but wrong. Reaching my arms around her I touch her wrist. " Over a little. Yeah , like that. Then the other hand at the back of the ball. "
I ' m behind her , arms on each side of her , my hands on hers. It ' s not until I smell girl that I realize how close I am to her. I don ' t even know what the scent is—some kind of sweet perfume that goes straight to my head. Her back ' s against my chest.
The court is set far off the street and down a path. We really shouldn ' t get caught. I ' ve played here enough at night , but I still throw a quick request to the big guy upstairs that we get by unscathed tonight. The last thing I need is to have the cops call my mom to pick me up.
Suddenly , my feet won ' t move. Holy shit. What would I do if the cops called M om? She couldn ' t come and get me. Would they make her? Send me home on my own? " Hey ... You sure we should stay? I mean , I don ' t want you to get into trouble or anything. "
She doesn ' t stop walking and I make my feet move again. It always feels like I ' m trying to catch up with this girl. " You won ' t. I ' ll be fine. Unless ..." Finally , she stops walking.
When I reach her , I ' m shaking my head. " No , no. I ' m cool. Come on. Let ' s go. "
When we get to the court , I start to feel a little stupid. Why did I invite a girl who ' s not into ball to the basketball court? I mean , I ' m sure she really doesn ' t want to spend her Friday night learning basketball 101 when she ' s already told me it ' s not her thing. Now that we ' re here , I don ' t even know if she really wants me to show her or if she just came because she felt sorry for me. Or maybe she wants to watch me. Usually it doesn ' t bother me when people watch , but times like tonight , where I just need the leather between my hands to feel grounded to something , I don ' t really want an audience.
Which makes me wonder why I invited her here in the first place.
" So I ' m guessing heels and basketball don ' t really go well together? " Kira ' s steady voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
" Um ... no. " I dribble the ball to keep myself busy. " I guess I didn ' t really think this through very well. "
She shrugs , pulling off her shoes and tossing them to the side.
" You can ' t play with no shoes on. What if you step on something? "
" I ' ll be okay , Mom. Just make sure you don ' t stomp on my feet. "
Like always she pulls a small laugh out of me. " Ha ha. See? I try to be a gentleman and you make fun of me. Nice. "
" Are those the same shoes you play your games in? "
" Um , no. Why? "
" Give them to me. "
" What? Then what will I wear? "
Kira crosses her arms. " Oh , I was under the impression you were being a gentleman. "
My eyes fall closed and I shake my head , knowing she got me. " Fine , but just so you know , I wouldn ' t do this for just anyone. And if I step on something and get hurt , I ' m totally suing. "
" Deal. " She takes my Nikes and pulls them on. They ' re obviously big on her. I doubt she ' ll even be able to run without tripping. " And at least you have socks. That ' s some protection. "
" Socks? Protection my ass. " This time , it ' s me who mumbles , " girls " the same way she did boys.
" Okay , so what ' s first , coach? " S he holds out her hand , answering my question about whether we ' re really playing basketball class or not. I toss her the ball.
" Let me see how you shoot. " I grab her arm and pull her forward a little , about where the free throw line is.
With her feet apart , she pulls her hands in the air and I stop her. " Nope. Not right at all. Here. " I step up behind her. Patting one of her legs , I say , " Move this leg a little. Yep , like that. Raise the ball up , with two hands , but put one on the side a little. " She does it , but wrong. Reaching my arms around her I touch her wrist. " Over a little. Yeah , like that. Then the other hand at the back of the ball. "
I ' m behind her , arms on each side of her , my hands on hers. It ' s not until I smell girl that I realize how close I am to her. I don ' t even know what the scent is—some kind of sweet perfume that goes straight to my head. Her back ' s against my chest.
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