My arms are around her. I suck in another breath because , man , girls smell good. When you ' re this close to one , it ' s impossible not to suck it all in and drown in it. " Is ... Is this ... okay? "
She chuckles. I don ' t know if it ' s wishful thinking or not , but I think it sounds a little more raspy than usual.
" Sure thing , Coach. It ' s the only way to learn , right? "
Oh , yeah. This is about basketball. It ' s the first time in my life I haven ' t fully appreciated the sport because while it did get me this close to her , it ' s not the reason a guy wants to be close to a girl . " Absolutely. "
Trying to make myself concentrate on what I ' m doing rather than how soft she is ... What is that smell? Strawberries? Okay , I ' m going the wrong way here.
" Y ou ' re going to bend your right wrist a little so the ball tilts backward. Smoothly flick your wrist forward a little , letting the ball kind of roll out of your hand , off your fingers. One fluid movement , ' kay? " Basketball , basketball , basketball.
I step away from her. She shoots it hard , bouncing the ball roughly off the front of the rim. " Oops. "
Running around her , I grab the ball and give it back to her. " Totally my fault. Hold the ball like you did last time. " She gets into position and I get behind her. Teasingly , I push my knees into the back of hers , trying not to focus on wondering what her legs feel like. Trying not to regret wearing pants so I would know firsthand. " Bend your legs a little. Not too much , but enough to give yourself a little leeway. There you go. Like that. Arm up a little more. Perfect. "
It ' s dumb. All kinds of dumb , actually. I mean , I got dumped by Mel tonight. I ' m all screwed up over Mom , but I need to feel her. Need to forget everything else , so I slide my hands down her arms instead of pulling them away before stepping around her.
" Okay , watch me. " Did my voice just shake? I hope she doesn ' t notice.
I bend my legs , put my hand up like there is a ball in them. " You ' re going to push off the ground a little. You can jump , but you don ' t have to. Just give yourself a little push. At the same time , shoot the ball. Nice and smooth , remember. " I demonstrate a jump shot. " Your turn. "
Kira stands there a few seconds , focusing on the basket , then does exactly what I said. Her form is almost perfect. The ball flies out of her hand. The arch is a little high , but that ' s okay. Nothing wrong with a rainbow shot as long as it goes in. Which is does. Missing the rim completely and sliding straight though the net.
" There you go! Nothing but the bottom of the—umpf! " She flies at me like Sara does , crashing into me , but it feels different. Way different than my little sister launching herself at me.
" I did it! " The hug is too short for my liking. " I ' m good , huh? See how fast of a learner I am? Come on , let ' s do it again. "
She doesn ' t have to ask me twice. Ruining my white socks , I run for the ball and bring it back to her. She shoots a couple more jump shots. I try and teach her to dribble through her legs which probably isn ' t the smartest move since she ' s wearing a skirt , but it ' s kind of fun. The layups don ' t go as smoothly as jump shots , especially with the oversized shoes. It takes her throwing the ball over the back , bouncing off the bottom of the rim , and every other screw up you can think of before she makes one , but eventually she does. I swear her face brightens up enough to lighten the park if the lamps went out.
It ' s not until she falls against the wall , sitting on the ground , that I realize I could probably do the same. I ' m smiling so big , I probably look like an idiot , but I don ' t care. I practically feel the light coming off me. I ' m not thinking about Mel , worried about Mom or Sara. I ' m not even plotting out how to win , how to get better because teaching her , this was just for fun.
I can ' t ever remember having so much of
She chuckles. I don ' t know if it ' s wishful thinking or not , but I think it sounds a little more raspy than usual.
" Sure thing , Coach. It ' s the only way to learn , right? "
Oh , yeah. This is about basketball. It ' s the first time in my life I haven ' t fully appreciated the sport because while it did get me this close to her , it ' s not the reason a guy wants to be close to a girl . " Absolutely. "
Trying to make myself concentrate on what I ' m doing rather than how soft she is ... What is that smell? Strawberries? Okay , I ' m going the wrong way here.
" Y ou ' re going to bend your right wrist a little so the ball tilts backward. Smoothly flick your wrist forward a little , letting the ball kind of roll out of your hand , off your fingers. One fluid movement , ' kay? " Basketball , basketball , basketball.
I step away from her. She shoots it hard , bouncing the ball roughly off the front of the rim. " Oops. "
Running around her , I grab the ball and give it back to her. " Totally my fault. Hold the ball like you did last time. " She gets into position and I get behind her. Teasingly , I push my knees into the back of hers , trying not to focus on wondering what her legs feel like. Trying not to regret wearing pants so I would know firsthand. " Bend your legs a little. Not too much , but enough to give yourself a little leeway. There you go. Like that. Arm up a little more. Perfect. "
It ' s dumb. All kinds of dumb , actually. I mean , I got dumped by Mel tonight. I ' m all screwed up over Mom , but I need to feel her. Need to forget everything else , so I slide my hands down her arms instead of pulling them away before stepping around her.
" Okay , watch me. " Did my voice just shake? I hope she doesn ' t notice.
I bend my legs , put my hand up like there is a ball in them. " You ' re going to push off the ground a little. You can jump , but you don ' t have to. Just give yourself a little push. At the same time , shoot the ball. Nice and smooth , remember. " I demonstrate a jump shot. " Your turn. "
Kira stands there a few seconds , focusing on the basket , then does exactly what I said. Her form is almost perfect. The ball flies out of her hand. The arch is a little high , but that ' s okay. Nothing wrong with a rainbow shot as long as it goes in. Which is does. Missing the rim completely and sliding straight though the net.
" There you go! Nothing but the bottom of the—umpf! " She flies at me like Sara does , crashing into me , but it feels different. Way different than my little sister launching herself at me.
" I did it! " The hug is too short for my liking. " I ' m good , huh? See how fast of a learner I am? Come on , let ' s do it again. "
She doesn ' t have to ask me twice. Ruining my white socks , I run for the ball and bring it back to her. She shoots a couple more jump shots. I try and teach her to dribble through her legs which probably isn ' t the smartest move since she ' s wearing a skirt , but it ' s kind of fun. The layups don ' t go as smoothly as jump shots , especially with the oversized shoes. It takes her throwing the ball over the back , bouncing off the bottom of the rim , and every other screw up you can think of before she makes one , but eventually she does. I swear her face brightens up enough to lighten the park if the lamps went out.
It ' s not until she falls against the wall , sitting on the ground , that I realize I could probably do the same. I ' m smiling so big , I probably look like an idiot , but I don ' t care. I practically feel the light coming off me. I ' m not thinking about Mel , worried about Mom or Sara. I ' m not even plotting out how to win , how to get better because teaching her , this was just for fun.
I can ' t ever remember having so much of
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