Page 4 of Kickoff

I took the note he offered. “Sure. Cool.” I tried to act unaffected, but inside my chest, my heart was pounding very fast. “Like five o’clock?”

Melinda nodded with a smile, and I hurried away, not sure what to do now that I had asked a girl over. I had never been on a date before. Was that what it was tonight? A date? My heart rate accelerated at the idea. Craig would be jealous because he had never invited a girl home before either.

I jumped down the stairs and watched her over my shoulder one last time. “I’ll see you around five.”

“Wow, you did this?” Melinda asked when she walked into my backyard later, her dad by her side, as she looked all around her.

I shrugged like it was no big deal when, in fact, I spent over an hour setting it all up with Dad. I had laid a blanket and some pillows in one corner of the yard for our picnic. Mom had made a pitcher of lemonade for us, and I’d helped her bake cookies. I hoped Melinda loved cookies as much as I did. I had added extra chocolate chips just in case. Dad had installed the projector and put two chairs on the other side of the pool, with a white sheet pinned to the wooden fence in front of them.

We’d put a large float we could drift on while watching the movie in the pool, and my inflatable basketball pool game was ready, in case Melinda wanted a rematch in the water.

“Did you bring your swimsuit?” I asked, gesturing to the red shark-patterned swim trunk and sleeveless white shirt I was wearing.

“Yes.” She tugged at the sleeve of her purple dress to reveal the strap of her bathing suit. “I also made cupcakes. Here.” She handed me a plastic container.

“Cool.”

Mom joined us and started a conversation with our new neighbor while Melinda and I stood next to them in silence.

Feeling awkward, I rocked on my heels, wondering what to do or say next. “Huh…do you want lemonade? Mom made it for us.”

“Sure.” Melinda followed me to the small table. She looked around as if searching for something. “Is your brother home?”

“No. It’s just us.”

She nodded. Seconds later, her father said goodbye.

“Dinner will be ready in half an hour. Come and get me if you need anything, or if you wanna go for a swim, I’ll send your dad to watch over you, okay?”

We both nodded as she returned inside.

Melinda offered me a small smile. “Your Mom looks nice.”

“Yeah. She’s the best.”

She fidgeted with her fingers while I scratched the back of my head as silence stretched between us.

After a few long minutes that seemed endless, I pointed to the front yard. “Do you think we should play a game?”

“Yes. I think I can beat you this time,” Melinda said, puffing her chest out.

“You think?”

“Yes.” She dropped her bag to the ground and bent down to retie her shoes. “Come on, Mason.”

We played for the next thirty minutes, both of us sweating, too invested in the game. The score was tied. Fifteen to fifteen.

“If you score, you win,” Melinda said. She stood before me, her hands on her knees as I dribbled the ball, her gaze following all my movements.

I stepped to the left, pivoted on myself, passed the ball through my legs, and aimed for the hoop. Melinda’s eyes lit up. She raised her arms, blocking me. I shifted my weight to my right, positioned my arms, and tossed the ball. It spun around in the rim, again and again. We both watched, jaws hanging, eyes big.

Until it slid through the net.

I shot my arms up in victory. “I win,” I screamed before I noticed the defeated expression on Melinda’s face. “Huh…it was close. I thought it wouldn’t go in.”

“You did good.”

For a moment, I wondered if I was supposed to have let her win. Maybe it was the gentlemanly thing to do on a date. But would Melinda enjoy the victory if she knew I had cheated? Nah. I know I wouldn’t love winning because my opponent tricked the game. My belly growled. “Are you hungry? We could go and eat now. Dinner should be ready.”