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I had to admit, the guy was getting to me, but I thought that was how it was played. I shoved my hand in my pocket and fished out a wad of cash as I walked up to the game.
“We have a bite!” he called out. “Five bucks will give you three balls. Ten and I’ll throw in an extra four.”
“Just give me three.”
He rolled them at me, and they gathered in a small barricaded space on the counter. I glanced at Naomi and silently prayed to make at least one in. I eyed the hoop, got a feel for the distance, set the ball and gave it a toss, lobbing it up to the rim. It bounced around the rim, centered and when I thought it was going in, it bounced back out and into the net below. I squinted and glared at the guy who was not paying the slightest attention to me. I did the same thing to the second and the third ball only to watch them bounce around as if there was glass over the top of the hoop.
After the last ball, the attendant approached me and grinned, his arms crossed over his chest. “Try again? Maybe this time you’ll get lucky.” He held his hand out, expecting another five.
I knew it was rigged and I stepped away. “Fool me once,” I said, saluting him before walking away.
Naomi giggled, feeding her arm around mine. It felt nice.
“So, do you want to tell me how your father won that game time and time again? Because I’m pretty sure that is an impossible win,” I said.
“I take it you’ve played?”
“I have.”
“Recreationally? Or—”
“Perhaps a bit more than recreationally. Our team was pretty good in school.”
“High school?”
“College.”
“College,” she repeated with more length and surprise on the word.
“You sound surprised.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to.”
“It’s okay. I’m not exactly dressed for success.”
“So, if you don’t stay in one place for too long, either you travel for work, or you have had so many jobs you can play poker with your W-2s.”
I laughed at the idea of having that kind of burden. “Sounds like too much paperwork to me.”
“So, what gives?”
“I get by.”
“You get by,” she repeated, nodding her head as she processed my vague response. “That could be interpreted to be so many things.”
“What about you? Aren’t you a teacher or something?”
“I am. It’s nice because it gives me my summers off, yet it allows me to help the kids.”
“I can sense you love it.”
“I do.”
“Too bad you weren’t good at basketball. I could have used some help back there,” I nudged her teasing as we continued walking.
“I’ll share with you a little secret,” she said, a smirk on those soft pink lips.
“Anything. Please. I beg of you.”
“My father knew how the games were rigged. They never stood a chance against him.”
“And what’s the trick with that one? I could have lost my life savings back there to Mr. Macho.”
She laughed, it was like music. “The hoop isn’t perfectly round. The backboard is made of a material that instantly repels the ball, making it extra bouncy and sends it away from the hoop.”
“Ingenious. How do you win?”
“When the guy isn’t looking, you take something sharp and let out some of the air in the ball. It decreases the bounciness and allows it to fit through the hoop. By the time they realize what you did, you’re walking away with a prize.”
“And they can’t exactly call you on it because it’s already set for failure.”
“Bingo,” she said.
“Smart.”
“Yeah, until everyone starts to catch on. The games aren’t as popular as they were when I was little.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was increasingly more beautiful every moment I spent with her.
I offered Naomi my hand and looked at her. “Trust me?”
She furrowed her eyebrows and just stared at me, glancing at my out-stretched hand. I lowered my head and smiled, nodding that it was okay. She slowly slid her fingers across my palm and fit her small hand into mine. The touch of her soft skin radiated through me, but I pushed it down and let her firm her grip.
I led her to the rides set up on the opposite side of the parking lot and slipped into line for the Ferris wheel.
When we got to the front of the line, I turned to her and put my finger to my lips. Leaning to the operator, I whispered my request and slipped him a twenty. The operator nodded and helped Naomi into the next available car. I sat next to her, and within moments, we were jerkily hoisted into the air. I watched her and she seemed to enjoy my idea. We went around a few times until the first blast of color lit up the sky. She gasped, and the sound of it gripped me. I wondered for a moment what she sounded like when she was in bed. The Ferris wheel slowed and stopped as we reached the top. She looked over the edge, then at me.
