AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re lucky I just set down my nachos. Had you spilled them…” She mimes a finger slicing across her throat.
Yeah, yeah.
I peer back out onto the court, and sure enough, Ben still doesn’t know I exist. He’s over on the side talking to a coach. I’m in the clear.
“Seriously, what’s going on with you? Can I get you a beer or something? Here, have mine.”
She presses her drink into my hand, and maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Maybe it’ll give me a little bit of courage to endure the next few hours. I take a sip and settle back down into my seat. Ryan and Julia and Kayla eat their pregame snacks as the team finishes their final warm-up drills, then the team jogs toward the sidelines and starts stripping out of their tracksuits.
I keep my attention on Ben like I’m being graded on it. I watch him peel that jacket off and expose his tan arms. I will him to look in my direction, and I also live in fear that he actually might. I should have known better though; Ben is fully focused on the game. The rabid fans screaming at the top of their lungs don’t even register for him.
By the time the starting lineup takes the court for tip-off, I’ve downed half of Kayla’s beer. I squeeze the cup with my hand as Anthony jumps up and taps the ball toward Trey. Los Angeles stays in control most of the first half, and it’s easy to follow the game play even though I barely know anything about basketball. Sure, I couldn’t name Ben’s position, but I know he scores a lot. Trey and Anthony pass him the ball, he deftly sinks it into the net, and points build and build on the scoreboard. Everything happens so fast. They sprint up and down the court, and I can barely keep up. God, he must be exhausted. How does he do it?
The second half is no less amazing than the first. Ben and his team seem unstoppable. It’s like they’ve found a pace of play that can’t be matched. Ben and Anthony are especially in sync. At one point, Ben gets a rebound and passes the ball down to Anthony all the way on the other side of the court. Before Utah can even catch Anthony, he’s already dunked it in the basket.
“Hel-lo, earth to Raelynn.”
Kayla waves her hand in front of my face and I blink and lean toward her. Only a bit though, my attention still on Ben as he attempts a three-point shot.
The ball swoops through the net, and I clench my fist and barely refrain from leaping off my feet in celebration.
“We’re going to get more food. You want anything?”
They’ve already had multiple rounds of snacks: popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy. Anything you can eat in this stadium is now sitting in their stomachs. If the chairs weren’t bolted to the ground, they’d probably go for those too.
Any other night, I’d join them, but I still have no appetite, especially now. Watching Ben play isn’t relaxing by any means. I’m on the edge of my seat, holding my breath with every pass, every shot, every block. Earlier, when a player from Utah rammed his elbow into Ben’s ribs and garnered a foul, I nearly stopped breathing altogether. I didn’t feel like the two measly free throws the referee awarded Ben were good enough. After it happened, Ben winced and pressed a hand to his side, obviously in pain, and I chewed my bottom lip, wondering how badly he was hurting.
Now, Kayla throws her hands into the air in defeat, having had enough of me.
“Oh…no. No. Sorry, I don’t want anything.” I wave her off.
On the court, Los Angeles calls a timeout and the players jog over to the side. Ben is right in front of me, but we’re divided by the five rows of people between us. Still, it doesn’t feel like much at all. It’s closer than we’ve been in years.
A trainer passes him a towel and he wipes his face, leaning in to listen to his coach.
I’m oblivious to the fact that the jumbotron has turned its attention toward the crowd, hopping from fan to fan as they go wild seeing themselves on screen.
“Oh my god! Hold on! We can’t get food yet. This is my chance!” Julia screams, leaping to her feet and dragging Ryan with her. Kayla joins in too, and then she grabs my hand. I’ve been such a horrible friend tonight that I don’t feel like I can deny them this too.
I stand and wave my hands gently while they all dance around, enjoying themselves and letting loose. I’m actually shocked when their endeavors pay off and we suddenly appear on screen.
“GUYS!” Julia screams. “That’s us!”
Ben, the team, everything is forgotten in that moment as we all go crazy, shouting and dancing and making a spectacle of ourselves. Even I’m excited to see myself up there, blown up and huge. I’m laughing alongside Kayla, who’s thrown her arms around me, and together, we jump up and down. Then the jumbotron swoops to another section of the crowd and we all turn to each other in disbelief.
