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My buddy had won the party planning battle with his wife, so it was a low-key celebration after the christening. Just family and a few friends with some food catered back at Anna and Derek’s house—and Adam. I suppose Adam would fall into the friend category, since he and Derek worked together and are close enough that he was a groomsman in their wedding. But to me, tonight, Adam was enemy number one. I wondered if the asshole knew how close he’d come to getting to sleep with the beautiful woman he was currently talking to. Worse, I couldn’t stop thinking about whether Natalia might be in the same frame of mind tonight. She threw her head back and laughed at something the pencil neck said, and I nearly lost my shit. Since drinking wasn’t an option, I decided a time out was in order and took a walk.
I found Izzy out front, bouncing a ball near the neighbor’s basketball hoop at the curb. I walked over. “How’s your free-throw ratio?”
She bounced twice, then swished one into the net. “Never better.”
I took off my jacket and laid it on the grass. “Up for a little one-on-one?”
The wiseass looked from side to side. “Sure. Is there any real competition around to play?”
I reached in and stole the ball mid-bounce, showing her where her competition was. “How you been?”
“Good. I got game MVP a few weeks ago.”
“Congratulations. That’s great.”
She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal and tried to swallow her proud smile. I bounced the ball, faking left, then right, took a few steps and shot from three-point distance.
Swoosh.
“Lucky shot,” she said.
“Yeah. Okay. Your turn.” She grabbed the ball, and I stood in the way of the net with my hands up. “Get past me, MVP.”
I’d like to say I let her blow by me to help her confidence. But I didn’t have to let her do anything. She didn’t break a sweat to pass me. And I found out all too quickly that my three-point shot was beginner’s luck. We played for a while, the game growing more intense with each basket we made. By the time we were done, my shirt was untucked, sleeves rolled up, and I was sweating like an out-of-shape old man. Izzy was barely winded.
“Need a break?” she asked.
I was bent over with my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. “What gave you that idea?”
She laughed, and we sat on the curb to cool off.
“How are things going? Is Yakass being good to you, or do I have to fly out to New York to kick his ass?”
“Yakshit, not Yakass. And everything’s good, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Let me ask you something? Would you really fly across the country to kick a boy’s ass if he was mean to me?”
I’m sure she thought I was kidding, but I wasn’t. “Absolutely.”
“Then I should return the favor. Oh, wait…I just kicked your ass.” She smirked.
I deserved that. Picking a few pieces of grass from the lawn, I asked, “How is she?”
“Not so great...” Izzy turned to look me square in the face, “…thanks to you.”
“I’m sorry, Izzy.”
“I don’t get it. I thought you liked her.”
“I did. I do.”
“So, what’s the problem? Is it because yo
u live out here, and we live in New York?”
“It’s complicated.”
