11. Play Ball (1/2)
11 – play ball
i feel like such an idiot. i should say something. he won't even look
at me. what could i possibly say? felicity hunched into her seat. ben sat
as far from her as possible, almost crammed against the driver door. if he wanted to get away from me so badly,
why did he ask me to go with him? "did you want to go play basketball?" she
ventured, gesturing to the ball on the seat between them.
"yeah, we could do that," he shot
back, as if he'd been waiting all along for her to ask. "cliff said the campus
courts are usually open." he turned down another street, following the signs to
the college campus.
for the entire drive, she could
get no further conversation from him. they parked at the campus courts and went
through the chain link gates in silence. ben dribbled the basketball on the
pavement, looking even more fidgety than he had earlier.
felicity gave an inward grimace. is he not going to talk to me all night?
she thought for a minute, deciding on a safe conversation, then
she smiled and held up her hands for the ball. ben bounced it to her, and she
sprinted toward the basket with it.
"hey, that's traveling!" he
barked, chasing after her.
felicity grinned. at least that's something! laughing, she
jumped up and sank the ball in one swoop.
"that doesn't count, cheater,"
rumbled ben, grabbing the ball as it dropped through the basket.
"it counts in porter rules," she
replied haughtily.
ben's eye
ows shot up. "oh,
porter rules. you can travel in porter rules." he bounced the ball again.
"yes, you can." she went toward
him, still grinning. "you also get another shot when you make a basket."
ben held the ball over his head,
using his height to keep it out of her reach with an innocent look. "really?"
she grabbed at the ball twice
before crossing her arms and fixing him with a glare. "yes."
ben dodged around her, speeding
toward the basket without dribbling the ball.
"hey!" felicity sprinted after him, but he leapt into a perfect layup before she got there and dropped the ball in. "gimme that back!" she laughed.
"i made the shot. i get another
one," he snarked, grabbing the ball again.
"oh, you are so going to get it!"
ben laughed and turned around,
guarding the ball. felicity darted under his arm and knocked it away, running
across the court with it. she heard him coming after her and ran faster,
giggling. ben reached around her for the ball, and she raced away toward the
basket.
by the time they grew tired, the
birds had begun singing. felicity looked up and noticed that the sky had
lightened just enough to pick out the silhouettes of trees and buildings. "wow.
i haven't stayed out this late in forever."
ben tucked the basketball under
his arm and gestured to the track outside the basketball courts. "let's go sit
in the bleachers."
on the way there, felicity asked,
"so where did you go last night?"
"just drove around the city for a
while. saw the gateway arch. i couldn't sleep."
the gateway
arch. a monument that, for many, symbolized the
passage into the western united states. felicity felt like their trip was half over before it had
even begun.
they reached the bleachers and
climbed to the top to sit down and catch their
eath. the sky began to take on
the muted greys of dawn. "i'm sorry about earlier," she
ventured at last.
he set the basketball between his
feet, not looking at her. "don't worry about it. it's my fault. i should have
knocked or something."
feeling awkward now, felicity
shuffled her feet on the bench below. "i'll just take everything into the
bathroom with me from now on."
the few clouds went from grey to
champagne pink. she tapped her feet again and wondered suddenly if noel was
having a good time in berlin. i wonder if he—
ben's hand touched her face,
turning it toward him. he kissed her gently, and all her thoughts vanished like
dissipating smoke. his
eath misted warm on her face in the cool air. his
other hand came to rest against her cheek. she heard the basketball bounce away
down the bleachers. his mouth felt soft against hers, almost questioning. she
shivered.