It All Started With A Piñata

Chapter 10 - The Game

"Over here!" Santiago yells from the end of the court. 

I lob it over, and he scores a basket as Sterling darts away from the ball. 

"Yahoo!" Santiago cheers as our team is finally in the lead.

It's 24-22, and there is four minutes left of our game. Despite us having Shane and the other team having Sterling, Daniel and Jacob are somehow making it work. 

"Hey Sterling," Daniel calls, panting. "You gotta touch the ball, my man. Come on, it'll be fun!" he says, giving him a pat on the back. "You start with it."

"Alright," says Sterling, his cheeks flushing. He looks scared. 

Jacob doesn't say anything, but I can tell he's thinking about how this is going to ruin their chances at winning. I don't even know why Daniel is trying with Sterling, because he's pretty much a lost cause at this. 

So Sterling holds the ball, his sweat dripping down his forehead. He looks like he's about to make the biggest decision of his life, but doesn't know what the right answer is. 

Finally, he passes it straight into Shane's hands. Oof. We quickly score making it 26-22. 

"Sorry guys," Sterling says.

"It's ok, man. Try it again! Aim for me though," says Daniel, laughing. 

Jacob looks like he's going to kill Daniel after this match. Honestly, I would too, if Daniel kept giving the ball to Sterling. 

This time, Sterling doesn't hesitate and he passes the ball straight to Daniel. Then he dribbles it around for a bit and stops as Shane long arms block him from making a shot. I've got Jacob covered and Santiago doesn't even bother to cover Sterling. 

"Santiago, lookout!" I shout, as Daniel passes the ball to Sterling, who surprisingly catches the ball with ease. But Santiago is too late, as Sterling shoots and the ball makes a satisfying swoosh through the net.

"Good job, buddy!" Daniel says, giving him a slap on the back. "That was awesome!"

"Thanks man!" says Sterling, with a smile. He actually looks happy with himself, like he's having a good time.

The timer rings, meaning we win 26-24. 

"Yeahhhhh!" cheers Santiago, giving me and Shane a high five. "You guys were lucky that I was on your team. Otherwise you wouldn't have won," he jokes.

"Actually, I don't think you have anything to do with winning," says Sterling laughing. "I think whichever team had me was going to lose no matter what!"

~

We sit on the shaded hillside the rest of the afternoon, eating some snacks and napping. Although trees loom overhead, it's 3 o'clock and the humid air is suffocating. It's too hot to move or do anything. 

"Dude you look like you're going to die. You should take your shirt off so you don't overheat," Santiago says, laughing at Sterling's sweat-soaked shirt that clings to his body. 

"And there are some hot chicks over there who will want to check you out!" Jacob jokes.

For some reason, I feel a tinge of anger heating up my cheeks. 

"Just let him do what he wants to do, guys," I say as calmly as possible. I go through my emails, pretending to be indifferent. Pretending that my thoughts are elsewhere.

"It's okay, Romayo. I definitely need to cool down," he says, meeting my eyes.

Sterling's fringe of blond hair is wet from the heat, his forehead glistening in sweat. His skin is slightly tan, his cheeks dotted with freckles. His blue eyes are like the ocean next to his sandy complexion. He smiles at me.

I feel my anger rising, but it only lasts for a second. Then I replay in my mind how he said my name, and how he looked at me differently. Before, I could always tell that he disliked me by the red blush that tinged his cheeks whenever I was around. 

I can feel my gaze softening, but I do nothing to control it. I am confused and I hate it, but I just can't feel angry right now. I don't know why. 

Sterling lifts his shirt over his head, revealing his slim frame, freckles dotting all over his pale skin. He is toned like a model though, and his abdomen is more defined than I ever thought it would be. His collarbones protrude sharply, just like his cheekbones. Cuts and bruises cover his torso from the other night, some of his wounds still swollen. Sterling kind of looks like a Calvin Klein model on Halloween. 

"You're right, this is a lot better," he says, smiling to my friends.

I quickly look away, watching an ant crawl along a stick instead.

"Ayooooo I thought you were just some skinny dude," Santiago says, "I mean, no offence. But you look good, bro. You work out?" 

"I do pilates and a little bit of dance," he replies, flushing slightly pink.

"Wow! I must take that up, too!" Santiago exclaims to the rest of us, pointing at Sterling's abs. "You have some free time this week? I want to look like this."

"Yeah, sure."  

"By the way, what happened to you? You look like you got run over by a football team."

"Santiago!" Daniel scolds, elbowing him in the side. "You're not supposed to ask."

"It's okay," Sterling replies. "Well, I was out alone... at night. I was at a bar, when I got jumped by a group of people," he says, his face reddening, "but Romayo saved me."

He meets my eye, his expression wary. Like he might set off a bomb if he says my name too many times. 

Then my friends all stare at me. Santiago looks at me with wide-eyed shock.

"You saved him?" he says, in disbelief. "Is that why your knuckles are all torn up?"

Daniel gives Santiago another shove. Suddenly I'm aware that everyone is waiting for me to talk about it, when I really don't want to. 

"Well I had to punch a couple of people. Yeah, I guess."

I put my hands behind my back so they will stop asking me questions. But I know it's too hot to leave and that they're not going to shut up. Fuck.