Teach Me To Love

Chapter 10

Sweat glistened silvery on the wide expanse of Lenard's rippled chest and trickled downward. The adrenaline coursing through his body was powerful and he focused his stamina on his playing positions. He was on the court, the one place where he could let out all the emotions he felt on the inside; passion, anger, love, confusion and the euphoria of doing something he enjoyed.

He dribbled the basketball skillfully through the cones strategically placed in a complicated figure eight pattern, as he warmed up and imagined his opponents were after him. His biceps tightened when he pushed the ball towards the varnished court and his feet darted through the spaces. He welcomed the rush of excitement and the familiarity of it all.

He ran from the half-court line, straight to the three-point circle, bent his knees slightly, then sprung up to the balls of his feet and released the basketball. The ball soared through the air, circled the rim of the basket and fell through the hoop.

"Wooow! Valentin is in great form this season! That amazing shot ladies and gentlemen, just gave him his fifth three-pointer in this game and we are only a few minutes away from half-time!" a voice commentated after the shot.

Lenard moved to retrieve the ball without turning around. "How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"Len, if you ever go missing this is the first place we would send out a search party," Antonio responded flatly, as he entered the gym.

"Oh," Lenard said absentmindedly and resumed his practice.

"Whats on your mind?" Antonio inquired, when he noticed that his friend was strangely quiet.

"Nothing," was the short response.

Antonio walked up to Lenard and stole the ball from him to get his full attention, then asked. "Does this have anything to do with Suzanne? How did your supposed dinner went?"

Lenard shrugged and walked to one of the benches off to the side to retrieve a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap from the bottle and leaned the bottle to take a drink of the refreshing liquid, while his mind raced.

He sat on the bench, placed his elbows on his knees and looked at his friend fully for the first time since he walked in. "It was okay," Lenard finally answered.

"Just okay?" Antonio asked and raised a brow in surprise.

"It ended somewhat dramatically. When we were about to leave a man I hated from the minute I saw him, approached her."

Antonio grinned almost knowingly. "So that explains why you are being so grim."

"No, it doesn't," Lenard corrected. "She fainted when he spoke to her and she couldn't remember who he was."

Antonio's smile fell from his face. "What the hell!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, I know. She did tell me she didn't know who I was either the first time I spoke to her too, but I didn't believe her," Lenard related.

Antonio took a seat next to Lenard and pondered on the new information he'd received. The wheels in his head turned and he snapped his fingers as a thought came to mind. "Did it ever occur to you that she might be having problems with her memory?" he asked.

"I don't think she would still be attending university if she was having problems with her memory," Lenard voiced out logically.

"That is the only plausible reason to explain why she would have problems remembering people," Antonio said. "Maybe you should test her to justify it," he suggested.

"How?" Lenard asked.

Antonio looked and the basketball which lay on the court not far away from Lenard's feet, then he rubbed his palms together as a plan began to form in his mind. "I have an idea."

Lenard leaned forward and listened to his friend keenly. As they formulated the plan together he was eager to find out the truth. Was Suzanne having problems with her memory, or not?