Heal Me, Love Me

17 - Keeping Score

Phew. It was hot.

Sweat dripped between the liners of Caitlin's draws and between her thighs. Her toes felt the musk that tied together like a thick string of sweat. A balance of her scalp that burned and the dryness of her chapped lips had formed her mood: irked.  

Near the dirt and grass, she kicked around rocks at the edge of a basketball inflatable court that was lined up near the local market. The area was filled with inflatables, bounce houses, obstacles courses, and split-and-slides. Her eyes had been fixated on the largest inflatable, the basketball court. Her eyes watched two preteens giggled and playfully caused their opponents to lose the ball in their hands.

A lanky boy had lightly jabbed the chunky girl on the side of her stomach, causing her to burst out in an infectious laughter. One of the bystanders - a long-legged model type woman - recorded a live video of the two kids as they battled it out one-on-one. It reminded Caitlin of how her old posse used to gather after school to hit up the courts.

Oh. But she remembered that despite Rooster's built, he was the best player on the court. His feet were terrifyingly fast. The kind of speed where the moves blurred and vanished within an instant. Donny boy. Boy was like a leaping frog, so high. A pretentious displays of slam dunks while dangling on the rim, he often gave a wide displayed of his crooked teeth. Brinks hated the sport, but he wasn't a bad player. He stuck by the boys to pass the ball. Fat Ace often sweat profusely, but that didn't stop him from being a straight shooter. He killed those bank throws and hook shots.

He rarely missed a shot.

Smiling, she remembered begging him for a week straight to teach her how to shot hoops. He caved after she promised to give up her desserts - especially the ones sent from Dominican Republic - her mom would pack in her lunchbox.

A vanilla sprinkled ice-cream cone appeared in front of her eyes. Asa pulled her from her thoughts, offering the dessert with a tiny smirk. She felt a tiny lurch in her chest and couldn't help but smile back.

"Thanks Ace, it was getting kind of hot," she said.

Reaching for the cone, their fingers brushed against one another. A small zip of shock rammed into her body. God. What was wrong with her. She accepted the cone, and blew out the heat from her mouth.

"Yeah. Florida heat hasn't changed. I could feel my scalp getting a tan," he said. He softly brushed his hair at the top, wincing for dramatic effect.

"It makes me wonder how we used to stay out in the sun all day...Remember, we used to longboard to the park and shoot hoops for hours," she said.

Asa nodded and took a lick of the vanilla ice-cream. She couldn't help it, her eyes lingered on his lips longer than expected. "Yeah, we were a bunch of competitive a-holes."

Caitlin laughed with her soul. "You know what I miss? I miss us competing all the time. Don't you remember that we use to keep score?"

"Wasn't it like 64-22?" Ace's eyes stared at the sky, distant, in his pool of memories.

As he thought for a moment longer, she glanced down at his lips again. She noted they darkened from the heat and cold press from the ice-cream.

"Correction definitely 23," he said, and bit into the waffle part.

"I don't know...I specifically remembering you cheating the last couple times," she said.

"All talk, and no action," he said, and chuckled. "Let's go then. Game on?"

Caitlin pushed him towards the next available station. Grabbing the ball, Ace dribbled the ball, and it warmed her heart hearing the familiar ringing of the ball as it hit the cement. She hadn't felt this much enthusiasm in a while. She glanced to the side and look at him, enjoying his presence. He glimpsed in her direction, smirked when he realized her gazing at him.

Feeling the heat rushing to her face, she looked away.

"Loser should pay for dinner," she said, and dribbled the ball. "I'm feigning some sushi rolls."

Asa shot a basket before replying, "Winner gets a wish."

"Deal," she yelled, "Set! Go!" She began to toss the basketball, putting all the force into it, and then watched the first ball entered the hoop.

The drive to Central Florida spaced out at least 100 miles down the Turnpike highway. Luckily, for them, their drive was less than a few minutes away. Within the walls of the Buick, only the humming of the engine can be heard and felt very subtly.

Caitlin sighed, feeling defeated after scoring 28-16. Her hand and throws were a bit rusty. She thought about all the times she could've practiced. How was she suppose to know she would be running into her former opponent. An old friend. But she hadn't felt this at ease in a while. Even if it means getting her butt kicked from her crush.

Ace was driving to the sushi spot that she had personally requested. If she was going to pay for sushi, at least it'll be the one with happy hour deals. It was perfecting timing too; plus it was only a few blocks from her apartment complex.

Wait, it was a good thing because then...she could go straight to bed. To sleep. On her own, of course.

"You're still feeling hot?"

"Hmmm?" She answered, a bit flustered.

"Your face is a little flushed," he added. He put the ac up two more notches.

"Oh, yeah," she said. Her voice quivered slightly. "Thanks." She fanned her cheeks. "Have you thought about your wish?"

"Come on, Cataracts. I gotta use it when I need it the most. We're here," he said, parked the car in one of the front spaces at the restaurant.