“Screen. Switch. I got her!”
Jordan picked up the guard who tried to come off the screen. When she pulled up to shoot, Jordan jumped and blocked the shot. Her point guard picked up the ball and started dribbling in the opposite direction. Jordan sped up the right side of the court ahead of the defender, and when her teammate threw the ball up toward the basket, Jordan caught it midair and put it through the hoop. Getting back on defense, Jordan pointed at her teammate and flashed her a smile, acknowledging the reward of her good defense.
The opposing team called a quick time-out, and Jordan jogged with the rest of her team to their bench to grab a drink of water and to towel the sweat off her face and hands. There were just five minutes left in the game, and if her team could hang on to the lead, they would win their first game of the season.
She looked to her left to say something to her teammate when she spotted two women coming through the door. One was obviously a player; she was dressed in sweats, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. The other woman was dressed in a light blue button-down blouse, black jeans, and black boots.
Holy shit. It’s the woman from the coffeehouse. Fuck me. Jordan’s stomach flipped as she recognized her. Like there was any possible way she could forget that gorgeous woman.
“Jordan, let’s go. Match up.”
The players ran back out onto the court, and something extraordinary happened. Jordan became a woman possessed. Every shot her opponent took, she blocked or altered, causing the other player to miss. When her team was on offense, Jordan either got the ball as she posted up and made the basket, or she got the offensive rebound from her team’s missed shot and made it. Jordan scored ten points in the last five minutes, and her team won by fifteen points.
Jordan and her teammates congratulated the other team on a game well played and then congratulated each other for winning their first game. In the post-game huddle, they decided to meet at Lucy’s, the bar down the street that sponsored their team, for beers to celebrate.
Jordan pulled on her dark blue hooded sweatshirt, keeping the hood on her head to protect her sweat-drenched hair from the cool night breeze. She sat on the bleachers to remove her black high-tops. Then she donned her dark blue nylon sweatpants and slipped into her sandals.
Placing her gym bag over her right shoulder, she stood and gazed into the stands, trying to spot that stunning woman from the coffeehouse. Jordan locked eyes with her. Suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy, she looked away and walked out of the gym.
*
Kirsten felt like she was under some sort of spell when she looked into the most vivid green eyes she had ever seen. She couldn’t look away. There’s something about that woman that is so familiar. I know I would have remembered her if we had met previously.
Kirsten frowned in thought as she studied the woman. She was tall and slender with golden blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. She had a strong jawline and a small cleft in her chin. Kirsten noticed a dimple in her left cheek when the woman smiled at her teammates that she found absolutely adorable. She had a thin, celestial nose, full lips, and a look about her that could be considered sweet yet mischievous.
“Do you know her?” Kirsten asked Brenda as she watched the woman walk out of the gym.
“Oh, yeah. Her name is Jordan, and man, can she game. Not one of our players can keep up with her when we play that team.”
“She seems pretty intense, considering it’s just a rec league.”
Brenda laughed and shook her head. “She played Division I college ball, and if you’re going to play at that level, you have to have that intensity. It usually doesn’t go away.”
Kirsten remembered the fierce look of determination Jordan had displayed during the few minutes she’d seen her play and wondered if she was that intense about everything she did. A shiver went up her spine when she thought of what other activities would put that look in her eyes.
Where did that come from? She shook off that thought and returned to the present. She turned back to Brenda, who had removed her sweats and stood to join her team in warm-ups. “Go get ’em, Bren. And don’t get hurt.”
Brenda laughed as she bounded down the bleachers.
*
After the game, Jordan had stopped home to shower and change into more appropriate attire. She now wore faded, baggy blue jeans, a tight black, short-sleeved T-shirt, and black cowboy boots. She walked the two blocks from her house to the bar, enjoying the cool spring night.
When Jordan arrived at Lucy’s, she sidled up to the bar to order a pitcher of beer. The neighborhood club was a longstanding local icon and had a laid-back atmosphere. The bar was situated to the left where a few women were patiently waiting for their drink orders to be filled. To the right were some tables and stools that sat before the dance floor and a small stage where occasionally musicians provided live music. Just past the bar was a small, lit area with a pool table and a jukebox. The short, plump bartender turned around and smiled broadly at Jordan.
“Hey, Jordan, how did the game go?”
Jordan leaned over the bar to kiss the bartender in greeting. “Hey, Deb. We won our first game. We’re here to celebrate.”
“That’s great. I saw a few of the girls from the team grab a table. Go join them, and I’ll bring the beer over.”
Jordan joined her teammates, who were already working on their drinks. The group was talking about their win and the strategy they’d need for next week’s game. Deb brought over the pitcher of beer Jordan had ordered, and after refilling her teammates’ mugs, Jordan went back to the bar to order another round.
She felt a tap on her shoulder, and when she turned around, she came face-to-face with Brenda Lewis, a player from one of the opposing teams in the league. She was astonished to see that the woman from the coffeehouse was standing next to Brenda. Jordan’s heart fluttered, and her breathing came to a halt.
“That was a great game you played,” Brenda said. “Man, you really turned it on at the end.”
Unable to pull her gaze from the gorgeous beauty standing beside Brenda, she muttered, “Thanks.”
The other woman extended a hand to her and smiled a smile that produced enormous dimples. “Hi, Jordan. I’m Brenda’s friend, Kirsten. You played great tonight.”
Jordan accepted Kirsten’s hand, and fire blazed in her palm. The heat traveled with lightning-quick speed to her heart, and just as fast, traveled south and took up root in the pit of her stomach. The fire must have short-circuited her brain because, once again, she was unable to string two words together. She just stood there looking like a complete idiot, powerless to do anything other than keep her eyes locked on Kirsten’s. There was something about this woman that turned her brain to mush.
“Well, Kirsten and I are going to get a table,” Brenda said, bringing Jordan back to the conversation. “I’ll see you next week at the game.”
She let go of Kirsten’s hand reluctantly and watched as Brenda slid a hand into the small of Kirsten’s back and guided her to a table close to the pool table. The simple gesture sparked a fervent jealousy deep in Jordan’s gut, but she just as quickly pushed it aside.
Christ, Roberts. What the hell is wrong with you? Get your head together.
Jordan ordered another pitcher of beer and brought it back to the table. She was so embarrassed by her inability to formulate a sentence in Kirsten’s presence that she just wanted to go home, climb into bed, and dream about the blue eyes that had captivated her and left her speechless. She needed to snap out of this. They had just won their game, and they were there to celebrate. Celebrate was just what she intended to do.
Jordan turned her full attention to her teammates and let out a belly laugh at a funny story one of them had just told. Several times, she caught her thoughts straying back to Kirsten and had to force herself to concentrate on her teammates. She also had to stop herself from turning her head to look at her. She knew that once she allowed herself to do that, she’d be hard-pressed not to stare, and she was certain she’d looked stupid enough for one evening.
In the interest of self-preservation, Jordan only stayed long enough to finish her beer and joke a bit with her teammates before she decided to call it a night. Unable to help herself, she cast one more glance in Kirsten’s direction before she left.
“I’m outta here, girls. I’ll see you next week.”
*
Kirsten sat at the table with Brenda and some of her teammates, but her attention to the conversation wavered when she heard Jordan’s deep laughter. It was a sound so full of joy, it was infectious and made her heart swell and ache a little at the same time.
She kept glancing over to the table where Jordan sat, and when she saw Jordan smile, it stirred a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach that had been absent for far too long. She couldn’t help sneaking peeks across the room and wondering what Jordan found so funny.
When she saw Jordan stand and say good-bye to her teammates, her heart flipped, and her insides sort of fluttered. She found herself hoping that Jordan was on her way over to her table. The stab of disappointment she experienced when Jordan walked out the door was overwhelming.
For the remainder of the evening, she got involved in the conversation and laughter between Brenda and her teammates, but she often found herself thinking of Jordan; of her sexy smile, her gorgeous eyes, of the strength of her hand as it had held hers during their introduction. She secretly smiled to herself as she fleetingly wondered if she would ever see Jordan again.