by Cathryn Fox
Barry had to steal the ball.
“Our best chance is to steal the inbounds pass, or block it for long enough to force a turnover. But if they manage to get it in, foul immediately no matter who has the ball.” The coach told them what everyone knew.
“McCall, you guard the inbounds pass. Dennis, you guard their best shooter. They’re most likely to try and get it to him. Go for the steal. When we get the ball, call an immediate time out, unless by some miracle you get a clear path to the basket.” The coach looked directly at him. Barry nodded. He’d been here before. This was as familiar as the rest of it, but it still caused his blood to pound through his veins with the thundering urgency that made it difficult for him to stand still. But he managed, until the buzzer sounded and the teams took the court.
Barry targeted his man. He was about five feet away from him. Their eyes met. Barry stared at the man without a blink, without expression, as if he weren’t even there. His man looked away. They both knew what they were supposed to do.
The ref gave the ball to the Bullets inbounder and the action began. Barry felt as if the lights suddenly illuminated a pitch black room. Dave McCall was up close on the inbounder, making it difficult for him to see the floor. Barry’s man ran around under the basket, dogged by Barry. Barry kept up the pressure, always between his man and the basket. The inbounder couldn’t get the ball to his teammate. Barry watched his eyes. In that split second he saw the inbounder make a decision. At the same instant the inbounder let the ball go, Barry bolted in the opposite direction of his man. The inbounder passed it toward another player, who stood almost at half-court, a good twenty feet from Barry. The pass got by Dave’s last-second swipe at it, in a quick, but not quick enough, reaction to the inbounder’s change of direction. Barry moved with thrusting speed, but his mind was working as if the scene were taking place in slow motion. He saw everything, he comprehended everything, and he made a clear decision. The man was wide open. The Celtics defender was on the other side of the court, behind the pass, still turning around. Barry would have to lunge his last few steps hard if he was going to reach the ball before the Bullets player’s outstretched hands snatched it out of the air.
The man didn’t see Barry coming. That was good. Maybe he wouldn’t take a step toward the ball, because if he did, then Barry would have to foul him. The man only reached his arms toward the ball. His feet remained planted. Barry took his last step, his right arm extended fully toward the ball. Their fingertips touched the ball at the same instant, but Barry’s forward momentum carried enough force to allow him to grab the ball and slam it into a running dribble toward the basket.
Barry had gotten two steps on the Bullets player and that was all he needed. He pounded the ball nearer to the basket, realizing he had to stay ahead of the man so he wouldn’t get fouled or demolished on the play. He didn’t have to look over his shoulder to see where the guy was. He knew how much distance separated them and he gauged it exactly as he moved in toward the basket. With the ball in both hands as he left the floor, he swung it up in front of him and over the rim for a dunk.
Barry was still in midair when the man came crashing into him. But he’d known it would happen and he prepared himself for the jolt as he hit the floor. The other man fell on top of him. It wasn’t the best fall Barry had ever taken, but then it wasn’t the worse. The buzzer had sounded. The game was over. Barry stared unblinking for a second before he brushed himself off and ran to meet his teammates headed for the locker room doing high fives along the way.
Roxanne had peeked through her hands to watch, but then covered her eyes again when she saw the collision under the basket. When she took her hands away, Barry was up and heading to the locker room. The game was over. Barry was okay and the Celtics had won. Thank God. She didn’t want to contemplate the sour mood she would encounter on the flight home had he lost this one.
Leave it to Barry to give them a spectacular finish. She didn’t dwell on the fact that it had been his own mistake that had almost allowed the Bullets to win it. She hoped to hell he wasn’t going to dwell on it either. She considered heading toward the visitors’ locker room, but then she decided to surprise him on the plane and left for the airport instead.
Chapter Nine
ROXANNE GOT to the airport ahead of the team and waited for them to board the plane. She was in first class, but she was the last person to board the plane and took a good look around. After she took her seat, she got a piece of paper from her bag and scribbled a note. Once they were in flight and the seat belt lights went out, she flagged the flight attendant.
“Could you do me a favor and give this note to Dave McCall?” she asked the attractive woman. The flight attendant smiled and took the note.
“I suppose it can’t do any harm, but you do realize he’s a married man?” The earnest look of concern in the woman’s eyes could have been her undoing. She held her amusement because the plane wasn’t that big and she knew Barry would recognize her laugh if he heard it.
“No need for concern. Please, go ahead and read the note.” Roxanne took it from the woman’s hand and unfolded it for her. After reading it over quickly, she nodded with a smile.
“Aha. I see. It’s still against my better judgment, but I guess they’re grown men and they can take care of themselves,” she said.
“My sentiments exactly,” Roxanne said.
“I’ll give it to him, but I can’t guarantee anything.” The woman looked skeptical.
“Of course not. Let’s just wait and see what he says.” Roxanne smiled, suppressing another laugh.
The flight attendant walked back to where Dave and Barry were sitting together in business class and delivered the message. Roxanne watched while Dave read the note. His head popped up and he looked right at her in surprise. It was lucky he was sitting in the aisle seat. She could see from her vantage point that Barry was lying back with his eyes closed.
Dave looked back at the note, glanced once at Barry, then stood up. Barry never moved and Roxanne wondered if maybe he was sleeping already. But she decided it didn’t matter. She would wake him. Dave walked toward her with the flight attendant following behind.
Roxanne stood in the aisle when he got there. “Thanks a lot, Dave. I owe you one. The seat’s all yours.”
“My pleasure.” He went to sit down and then stopped. “Look, I don’t know what you have in mind here, but I think it’s only fair to warn you that he’s not real pleased with himself right now. God only knows why. He played a hell of a game.” He paused. “Lindy’s okay, right?”
She nodded. Dave sat in the spacious seat and spread out. Roxanne smiled, bent toward him and kissed him on the cheek.
“Thanks for the warning. If my mission goes as planned, he’ll be a new man in the morning.” Roxanne winked. As she walked back down the aisle, Dave’s baritone chuckle followed her.
She slipped into the seat next to Barry as quietly as she could, but when she turned to him his eyes opened instantly to meet hers.
“Either I’m hallucinating or Dave McCall has undergone some major changes.”
The gravelly sound of his tired voice soothed her. His mouth formed that half-smile she was beginning to grow fond of.
“None of the above.” She watched the light in his eyes begin to blaze. She leaned over and kissed him full on the mouth. His response was surprise at first, but then she felt the need come through and instead of pulling back for a short kiss as she had intended, she opened her mouth, and deepened it.
His hand went to her face, cupping her chin, allowing him to devour her with his mouth. Then he pulled back, nibbling on her lips. His quick, hot gasps for breath should have warned her of his waning control.
She opened her eyes to look at him again and caught her own breath with a sudden gulp of air. She felt the rush of blood heat her face with the quick pounding of her heart. His eyes glistened. She couldn’t help the automatic glance aimed at his lap. “What did you expect?” His grin widened enough for h
er to catch a rare glimpse of his other dimple.
“I don’t know. I guess I thought you might be too tired. I should have known better.” She leaned towards him without kissing him. He put his hand on her thigh and looked down. She looked around the airplane’s cabin. They should be more discreet. Her resolve faltered as he drew her attention to the insistent kneading of his fingers on her thigh. He turned to her.
“What’s the plan? Want me to attack you right here in public or are you coming home with me?”
This time her laugh was loud enough to elicit some meaningful stares from everyone in earshot, including some teammates and Coach Benson. Barry slipped his hand over her mouth, but too late. He quickly removed it and distanced himself from her as they watched his coach rise from his seat and head in their direction.
“Great,” Barry said under his breath. He swept his hand through his hair and looked out the window.
“Don’t worry.” Roxanne couldn’t help yet another chuckle. She knew she could handle his coach.
“Barry, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting your friend, although you do look familiar.” The man scrutinized her and Roxanne smiled up at him.
“This is Roxanne Monet. She hosts a TV interview show for Channel 7.”
“I also work with the Children’s Mercy Hospital League doing volunteer fund-raising. I’ll be inviting you to a holiday benefit gala in my home. It’s for a very worthy cause so I hope you’ll consider attending.”
“Wouldn’t miss it. Well I’ll leave you two alone now to enjoy the flight.” He began to walk away, then turned back to Barry. “Don’t enjoy yourself too much, Dennis. Practice bright and early.”
Barry looked at her. “I guess I’ll definitely have to wait and attack you when we get home.”
“Do you really want to wait?” Roxanne considered Barry and the possibilities with a raised brow.
“What do you have in mind?” His grin looked the tiniest bit unsure.
She leaned close to whisper in his ear as she slid her hand to his lap to caress him. He jumped at her touch.
She stifled her laugh this time, as he covered her mouth with his hand in the quickest move she ever saw. He gave her a warning stare before he took his hand away.
“We could rendezvous at the back of the plane in one of the rest rooms,” she whispered.
The look of incredulous surprise that came to his face almost made her laugh again.
“Are you crazy? I can’t even fit in there to take a piss, never mind with you to…forget it.”
This time she covered her own mouth to hide her laugh. She felt like a teenager and it felt delightful. It had been so long.
“So what made you think of the bathroom? Past experience?”
“No. I read about it somewhere. Sounded exciting to me. Good way to liven up a flight.”
It was Barry’s turn to laugh. “You’ll have to pick on someone smaller next time.” His smile faded and she saw the immediate regret in his eyes.
“I’ll do that. Next time.” He deserved a reprimand, but she only raised a mocking brow at him. She couldn’t be upset with his impression of her since she’d behaved so outrageously with him. She looked down at her hands tucked safely away in her own lap and checked her Rolex.
“We’re almost home anyway.”
“You coming with me?”
“That was the plan.”
He was too heart-meltingly tempting, so she leaned toward him to steal one more public kiss and he let her. He caught the back of her neck with one hand when she would have pulled back and he deepened the kiss. Then he took her other hand in his and pulled it to his lap. She nearly groaned with the feel of his mounting excitement, feeling her own desire melt through her. At the same time she was aware of other people and trying to suffocate the rush of passion made it all the more exquisite. She touched him, wanting to make him writhe, wanting to make him lose control, to see him struggle to maintain it, and all the while she had to maintain her own control, to make it look like nothing more than an innocent kiss.
Barry pulled back. He struggled to breathe normally. He removed her hand from him. There was a line of sweat across his forehead and he swiped the back of his hand across it.
“That ought to hold me. I only hope I can stand up without embarrassing myself.”
“You asked for it.”
“You know I’m not a sane person when you’re around.”
“Well, then we’re really in trouble, because I’ve never been known for rational behavior,” she said.
He relaxed back into his seat. She looked out the window beyond him to view the Boston skyline on their descent into Logan Airport.
“Boston’s such a romantic-looking city from the sky at night.” She sighed as she said it.
He turned to her half-grin. “I never figured you for the starry-eyed type.”
“I am, but only at night. By the light of day I turn into a cold-blooded bitch. Hadn’t you noticed?”
“Now at least I know to keep the shades drawn. But come to think of it—our last date with Mark what’s his name—that wasn’t your romantic side at play. I’d say that was a prime example of the coldblooded scheming bitch in you.” He frowned.
Roxanne cringed inwardly. She deserved that. “Touché. At least you know. You know my worst side. What’s yours?”
“This is it. Or at least it was before you sat down next to me. The Barry Dennis Basketball Playing Robot. Pure machine, no blood at all—cold or otherwise. Only plays basketball. To win.” He looked at her, unsmiling.
She returned his stare. She couldn’t decide how seriously to take him.
“It’s very odd you haven’t met that side, because every time you show up he disappears. Maybe it’s no coincidence at all.”
Roxanne raised her brow at that. She tried to temper her pleasure at that comment, reminding herself that Barry was a player and they were only playing. The captain’s voice interrupted them. He instructed them to stay in their seats until the plane stopped as the wheels hit the runway. Once they stopped and before they had a chance to get up from their seats, the assistant coach came over to remind Barry that practice was early.
“I thought that was drills for rookies?” he said.
“Oh, ah… I guess the coach assumed you’d want to be there like usual.” The man looked at Barry and spread his hands. Barry waved him off.
“I see what you mean about the basketball machine.”
She got out of her seat and moved into the aisle. Barry stood, slowly and with some difficulty. Roxanne looked around and noticed all of the guys on the team taking their time to unfold from their seats.
“You all right?” Roxanne looked up at Barry when he finally stood at his full height, touching the ceiling of the plane.
“Yeah. Why do you ask?” He directed her ahead of him down the aisle and off the plane.
Roxanne realized this is what his life was like. Sore, tired muscles and endless airplane rides to and from nowhere, just another basketball court. Up close, it was very unglamorous.
They waved good-bye to Dave who tried to stop them for a few words, but Barry ushered her straight to his car instead. It was a short ride, in the middle of the night, from the airport to his home.
Barry unlocked the front door and dropped his bag on the floor in time to hear the two o’clock chime from the living room mantel clock. He stood in the foyer and turned around to the sumptuous sight of Roxanne in his doorway. Normally he was too exhausted to contemplate more than sleeping. But ever since she’d suggested hooking up in the airplane, he’d been looking forward to something far more interesting than sleep.
“Come on in here.” He pulled her inside the doorway. “How about if we rendezvous up in my bedroom?”
“I thought you’d never ask. Actually, I was afraid you’d be too tired to ask,” she said over her shoulder as she walked up the stairs ahead of him. He scooted up to catch her but she ran ahead, laughing and breathless by the time she landed o
n his bed.
He was only one step behind and landed square on top of her with a loud jolt of the box spring. He prevented himself from crushing her by catching his weight with his arms.
“I don’t believe you made me run up those stairs.” He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced as he tried to shift himself slightly to relieve some of the discomfort. As if that were possible. He looked down into her face. She still smiled.
“A test to see what you’re made of, Mr. Basketball Machine.”
“Right now I definitely don’t feel like a machine.”
“No, you’ve turned into that hot-blooded man I’ve come to know and love.” Her manner was teasing, but it didn’t lessen the impact of her words. Know and love. He consciously kept his smile in place as he thought what to say. Her mischievous smile began to fade with his silence and he didn’t want that.
So he kissed her. He plugged his lips into hers and the shock of electric desire that went through him lit all his moving parts. Gone was all awareness of pain. He gathered her into his arms, turning them both on their sides and squeezing her to him. She was warm and soft and he felt startlingly aware of her firm breasts pressed up against his chest. Her mouth was hot and melted onto his. He explored with his tongue and held her lips tight. He nibbled at her lower lip, then she did the same, causing a shiver of sensation through his entire body. He throbbed and pulled her closer to him with his hands on her bottom so she could feel him. She separated her mouth from his.
“You’re awfully easy. Not much of a challenge for a machine. Now I…” She was going to continue, but he turned her over on top of him. No way was he going to settle for chatter. He covered her mouth with his thumb and then began a lazy exploratory massage.
“Undress me. And hurry,” he rasped. She grinned wickedly as she lay sprawled on top of him. She moved very slowly, reaching for his belt first, and then touching him, tantalizing him as she pulled down the zipper. He kept his eyes locked with hers and he found it increasingly difficult to focus. He grabbed her by the shoulders and with a swift force of muscle, pulled her over onto her back on the bed.
