by Nia Stephens
She gazed at her soapy face in the mirror. Was she insane? She had sent Ethan an e-mail letting him know she was interested! How was she going to face him in school tomorrow? She splashed water on her face, furious that she let Maria talk her into doing this. She crammed her toothbrush into her mouth as she imagined all the ways this could go. What if Ethan told all his buddies? Oh man, she thought as she spit and rinsed. Not only would word spread about her crush on Ethan, everyone would know that Gemma Williams was such a loser she had to resort to online dating!
Maybe she could skip school tomorrow. She could then tell Ethan she’d been delirious when she wrote the e-mail. Or she could claim that Maria did it as a joke or that it was a dare. He’d buy that. Besides, she told herself, going to the computer to shut it down for the night, it practically was a dare.
Her dark eyes widened when she heard the ding! and saw the little mailbox flag popped up on her screen. That meant she had a new message! She quickly clicked it open.
To: Cuteygirl
From: Bball
Subject: Hi
Wow! Could it be? I’m glad you e-mailed me. I just got home from practice for the away game against East Wellington tomorrow night. I hope UR ready. If you want, we can hang out together after the game. Hit me back and let me know what’s up.
-E
Stunned, Gemma stared at the screen. It was only when LeBron hopped up onto her lap and licked her cheek that she realized she had a huge grin spread across her face.
Gemma sailed down to breakfast, humming the latest Rhianna song. She had on slim-fitting low riders that she had paired with a coral cotton sweater, short enough to expose a teeny strip of skin above her waistband, but not so short that she’d get a lecture from her father. Her heels matched the sweater perfectly, and she had taken special care with her light makeup.
Her dad glanced up from his newspaper as she settled into her chair at the breakfast table. “You seem to be in a good mood this morning,” he commented.
“Yup!” she said. She buttered a piece of toast.
“Does that mean you feel ready for the game against East Wellington tonight?”
Gemma bit off a piece of toast and nodded. She’d have to remember to reapply her lip gloss after breakfast.
“Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you. I can’t make it. I have a late afternoon meeting that is going to run into the evening.”
Her mother peeked her head out of the kitchen. “Not again? I thought we could maybe chill tonight,” she said. Gemma again rolled her eyes at her mother’s use of what she considered “hip” words.
“You know we wouldn’t ‘chill,’” Mr. Williams replied with a wink at Gemma. “Any time we spend together is hot, hot, hot!”
Her mom giggled and went back into the kitchen.
Gross. It was great that after all these years they were still in love, but Gemma wished they could take down the affectionate factor a notch or two—at least in front of her.
“So, I’m going up against Martika tonight,” Gemma said, hoping a change of subject would keep her parents from continuing their embarrassing flirtation.
“Martika? Isn’t she that big girl that everyone thinks is an East German cyborg?” her father said, laughing.
Gemma laughed. “Actually, just you and my lab partner, Seth, think that.”
“They should have her tested. They might find scrap metal in there,” he said. “That girl is beyond big.” He placed his cup of coffee down onto the table and leaned in. “All you have to do is keep your defense up. Stay low and you can go around her—easy. They’re putting you against her because they think her stature will keep you from making any shots. She might be built like the Great Wall of China but you’re faster and can dart around her before she even reacts. It’s in the bag.”
Gemma loved the fact that her dad was into her basketball. She took all of his suggestions seriously and found them to be helpful. In a past life he might have been a great coach.
“Thanks, Dad,” she said as her mother returned with a plate of eggs for Gemma.
“Any idea who might be taking you to the beach shindig?” her mother asked.
“Mona, leave the girl alone,” her father said. “She has a game to think about.”
And a basketball player to think about, too, Gemma thought. She grinned. “I’ll work on that,” Gemma promised her mom—and for once she meant it!
Chapter 5
Slam Dunk
“Are you ready for the game?” Maria asked Gemma during lunch. Since the weather was fairly nice today, they decided to eat in the quad. A few other students had the same idea and sat scattered under the trees.
Gemma scanned the groups of kids, searching for Ethan. She hadn’t seen him yet today. Then the cafeteria door swung open and Ethan, Chris, and Mark walked outside. They stopped under one of the trees and chatted to the students gathered there.
“So what do you think?” Maria asked.
Gemma snapped back to reality. “Think about what?”
Maria frowned. “I just asked you if you thought you could take out that moving skyscraper on East Wellington’s team.”
“Umm-hmmm.”
“What are you staring at?” Maria turned so she could follow Gemma’s gaze. “Ooooh. The hot Mr. Jackson.” She smacked Gemma’s knee. “You should quit being so scared and talk to him. Better yet, if you’re chicken you could always use the website as an excuse.”
Gemma avoided her friend’s eyes. If Maria only knew, Gemma thought. She hadn’t told Maria that she had done just that.
She wasn’t sure exactly why she hadn’t confessed that she had chosen Ethan’s profile. There was a tiny part of Gemma that wanted to see if Ethan really meant what he’d written in his e-mail. It was still hard to believe that he had responded. Maybe now was the perfect time.
Just then Ethan spotted Gemma. He smiled broadly at her, then turned back to his buddies.
“Wait.” Maria clutched Gemma’s thigh. “Did Ethan Jackson just smile at you? Please tell me he looked over here and smiled at you!”
Gemma tuned out Maria and continued to watch Ethan. She should have been concentrating on her game tonight, but her mind was on the date with Ethan afterward. He was her ideal male body type—tall and cut. She pictured his strong arms around her waist and his soft lips caressing hers—possibly tonight.
“What are you smiling at?” Maria asked, once again interrupting Gemma’s thoughts.
Gemma turned her attention from Ethan, back to her friend.
“Why are you acting so weird?” Maria demanded. “Does Bigfoot from East Wellington have you freaked out or something?”
“Hey, ladies,” Ethan said, suddenly standing over them.
Maria stopped talking and looked up at Ethan, Mark Spanzer, and Chris Holmes. Maria had the stunned expression Gemma imagined she had on her own face.
“What up, my honeys,” Chris greeted them.
“See you tonight?” Ethan asked.
“See you tonight.” Gemma smiled. In her peripheral vision she saw Maria’s head swivel to stare at her.
“Later,” Mark said. The three guys walked away.
When they were safely out of earshot, Maria, still gawking at Gemma, demanded, “What’s happening tonight?”
Gemma hesitated a moment. Before Ethan came over, she was going to tell Maria about last night and the e-mails. However, looking at her friend’s face now, she decided against it. Maria would just end up freaking out and focusing only on the date. Gemma had to keep her head clear.
“He was just talking about our game tonight,” Gemma said.
During the game against East Wellington, Gemma found her father’s advice to be very useful. She was able to move much faster than Martika, and scored her second all-time high. The only problem she ran into was Angela Rattner. For some reason, Coach decided to put Angela in. Rather than pass to Gemma, who was open, she took it to the hoop and missed the easiest of lay-ups. By her fifth missed shot, Coach benched her and t
he girls went on to win their game.
After showering and changing, Gemma sat in the stands with Taylor Collins, their six-foot center, and watched the guys play. This was their most competitive match yet and they barely pulled out a win, even with Ethan’s twenty-six points. When the game was over Angela sauntered up to Ethan and, from behind, wrapped her arms around him. Startled, Ethan glanced at her and then pulled away. He left her and joined his buddies, vanishing into the locker room.
What was that about? Gemma wondered. Well, Ethan hadn’t seemed very happy about being pawed by Angela in front of everyone. But was that because he wasn’t into her, or just not into public displays of affection? Especially since he knew Gemma was there watching the whole thing.
On the bus back to J. Marshall, Gemma felt her heart sink deeper and deeper. Ethan had barely spoken to her, and he hadn’t even saved her a seat. Instead, he sat in the back with his teammates. Gemma wasn’t surprised to see Angela in the seat right in front of him. But was that her choice, or his? She joined Taylor in the front row and pretended not to notice.
“Team, to celebrate our astounding wins, I’d like to take all of you to Harry’s Hot Dogs for hot dogs ... on me!” the coach announced, standing at the front of the bus.
One of the players in back yelled, “How about koi instead? I love some sushi.” The bus roared with laughter.
Seconds later, Ethan was standing over Taylor and Gemma’s seat. “Can I sit here a minute, T?”
“No prob.” Taylor unfolded her six-foot frame and squeezed around Ethan. She plopped down into the seat behind them. Ethan slid in next to Gemma.
“You looked good out there,” he said, grinning at her. “You just might be dunking soon.”
“Maybe,” Gemma said.
“You know,” he said, cocking his head. “If I have a little girl, I hope she plays basketball.” Then he adopted an exaggeratedly smug expression. “And I know my little boy is going to play. In fact, he’s going to get drafted into the NBA and support his dear old dad for the rest of his life.”
Gemma laughed. “You have it all planned out, don’t you?”
“You bet.”
“So you think about things like kids?” Gemma asked. “You know, in your future.”
“Sure. Kids are cool,” he said. “I want to work with kids someday.”
Gemma stared at him for a minute, trying to decide whether he was kidding. She had not pegged him for someone who thought beyond the next game and the next girl.
“So, I guess this means I’ll have to be satisfied with a rain check for our date, since Coach decided to take us to Harry’s,” Ethan said. “Is that okay with you?”
Gemma nodded. This was just unfair. The one time Gemma made plans to hang out with the hottest guy in school, Coach decided to end his cheap streak.
“So where would you like to go?” Ethan asked.
This question caught Gemma unprepared. A gazillion possibilities came to mind, but what if she suggested something too romantic? Not romantic enough? Or too expensive, or something he’d think was stupid. Nothing seemed right so she just shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
She regretted her words the minute she said them. She didn’t want Ethan to think she didn’t care. She made it sound as if she wasn’t very enthusiastic about their date.
“We could go to the movies. I mean, if you want to.” That wasn’t much better. Now she seemed too eager to please.
Ethan thought a minute. “What about bowling? I haven’t done that in a while.”
Gemma smiled. “Good choice. Sounds fun.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night and we’ll go bowling.”
Before they knew it, the bus had pulled up in front of Harry’s Hot Dog Stand. Most of the guys, who were sitting in the back, shoved their way past anyone standing in their path to get in line first. Gemma was practically trampled by Marcus Turner, the team’s center.
“Yo, Marcus, chill,” Ethan yelled after him. He turned back to Gemma. “You all right?”
“Yes, thanks.” Gemma felt like a princess as Ethan waited for the hordes of rowdy players to pass, and then held out his hand to help her down from the bus. By the time they reached the line, it was at least thirty deep.
“Hold on,” Ethan told her with a grin. Gemma watched as he slyly made conversation with Warren Misckle, who was about the tenth person in line. Then he spotted his boy, Chris Holmes, who just happened to be second in line. “Yo, Chris. Whattup?” Gemma heard Ethan say as he made his way closer to the front. Now standing behind Chris, he glanced back at Gemma and winked. Gemma felt her face blush.
Seconds later, Ethan came charging back with two loaded hot dogs in hand. “For you,” he said, handing her one.
“That was slick,” she said with a laugh. “Thanks.”
He led Gemma over to a table tucked away in the corner of the outdoor seating area. “Is your dog okay?” he asked. “Because if it’s not, I see my boy Greg, fifth in line. I can hook it up.” He cocked his head at her and stood halfway up.
“Sit!” she ordered him. “I have a feeling you won’t get away with line-cutting more than once.”
“You probably got that right,” he said. “Don’t want to risk it.” He took a big bite of his hot dog.
From the corner of her eye, Gemma spotted Angela Rattner sitting at a table at the far end. Gemma’s heart beat faster as Angela stood and headed toward their table. She didn’t want Angela to make a scene.
“Can I talk to you a minute, Ethan?” Angela said, standing over them. She flicked her eyes in Gemma’s direction, then addressed Ethan again. “In private.”
Ethan sighed, then stood up. He and Angela disappeared behind the team bus, leaving Gemma at the table alone. She knew the entire team—boys and girls—had probably witnessed this little scene. She felt horribly self-conscious, and considered going over and joining Taylor and some of the other girls. Instead, she forced herself to concentrate on eating her hot dog.
Minutes later, Angela and Ethan reappeared. Gemma couldn’t read their expressions. Ethan marched back toward Gemma while Angela returned to her table.
“Uh, sorry about that,” Ethan said. “So what were we talking about?” Gemma could tell his mind was elsewhere.
“Is there a problem?” Gemma asked, even though she knew exactly what the problem was: one Angela Rattner!
“Nah.”
Irritated, Gemma glanced over in Angela’s direction. If looks could kill, Gemma would have been dead twenty minutes ago.
Chapter 6
Home Game
“Let me get this straight,” Maria said the next day at lunch. “You chose Ethan without my consent?”
“I did but—”
Maria held up her index finger, indicating she was not finished. “Then you proceed to contact him via e-mail without consulting me on the content. After that, you set up a date after the game at Wellington—not to mention, you fail to tell me all during school yesterday. What have you got to say for yourself?”
“Are you done?” Gemma asked.
Maria nodded. “Okay, I forgive you.” She leaned toward Gemma eagerly, her eyes sparkling. “Now tell me what happened after the game.”
Gemma proceeded to tell her all about Angela’s skeevy moves on Ethan.
Maria frowned. “I thought they were history.”
“That makes you, me, and the rest of the student body,” Gemma said. She took a huge bite of her pizza. She was late for school today so she had skipped breakfast and she was starving.
She swallowed and continued. “I was afraid to sit with my back to her for fear she would plunge a knife into me, shove my dead body aside and then make out with Ethan right there.”
Maria looked at her friend. “You have too much imagination,” she said. “Besides, Ethan would not make out next to a dead body,” she added with a smirk.
“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Gemma said. “But I tell you, you should have seen her. She looked like she hated
my guts just for talking to her ex. It was unbelievable.”
“No worries, chica.” Maria shrugged. “Angela is just jealous because her ex-man wants you now.”
“If she really is an ex,” Gemma grumbled.
“Hey.” Both girls looked up. Ethan was standing right next to their table.
Dude can sure sneak up on a girl, Gemma thought, quickly running the napkin across her chin. She hoped she didn’t have gooey cheesy tomato sauce all over her face. And she really hoped he hadn’t heard her dissing Angela.
“We didn’t get the chance to finish our conversation at Harry’s yesterday,” he said, looking down at Gemma.
Whose fault was that? She realized she was still peeved by the entire situation.
“Do you still want to go bowling?” Ethan asked.
One of Ethan’s buddies walked by and hailed him. When Ethan turned to respond, Gemma glanced toward Maria for help. Maria nodded her approval.
“Sure,” Gemma told Ethan when she had his full attention again.
“Cool. I’ll pick you up tonight at eight.” He tapped the table with his fingertips, then said, “I’ll be back.”
When he walked off, Maria jabbed Gemma in the shoulder. “See, I told you he likes you. Screw Angela.” She grinned wickedly. “Everyone else has.”
“You’re terrible,” Gemma said, laughing.
Five minutes later, Ethan returned with a lunch tray. “Do you mind if I sit with you guys?”
Gemma couldn’t believe it. She figured he wasn’t serious when he said he’d be right back. Like guys who just say See you later, when what they really mean is Good-bye, hopefully forever. It was just something to say. He slid into the seat beside her.
“Oh, I forgot my notebook in calc class,” Maria blurted. She stood up and bolted out of the lunchroom.
Gemma watched her friend vanish through the doors, feeling her face grow warm with embarrassment. She shook her head and turned back to Ethan.
“Slick, isn’t she?” he asked, grinning.
Gemma twirled the straw in her soda. “I guess she wanted to give us a chance to talk. Alone.”
