Page 55 of Sack

Colt shook it. “Same and call me Colt.”

Darius turned and yelled to the crowd, “Got me some more firepower. Gonna even the playing field. This is Colt if you didn’t already know.”

Colt received a round of hellos, heys, and yos.

He held up a hand in greeting. “Not sure if I’m evening the field, but I’ll give it my best shot. No pun intended.”

Everyone chuckled.

With Colt joining and making the teams even, they each had six players. He took a minute to memorize his teammate’s faces not wanting to pass the ball to an opposing player. Names were a little harder to remember, but after an hour of playing he had them all down.

“He shoots and scores!” Darius held up a hand for a high-five.

Colt promptly slapped it. He was sweaty, winded, and having a fucking blast.

“What’s the score?” Darius put a hand to his ear. “Ninety-eight to Eighty-four?” he gloated. “By my calculations, we just need to score one more basket to win.”

“Way to add, Einstein,” someone from the opposing team ribbed.

“Haters gonna hate,” Marcos from Colt’s team yelled back.

“Okay, let’s do it, team,” Darius encouraged, dribbling the ball and moving around the court.

Colt moved around, too, trying to break free of the guy who blocked him.

“Do not let Colt get the ball,” he heard someone yell. “He might not be able to dribble worth a damn, but he’s a hell of a shot.”

That just egged him on to move faster.

Someone from his team got into position to try for a basket. He watched the ball arc up and swoosh through the net, not even touching the rim. Cheers and shouts exploded from him and his teammates followed by back slaps and high-fives.

Colt went to the sidelines, picked up his beer, and downed the lukewarm brew.

“Hey, man, anytime you want to play, you’re welcome,” Darius said, walking up to him.

“Thanks.” Colt used the hem of his shirt to mop his face. “I’d like that.”

“Give me your digits and I’ll give you a call next time we hook up.”

Colt rattled off his number, waved goodbye to the other guys, and headed off for the house. He needed a bottle of water. And maybe a bathroom. He probably stank to high heaven.

“Whoa, what did you do? Go swimming?” Linc intercepted him on the way to the kitchen, eyeing his wet hair.

Colt chuckled. “Basketball. You missed a fun game.” He opened the ice chest sitting on the kitchen table and unearthed a water from among the bottles of beer.

“I need you to do me a solid.”

Conversations with Linc never went well when they started with those words. Colt twisted the top off the bottle and chugged.

“See that hunny in the corner? The blonde standing with the brunette.”

Colt looked in the direction Linc pointed and found the women he referred to. The blonde towered over the brunette in red heels that matched the red dress plastered to her like a second skin. “What about her?” Colt asked in a voice laced with suspicion.

“She’s interested but doesn’t want to leave her friend hanging.”

Colt started to shake his head and Linc talked over anything he was planning to say. “I just need you to keep her company for an hour. Two tops.”

“No.”

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