Page 19 of Shot Taker

My attention jerks back to the wall.

I lift my phone and adjust the filters so the light bathes every inch of the buildings, sky, clouds, and birds.

I snap a picture, inspecting the image with the same intensity.

Is that part of the sky uneven, or is it just the light?

I lift my finger to point at the wall. “Right there. I should probably fix…”

“Nova.” He grabs my hand out of the air, squeezing it in his. “It’s beautiful.”

My stomach flutters. In the moment before I pull away, his fingers feel like a lot of things.

Guilt isn’t one of them.

6

CLAY

The Utah game starts with a bang.

The crowd is into it from tip-off.

Atlas knocks the ball to Jay, who brings it up the court and finds me early.

They’re guarding me close, so I sidestep to shake them and sink a three over the startled second-year guard’s head.

“Fuck yeah!” Rookie grins at me, and I grin back.

That’s how it goes.

Back and forth, fast-paced with lots of buckets. Everyone’s getting theirs tonight, Jay and Miles and even Atlas down low.

I’ve got energy to burn tonight, and it feels good to put it all out there on the court.

Partway through the first quarter, I pass to a cutting Rookie even though I have a clear shot. He dunks it over one defender, and satisfaction slams into me.

I look up, half expecting to see Nova watching, but she's not there. It's only James Parker in the box, looking right at me.

Since I signed here, Harlan and I have had our problems, but the Kodiaks owner is a whole other issue.

He has a reputation for wanting control, and for collecting pretty things: houses, boats, a couple of islands. His money came from family and finance, and everyone was surprised when he bought the franchise because no one knew he was even a basketball fan.

But so far, he’s been willing to fund the budget for a growing team, so people keep quiet about the rest.

I don’t like that he approached Nova. I don’t want him thinking he can collect her.

End of the first half, we’re fist-bumping on the way to the locker room.

“That was impressive. If you were watching the offensive end,” Coach says to me.

“Coach, we’re up by twelve.”

“We could be up by twenty-five if you played defense.”

I drop a towel over my head and breathe in. Adrenaline pumps in my veins as my body recovers from the effort.

Suddenly, I’m not thinking of the game but of Nova. Yesterday, I wanted to help with the wall because I wanted to make her life a little easier.

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