"What? That's cheating!" Tremaine forgot that he was a reincarnator after hearing women's team captain Hannah's proposition.
Well, the 2 versus 2 is fine. It's just that… they were up against lovers… who surely will have great chemistry...
"Don't be a chicken, let's go for it!" Sofia's competitive spirit was activated, an avaricious glint appeared on her dreamy eyes. "I'm always up for a challenge!"
"Tremaine, how about you?" Ryan asked him another time.
"Yeah, well, fine. Let's win this thing!" Tremaine bit his lip and changed course. It would probably help them a lot anyway.
"Five minute warm-ups first." Ryan and Hannah went another direction, leaving the two first years to their own devices…
Now that they're alone… the awkwardness has returned…
Tremaine's iron will allowed him to maintain a straight eye level… even if their two inch height difference didn't make it easier…
"Dammit. It's supposed… to be a face off between us... not against two seniors…" Tremaine's nose had been hurting for a while, but he's been holding on.
"A challenge like this is fine from time to time, right?" Sofia cursed inwardly. She couldn't understand why she suddenly couldn't look at this prick in the eye. Why is she being so self-conscious now? "Let's show them what we got!"
"Yeah… let's do our best." Tremaine once again raised his hand to slap himself.
However, when his hand was about to make contact with his already reddish cheeks, Sofia's hand grabbed it.
"Stop that! What the fuck are you doing?" Sofia didn't realize that she had gotten inside Tremaine's personal space. She just wanted to stop this nonsense. "Are you a true masochist?"
'So close!' In Tremaine's 37 years of life, he remained dedicated to his craft like a monk living in seclusion, and wasted away his adulthood by only giving his mother the luxuries she truly deserved and playing basketball for whoever wanted him. He never gave his romantic life a single chance. For he promised himself that he would only consider settling down after his basketball career was over.
He only ever had a single girlfriend in his life, and that was in high school…
Ever since then, he never really gave love another thought, until the day he died.
So now that a supremely beautiful woman stood inches away from him, while holding his hand, and blushing? His heart pumped as if he's played a full 40 minutes of intense basketball, and his stomach bloomed with butterflies. Tremaine felt the smooth grooves of her hands once again.
'Now is not the time for this shit, Tremaine!' He reminded himself.
"Ahem… you're actually pretty when you're this close." Tremaine let out an astonishing backhanded compliment.
Sofia pulled her hand away as fast as lightning, before turning tail and running straight to the court. She doesn't want this bastard to see the effects of the confusing compliment on her sweaty face. She's considered the most beautiful woman in the women's varsity, yet this guy is saying she's 'actually pretty up close?'
"Are you two ready?" Captain Hannah asked her rookie point guard, who appeared like she's wavering a little. She even had a blush on her cheeks.
"Yes, Captain!" The usually loud, confident voice of Sofia now bore an unusual shyness in it that Hannah couldn't explain. Did the other rookie really ask her out? She even looked at Ryan, who also shrugged.
"We're ready now, Captain Hannah." Tremaine had also arrived on the court. He's recovered pretty quickly from the sensory overload.
"Ryan and I won't give the two of you any mercy, so please keep that in mind." Hannah gave them a final word of advice.
"We should put something at stake!" Ryan shamelessly announced.
"What?!" The freshman duo screamed in chorus.
"Haha, okay, fine! Chill out!"
And as the two forgot that they don't have an actual gameplan, the mixed doubles match between freshman and senior point guards began.
***
The Sofia and Tremaine duo were down pretty bad.
They entered the game without a plan, and are paying for it big time. Individually, the seniors weren't even serious. But their synergy was frustratingly natural and smooth flowing as expected.
They always are in the right place at the right time to support each other, they are always one step ahead of their opposition, and their overall ball movement had the fluidity and cohesion that Tre and Sofia lacked.
What a perfect pair.
Hannah ran through a Ryan Brown screen at the far left corner, Sofia yelled to double her captain, but Tremaine stuck with Ryan upon seeing that Hannah managed to dodge the screen and keep up. This led to captain Hannah muscling past Sofia with ease, for the nth time today, and another easy reverse layup.
"Timeout. Rookies, sort your own shit out first." Ryan could see the frustration between the two was about to reach a boiling point. He thought that these two were a tad too prideful to yield their own ideals.
They're down 11-3 and yet, they still are playing on their own?
"Yeah, you should rethink your strategy, if you ever had one." Hannah hit the nail on the head.
The two seniors drank some water on the side, while the two bickered like a married couple.
"How many times do I have to tell you to follow my lead!" Sofia was stubborn because she believed that some of the points they gave up was because Tremaine didn't follow her calls.
"Why should I follow you when you always either turn the ball over, or just go at it alone on offense like I didn't exist!" Tremaine meanwhile blamed it all on Sofia's selfish offense. He hated bickering with this goddess like he's of the same mental age, but he had to resort to using this to release his pent up emotional stress. "I reciprocate goodwill, only if there's goodwill."
"Hmph. Fine. Let's play like a team from now on." Sofia didn't press the issue. To him, Tremaine was just a doofus he could handily beat on a one on one, so how dare he make her blush! It was unacceptable!
"I'm not against that at all. I want to beat our seniors, or at least fight bravely without any regrets." Tremaine had nothing else on his mind right now other than wanting to make this short battle count. "That's what you want too, right?"
"Of course. I always want to show my captain I deserve a place in the team too." Sofia's emotions were undergoing an awakening. It was moving up, down, forward, and back. "Just for today, I'll tolerate your presence, okay?"
Her captivating smile was like a psychological sneak attack on Tremaine's inhuman defenses.
Why are you doing this to me?
"Sure… I would tolerate you too..."
The Sofia and Tremaine pairing took on a unique, and interesting turn.
***
Extras:
"Are you ready to fight me bro?" A mocking voice came from the other end of the line.
"You know what, fuck you." Lamont Harris' casual, friendly demeanor had disappeared. "If you weren't my brother, I would've blocked your number already."
"Why does it seem to me like you're scared?" Lamont's brother continued mocking him.
"I'm scared that you might quit basketball altogether once I'm done with you." Icy coldness permeated from Lamont's words. He had absolutely no regard for this asshole who mockingly calls him brother.
"Hahahaha! That's what I like to hear from you!" It sounded like there was a raging lunatic on the other end of the line. "I want to find out what would happen if you lose control, Lamont! I'm excited!"
Lamont couldn't care less about this bastard. He ended the phone call and was a moment away from blocking his cellphone number, until their group chat lit up with instructions for tomorrow's game from Legend.
"Lamont, the coach told me something…"