"Max, are you ready?"
The question comes from a senior from the basketball team of the school. I don't look at the rest on the court and around.
To get the opportunity today, it has been simple, but transforming the opportunity into the result I want still depends on this test. I push the ball in my hand to make it rebound with a sharp noise. It is the same movement I have seen many repeat before, which I have felt many repeat before, which I have recalled myself repeat many times before, in those echoes.
*Pa~ Pa~ Pa~*
The phantom habits that had shone through on the rooftop a few months ago when Tyne had barred my way out of there. The ball bounces with controlled movement very different from the slapping most girls and novices struggle to do away with.
Finally, I take my eyes away from the ball to look around the court I have been visiting for the past few weeks. I have chosen the basketball team to join because of the intensity that can be built during its confrontations. Unlike volleyball, but also not quite like the game called American football in that last life.
I take a breath, and I finally nod at the question, with my body warm enough, and ready to test myself and reproduce what my mind has been absorbing.
"Then let's start. First will be dribbling and moving."
I flash a smile, move one foot forward, and lean on it, ready to let out what I have made mine, like during my self-defense courses.
Dribbling, moving, shooting, defending, and scoring at close range.
The process comes with a different kind of exhilaration compared to fights in restricted spaces of a few square meters, and also a different exhilaration from simply running.
Moving with purpose and intensity over the court, I stop simply demonstrating my ability. I enjoy the sweat that dampens the dark top cinching my chest underneath my loose sleeveless top. I enjoy the sweat that slides down my thighs. I enjoy the screeches of my shoes against the polished floor.
My short hair jumps and dances with me as I smile in enjoyment, and even the seniors of the team smile along, appreciating the capabilities that will be an asset to the school team, at least before the limited chances to be selected to play for matches come back to weigh in the balance and bring about envy and jealousy.
_ _ _
_ _ _
"Ah!!! Max, I can't believe you really passed the test! I really regret not skipping training to come watch you!"
I smile and pretend the weight hanging around my neck is not heavy at all. I have to let her vent, so I say nothing.
"Come on, tell me! When have you learned to play basketball? Since when have you been playing all by yourself, without even calling me!?"
I keep smiling, and I want to remain silent to let the wave pass, but looking at Emmie's indignant face, I can't hold back from firing with an amused smile:
"So, you will break up with me?"
Emmie pauses to give me a sidelong glance, then scoffs.
"You wish! But you hid so deeply. You must be punished!"
I raise an eyebrow.
"Alright. How do you want to punish me?"
"Humph! Just wait and see. You are not the only one who can surprise the other."
I don't raise an eyebrow this time, but both. Even though the redhead says nothing and simply continues walking with her arm around my shoulders, her unprotected thoughts tell me everything I need to know, including not just the spark of idea for my coming punishment, but also the developing process that is being elaborated to take me by surprise.
My chest tightens, and a flicker of hesitation passes through my mind. But falling quiet, when I think about it, I… can try. Even though I don't think I will enjoy it. I actually imagined it and felt disinterested before, but I can now taste the true sensation it will bring to help me confirm, or fall in love with it.
A part of me below my abdomen clenches, and a slight tension settles between us as we walk to find a transportation to go home.
The tension thickens as we climb up the few stairs to the door of the building where the apartment that now belongs to only Emmie and Helene is. Taking the elevator, the confined space with just the two of us makes the short distance between us become charged with a hair-raising layer of electricity that at the same time feels exciting.
With our breaths calm but hot, we wait until the few seconds that have seemed longer than usual pass, and the elevator pinged with a notification of arrival.
Its door opens, and we step out to walk to the entrance of our destination, our steps slower than they should have been, almost deliberate, even if not hesitant.
At the door, Emmie puts the key against the hole, but it takes her a few tries to get it to slide in while riding over the bumps and hollows. When she finally unlocks the door, and somewhat difficulty pushes it open amidst the nervous layer of excitement draping over us, the string of the tension tightens.
It is like a final line to cross but also like a starting line. For a second, we pause, remaining outside and looking at the unveiling scenery behind the spinning door. The living room that has never been unfamiliar or felt foreign seems covered by a layer of haze this time, a haze with a path to the bedroom calling to us.
Gulping some saliva, we let the deciding moment stretch. Or rather, we feel it stretch, and go on and on, until we take the first step, uncharacteristically, together, and cross the threshold.
At that moment, the tension starts to dissolve, but not to fade away, instead, to add to haze that has been separated from us by a metaphorical veil, and cradle us like a softly burning stove to stoke the fire of excitement that has only been simple, hot warmth till now.
Somewhat distractedly, and also as if to distract herself, Emmie catches the door, and slowly pushes it back to its frame, almost like a veil over the outside world, a curtain to keep the intimacy locked inside with us.
At this point, we are standing close, face to face, and with the heat of our breaths perceivable across. Her lips seem so red, and I can hear how Emmie finds my lips so rosy.
Unconsciously, the distance between us starts to disappear, the heat in us acts like a magnet, and we lock lips, like many times before, but also differently from before.
Our hearts stop, our stomachs tighten, and our minds explode.