Chapter 13 by wit1

What shot do you take?

A free throw

Since you were standing very close to the spot you had taken the baby hook shot, you considered taking another shot at it. You quickly decided against it. You last try had been so bad that you really didn’t want to risk embarrassing yourself again. You decided to give yourself some time to loosen up before you risked it again. You took your time to dribble out to the free throw line. You hoped that it would bring back some of the muscle memory from high school. Setting your feet, you took a couple practice shots in your mind before launching the ball towards the basket.

Not wanting to end up short like your last shot, you shot it too hard. It hit high on the backboard and slightly to the left of the cylinder. It landed about halfway back up the lane and bounced high. Tom was waiting for it at the elbow when it came down. He bounced it off the floor at the same spot it had just hit. It bounced high as it flew towards the basket. Like your shot it was a little off to the left. It came down on the left side of the rim. It bounced up and to the left. It flew over Shannon’s head. The redhead turned and chased after it. She caught up to it about halfway between the lane and the three point line.

You were rather surprised when instead of turning around Shannon launched the ball between her legs towards the basket. You were even more surprised when the ball hit the outside of the rim and rolled over the metal hoop and dropped through the net. Cindy scooped up the ball and tossed it to Larry as he headed for where Shannon stood.

“Through the legs!” Cindy reminded him as Larry squared up to face the basket. Scowling at her, Larry spun around. After taking a quick peek, he launched the ball through his legs with both hands.

“Wha…?” Cindy cried as the ball passed just over the near rim. It hit the inside of the iron on the other side and spun down into the net and through.

“Remember,” Larry teased, “through the legs.” He quickly headed for the basket before the blonde could lash out at him. He tapped the ball in her general direction. Cindy took a couple steps forward to snag it. With the ball firmly in both hands, Cindy turned her back to the basket and took aim. You opened your mouth to protest that she was closer to the basket than either Shannon or Larry. Before you could say a word, she threw it.

Maybe it caught the bottom of her skirt as it passed, but the ball never reached the bottom of the net. It might have reached the level of Larry’s face if he hadn’t caught it. Marcus glared at her. Cindy quickly shed her sweater and downed a drink before he could say anything. Still scowling at Cindy, the big man threw up a brick. He missed badly. You could choose any shot you wanted.