Chapter 34 Riggs
THIRTY-FOUR
RIGGS
We are entering conference play as December begins, and tonight, we face our rivals, the Durham College Wolves.
They are known for having an unruly student section.
They scream, chant, and yell at us the whole game.
It is obnoxious, and I hate every minute of it.
Not to mention, CTU hasn’t beaten them on their court in six years.
Three minutes are left in the game, and we are down by five points. I am not losing to these guys. Throwing the ball in bounds, Jordan gets it to me, and I dribble it up the court.
Durham is known for a stifling defense, and tonight is no exception. Drew is their best defender and is currently guarding me as I move past midcourt and start the offensive play. The rest of our team is moving around, setting screens, and trying to get open for a shot.
I see Carter run past a defender, so I send him the perfect pass in the air, and Carter grabs it for a nasty alley-oop slam dunk. Our bench and fan section jump in the air, screaming and cheering.
As we run down to defend against Durham’s next offensive possession, I see the competitive fire flowing through our team.
The Wolves point guard looks a little rattled as I increase the defensive pressure on him.
I find an opportunity and steal the ball, passing it ahead to a streaking Jordan.
He takes it a few steps and stops at the three-point line, pulls up, and shoots.
It swishes through the net. Tie game. The annoying Durham crowd has gone silent, and I love the sound, or lack thereof.
Time passes quickly as we trade baskets back and forth—they score, then we score. Drew hits a three-pointer with thirty seconds left that puts the Wolves up by one point, 71-70. Immediately, Coach Hart calls our final time-out.
“One play. You have thirty seconds to show we are the better team.” Coach H. is fueling our fire. We are the better team here. I take a drink from my water bottle and a deep breath.
Running back onto the court, I give Carter and J a nod.
We are always on the same page without having to say a word.
The referee blows his whistle. Moore throws me the ball, and I slowly bring it up the court.
The guys know the play. We are going to take the last shot and put a dagger in the Wolves’ undefeated season.
Time slows down, like it always does in the crucial moments of a game.
I look around the court and see how things will develop if we execute the play.
I dribble the clock down to ten seconds and drive to the hoop.
The defense collapses on me, leaving Jordan wide open.
I swing it to him, knowing he will make this shot.
He catches and pulls up, letting the ball go with zero hesitation.
It sails through the air for what feels like forever before it reaches the rim.
The ball circles around and falls through the net at the same time as the horn blasts, signaling the end of the game. We just beat Durham 72-71!
I run and jump on Jordan as the rest of the team follows, piling up on him. Carolina Tech fans have been waiting six years to beat these guys, and I’m so happy to be a part of this squad. I get up and see Reagan with her phone out, recording the celebration.
“That was quite a game, Point Guard,” she says as she joins in, giving her brother a huge celebratory hug.
“Gotta do whatever it takes to impress you.” She laughs as I take the chance to put my arms around her for a hug as well.
“Those fifteen points were nice, but the ten assists and no turnovers…” She does a little chef’s kiss, bringing her fingers in, and all I can think in the moment is how I’d like to kiss her lips. No, you don’t. You can’t.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spy Drew Cole walking up to us. I brace myself, not knowing what he will say. He had more than a few comments directed at me during the game to try to get under my skin. It didn’t work.
“Hart. You played an incredible game, man.” Drew pushes his hand out to shake mine.
“You too, Cole,” I say to him, shaking his hand and letting my body relax. Coach calls for me, and I run off to catch up with my teammates.
Looking over my shoulder, I see her and Cole embrace, and I quickly turn away, instead focusing on my team and our win.
The guys continue celebrating in our locker room, dumping water bottles on Coach and dancing around to “All I Do is Win,” our anthem after each victory. It takes a few minutes, but he finally quiets everyone down.
“This was an incredible performance, men. You showed grit, and you trusted each other. I couldn’t be prouder. I want to give the game ball to one of you. This person has sparked our offense and sharpened our defense. Player of the game…”
The entire team shouts, “HART,” and I am baffled. I know I played well, but to get a game ball for beating a rival is huge! I’m honored. Water is dumped on me from my teammates, and I soak it all in.
“Thank y’all. We did it together, and we are just getting started!” The team erupts in cheers, and the music cranks back up as we shower and change quickly.
I’m lacing my shoes when Williams sits down next to me.
“Man, you played a heck of a game tonight. Shut down Cole for the most part, too. I can’t stand Drew.
” He gets up and walks away, having said more words in that one exchange than in the entire time I’ve known him. I always knew I liked that guy.
A few minutes later, I walk onto the bus and see Reagan waiting, with an empty seat next to her. I slide in, and she instantly smiles before returning to her Kindle.
“What are you reading tonight, Sunshine?”
One thing I love about Reagan is that she is unapologetically herself, at least with me. “Oh, this is a good one about two enemy families in a war college whose kids fall in love. It has dragons and magic.”
“I’ll have to add that to my Tbr,” I say to her, and it gets the surprised reaction that I was hoping for.
“You know what a Tbr is?” She’s laughing like she doesn’t believe me.
“I may have had to google it, but yes, To Be Read is in my vocabulary now. You talk about books all the time, so I had to check out all the bookish things.”
Her mouth opens at that statement, and I give myself a mental high five.
“You surprise me, Point Guard. I’m impressed.”
Trying to smoothly change the subject, I blurt out what I’ve been wanting to ask for a while now. “So what’s going on with you and Drew?”
She stills for just a second before answering. “I ended things with Drew a few weeks ago. I wanted to talk to you about it, but we haven’t had a lot of time to ourselves lately, and it felt like a conversation to have in person.”
“Really? Why?” I don’t know what I am trying to achieve by asking this, just curious, and maybe a little bit of a masochist.
She gives a little laugh before giving me words I have been hoping to hear. “I think my feelings for him were just left over from high school. He isn’t who I want to be with now.”
“Is that so?” I give her a cocky grin. But something deep down reminds me that even if she wants to be with me, I’m not sure I can be with her. Not right now.
I don’t get to finish the conversation because the bus comes to a stop, and everyone jumps off, screaming and celebrating with the fans who greet us in the parking lot.