Center Courtship (5 page)

I quickly averted my eyes and Elsu closed the door fast. “Sorry about that, that's my uncle, he's staying with me, I should have knocked first. Thank goodness Brandon wasn't here.”

I looked at Millard, hoping he didn't capture that on video, “Missed it, sir.”

“Thank goodness,” said Elsu. He walked across the exercise room to another door. “This one should be safer.” He opened it to reveal a quiet room with two massage tables set up. On a counter were a bunch of lotions and potions in pretty bottles, the smell of incense still lingered from the last time the room must have been used. “I get massages regularly, so I decided to add a room to make it easier for my masseuses to work without getting trampled or interrupted by other people.”

“Exactly how many masseuses do you have?” I asked.

“Two, they're both not always available, one is a guy, he's my deep tissue nitty gritty guy. The other is a girl, she's a little gentler. Depending on the kind of massage I need, I can choose who I want to have come and rub me down,” he smiled as he closed the door behind us and we headed back out toward the basketball court. For some reason I could feel my cheeks redden from the thought of Elsu getting a massage.

“This is a really nice floor,” I said as we stood at the edge of the basketball court. “Thank you for showing me around. Brandon will probably watch these videos a million times.”

“Oh, you're Brandon for the day, right? You're not done yet,” he said as he opened a door, reached in and pulled out a basketball. “It's time to play HORSE.”

“HORSE?” I asked. Was he really an adult?

“You know HORSE, right?” he smiled as he tossed me the ball.

“Yeah, I know it, I just think you have a slightly unfair advantage here,” I said and then looked down at my ‘outfit'. “You probably don't want steel toes on your pretty, shiny floor.”

“I don't care, you're just one person, what damage can you do? It's HORSE, not like you're running all over the place.”

I took a deep breath and walked onto the court.
I'm doing this for Brandon, I'm doing this for Brandon.
I hadn't been on a
court since high school gym class, the vastness of it made me feel small. “Who goes first?” I asked as I turned to face him.

“You can go first, pick your spot,” he waved his hand across the floor.

I played basketball with my nephews all the time, but that was outside on a driveway and the hoops were not regulation height by any means, unlike these. “I've never played with regulation height hoops,” I said, as I stood near one hoop and looked up. It could have been the top of Mt. Everest for as high as it felt.

I stepped back, putting a little space between myself and the hoop, lifted the ball and lobbed it over my head. It just grazed the net, not getting as high as the hoop at all. I grabbed the ball after it fell to the floor and tossed it to Elsu. “Try again,” he said as he threw it back to me. “Give it just a little more muscle and you've got it.”

I took the ball again, sighed, faced the basket and again, lobbed the ball over my head. This time, it made it past the hoop, over, and through the net. “YES!” I said with a smile.

Elsu walked to where I had been standing and easily made the shot. “How do you play?” he asked.

“What do you mean ‘how'?”

“Do I go first for the second round since I made it or do you continue to go first until you miss?” he asked, tossing the ball back and forth from one huge hand to the other.

“We usually play if player two makes player one's shot, player two gets to go first for the next round,” I said.

“Works for me,” he walked to the center of the court and stood on the center of the large letter B, aimed at the hoop and shot. As the saying goes, nothing but net.

“Really? I'm supposed to follow that?”

Just as I stepped onto center court the entry door opened and four super-tall men sauntered in. They were being boisterous, and began hooting and hollering at Elsu who went to them quickly to give each a handshake, a half hug, or a pat on the back. I looked at the men, and thought I should probably know who they were but honestly had no clue. Elsu turned to me and said “guys, this is Brandon's aunt…”

I walked up to the group and waved my hand at them, “I'm Mae,” I said.

“Sorry, I knew it started with an M,” he said as he put his arm around my shoulders. I cringed and stepped away at the unrequested touching. “You know these guys, right?”

Have you ever imagined yourself as a gerbil in a small cage where everyone is looking down at you and trying to decide if you're going to bite them or not? Yeah, that's exactly how I felt at that moment. Five pairs of eyes were all looking at me, waiting for me to acknowledge my recognition of them. Unfortunately, there was none. I only knew Elsu.

Millard walked up to us with my phone in his hand and started taking video and then pictures of all of the men. His presence saved me from having to acknowledge my stupidity in front of everyone.

Elsu pointed to the men one at a time as he rattled off their names, “Brent, Saul, Peter and Casper.”

“What were you playing?” asked Casper. Of the five, he was the shortest. He was over six foot, but compared to the other men who stood near him, he was an ant.

“HORSE,” said Elsu. “I figured since Brandon couldn't be here, I'd show Mae here around instead.”

“Why couldn't he make it?” asked Brent. He stood about as tall as Elsu but was notably thinner.

“He was hit by a car this morning,” I said. “He's in the hospital right now.”

“WOW!” said the four men in unison.

“That kid's a hero, man! He pushed his little brother out of the way of the car and got hit himself!” said Elsu.

“Dude! That kid needs a medal, or something!” said Saul.

“Oh, it will happen, I'm going to make sure of it,” said Elsu. “Mae here has been a good sport about taking the tour with me. Carl was here and started filming but had to leave, so Millard has been recording everything so she can show Brandon.”

“So, who's winning at HORSE?” asked Casper.

“I was just about to screw up my half-court throw so I could get my H,” I said sadly.

“Seriously, dude? You half-courted her?” asked Brent.

“Hey, if she were Brandon, wouldn't he want to see me make some shots?” he asked. He had a point, and I'm sure Millard had caught his half courter perfectly.

Casper came to my side and looked me up and down, I was suddenly self-aware of my hip-hugging coveralls, dirty shirt and bandanna-covered greasy hair. “Dude, this is not a boy,” he said. “Be nice, dude.”

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to take that as a compliment or not, so I just smiled and looked at Elsu.

“Hey, let her try,” said Elsu as he tossed me the basketball.

I reluctantly walked to center court and looked at the far end of the room. If the hoop had been Mt. Everest while I stood under it, the distance between me and it now was the Grand Canyon. The four newcomers walked to stand below the hoop. I was suddenly feeling flushed and nervous. They all seemed like nice enough guys, but I hated being the center of attention. I really just wanted to go home. I looked at Millard who was aiming my phone at me. The pressure was just too much. I went to bounce the ball on the floor and accidentally hit my foot, sending the ball across the floor toward Elsu. “Don't worry, we've all done that,” he smiled as he picked it up and tossed it back at me.

I seriously doubted any of them had done that, but I appreciated the attempted boost of confidence. I eyed the hoop, then the ball, spread my legs, leaned down and threw the ball toward the hoop. Just as it was obvious that the ball was never going to make it, Brent ran out and tipped it up and into the hoop. “Thank you,” I said.

“Not a problem,” he smiled as he tossed the ball back to me. “Your turn.”

I sighed, knowing this game could go on forever if they continued to help me. I walked up to the free throw line, knowing that Elsu would probably have no problem with this shot, but I just wanted the game to get done. I aimed for the hoop, shot and watched in what seemed like slow motion as the ball arched high, hit the metal rim, rode it around and fell swiftly through the net. I stood in amazement as the ball bounced to the floor and the men all began to cheer. “Spunky
and
she has an arm,” said Elsu as he walked up beside me and slapped my hand.
I still couldn't believe I had done it as I stepped aside to let him make his shot.

Elsu took his well-practiced stance, bounced the ball a few times, aimed and shot, but missed the hoop. “SHIT!” he said as he looked at the other four men who began teasing him relentlessly about missing a shot he had probably made hundreds of times.

“I owe you a do-over,” I said.

“Nope, I'm ok. Can't make them all. H,” he said, conceding to the fact that he had gotten the first letter of the game.

The ball was passed to me and I looked around the court, deciding my next shot. I moved to the three point line a few steps back from the free-throw line and chose my spot. “Brandon said you're the best three pointer in the league,” I said.

“They used to say the same about my free-throw, but you see what just happened.”

I couldn't help but smile at him and looked toward the hoop again. I figured if I could make the free-throw shot, a few feet further away might give me a good chance. I bounced the ball, aimed and shot. The ball hit the backboard and fell into the hoop. “Seriously?” I said, disbelieving my luck.

“Is this another Mario Kart?” Elsu asked me with a grin.

“I do play with my nephews, but I'm even surprising myself,” I said as I stepped out of his way.

Again, Elsu took his position and aimed carefully. This time, however, the other four men were standing between Elsu and the hoop preparing to block the shot. They were on my side. “You guys aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?” he asked.

“Hey, just pretend it's a game,” said Brent.

Elsu sighed, regrouped, bounced the ball again and shot over the heads of the men. Even though the ball was out of their reach, it still missed the hoop.

“O” said Elsu as he threw the ball back to me.

Perhaps from my outward appearance it looked like I was having fun, but deep down I wanted it to end, wanted to get home, and wanted to check on Brandon. I looked at my watch and saw that it was only seven. It felt like I had been there much longer. My concern for the time must have shown on my face.
“Let's show Brandon some 2 on 3 for the camera and Mae can go home,” said Casper.

I tossed the ball to him in gratitude and took a seat next to Millard. “Seriously? We're going to leave me hanging with ‘ho'?” asked Elsu, smiling.

The five men gathered center court and appeared to do some sort of team-choosing ritual. They broke apart and Elsu and Casper quickly removed their shirts.
Skins versus shirts
I said to myself. Gina will enjoy this. I sat back and watched the show as Millard continued to record. Both teams made shots, I hadn't been keeping score and hoped someone was. They seemed competitive with each other and I was certain they were playing for bragging rights. I did notice, however, that Elsu wasn't making shots that I thought he should have. Yes, he made some, but he seemed to be a little preoccupied.

The entry door opened and Magdalena stuck her head into the room. The men stopped playing and looked at her. “What's up, Maggie?” asked Brent.

Magdalena walked into the room and up to Elsu. She tried to whisper, but I heard the words she breathed in a heavy Spanish accent. “She's here.”

Elsu's face changed suddenly as he stood straight. He looked at the other men and tossed them the ball he held. “That's game, boys,” he said, as he turned to me. “I hate to cut your visit short, but Saraya is here. She's about an hour and a half early, I need to go get showered, we have a ‘date.'” He air-quoted the word ‘date'. I wasn't sure if he was happy about this or not.

“Not a problem, I need to get back and check on my nephew,” I said as I stood up and gathered my phone from Millard. “If I could just get those items signed for Brandon, I'll be out of your way.”

“Not a problem,” he said with a smile.

I thanked the other four men for their help and entertainment.
Yes, I had been entertained.
They each gave me a high five and I waved goodbye.

I followed Elsu and Millard out of the room while the other four stayed behind to continue the game. I saw Brent remove his shirt to join Casper's team as I was walking out the door.

When we got to the main room, there was a chill in the air. Almost a frigid feeling that I couldn't place. Seated on the black sectional was a woman. She was head-to-toe sparkle and beauty. She turned to look at the three of us as we entered, her eyes started on Elsu and then shot at me. She stared for a moment, trying to size me up. She was definitely an alpha female. She stood quickly and went straight to Elsu, claiming her man with a kiss. Elsu wrapped his long arm around her shoulders but she quickly pulled away.

“Ewww! You are nasty! Go take a shower before you hug me!”

Yes, he was sweaty from the game, but an innocent show of affection didn't seem to necessitate such a negative response.

“Sorry babe, we were playing,” he said as he motioned down the hallway. However, his motion also included me since I was standing in the same general direction.

“I thought you were hosting a boy,” she said as she glared at me.

I stepped forward. “I'm Brandon's aunt, I just came by to get Elsu's autograph on some of my nephew's things.”

“Yep, she was just getting ready to go. I need to sign Brandon's things, get a shower, and we can go,” he said as he kissed Saraya on the cheek and walked away from her toward the bag of stuff on the kitchen island.