Sophia shrugged. “I was selected through a program.”
“So how did you learn to play basketball? I don’t know many girls who can hoop.”
“Blame that on having three brothers. They needed me for their games of two-on-two and H-O-R-S-E.”
“You play H-O-R-S-E?”
They were almost to her dorm, and she could feel Max slowing his pace, so she did the same. Was he enjoying their conversation too?
“The boys didn’t really give me a choice.”
“Well, I’d like to see you beat me in H-O-R-S-E. It will only take about five minutes for me to take you out.”
“Any time you want to get clobbered, let me know,” she replied boldly.
“Cocky.” Max wagged his finger at her. “I like that.”
Sophia felt gooseflesh run up and down her arms.
“Has Coach told you what position you’re going to play?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
“You look like a shooting guard or small forward to me. I play the point. Which means I control the offense.” He jumped up in the air and shot a pretend basketball. When he came down, he misjudged his footing and bumped into Sophia’s shoulder.
“Dag, watch it,” she said, pouting.
“I’m so sorry.” He stopped moving. “Where did I hurt you?”
“Right here.” Sophia pointed to the top of her arm. With his palm, Max rubbed it several times. He smelled like the outdoors, and his caress made Sophia’s brain fill with static.
“Better?” He looked into her eyes, and the world around her stilled.
“Yes,” she breathed.
They had reached the entrance to her dorm and fell into an awkward silence.
“I guess you owed me one for crashing into you the other day,” Sophia said.
“I’d never hurt a girl on purpose. My mother raised me right,” he said, then he started jogging backward. “Remember, if you ever want me to school you on the court, you know where to find me.” He turned the corner and moved toward the boys’ dormitory. She watched him until he was out of sight.
Sophia was still replaying their conversation in her head when she walked into her dorm room.
“What are you all giddy about?” Willa looked up from her notebook. She was sitting at her small desk, already dressed in her nightclothes.
“Just thinking about… basketball practice. It was actually way more fun than I had expected.”
“Oh, goody. Tennis was cool too. Except for this upperclassman who thought she could shut me down. I just kept my lips tight and my eyes on the ball and beat her in three sets two to one.”
“Congratulations.”
Willa took a hair tie from her wrist and twirled her curls into a messy bun. “My father says I have the potential to be the next Althea Gibson.”
Sophia kicked off her shoes and peeled back her socks. “Who’s that?”
“Only the first Negro woman to win a Grand Slam title in tennis. She won a whopping eleven titles over the course of her career.”
Sophia had no idea what a Grand Slam title was, but she didn’t want Willa to think she was ignorant, so she didn’t ask. As Willa continued with her tennis facts, Sophia found it hard to concentrate because her thoughts kept floating back to Max.
