Alley-Oops I Think I'm Falling in Love (With the Wrong Guy)

| ARIA |

"Double or nothing?" I challenged, tilting my chin up to him.

A smirk of cool confidence returned to Roscoe's visage and his earlier distress melted away. He stared down at me, his golden eyes rifling through mine with an intensity that made me shiver.

He was a snake charmer — because I tumbled into those glowing orbs he called eyes, mesmerized by their depth. It felt like he was finally seeing me and carving out a space for me in his world. Until now, I'd been nothing more than a gnat to him — transient, insignificant, a nuisance.

That didn't even make sense.

And since when did I get so... so... sentimental? Ugh.

If I were a man, I know what advice my fellow brothers in exile would give me — "You just need to get some, bro. When you're starving, even a three will look like a dime." And I was the definition of malnourished, I hadn't had a bite in sixteen years!

"Let's do this." Roscoe said, his voice deep and warm, shaking me from my thoughts.

"You know, you're alright, DeLang." He added, giving me another once over out of the corner of his eye.

I scrunched my brow at him, suspicious of any and all compliments if they came from him.

Defenses up, I sauntered to my death blow spot on the court, the number one recruit in the state following at my heels.

I shoved the women's ball into his chest and he cupped it against his heart, "This time, I'm beating you with this."

Roscoe raised both eyebrows at me, then ran his tongue along his bottom lip, trying to conceal his glee. He clearly thought he was the Big Bad Wolf and I'd just agreed to make my house out of straw. I sucked my teeth — we'd see about that. This time, there'd be no doubt as to who was the better player. Well, more technically skilled player.

"You wanna sweeten the deal?" He asked, eying the hoop behind me. "It is double or nothing."

"One loss wasn't enough for you?" I questioned, smirking at the way he flinched at the reminder of his defeat.

Roscoe stroked the back of his head, an impish grin appearing on his face. "I won't lose again. You know what they say about lightning striking the same place twice."

I gagged.

Roscoe laughed.

Shaking my head, my curiosity got the better of me, so I asked, "What are you offering?"

"Well, since we about to be partners and all that, how about you hook a brother up?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "You got some connections I'd like to explore, starting with your friend Ashanti. She can twist herself like a pretzel around me next time she wants to work out." He put his fist to his mouth like he was savoring a delicious, but overly large bite of food and didn't want people to watch him chew it.

Then he flicked the bottom of my chin, presumably mocking the open-mouthed scowl that had emerged. I wasn't sure what was more disturbing, the fact that his request seemed to bother me or that he felt like he could touch my face.

Inhaling through my nose, I softened my features and hit him with a sweet smile, "Sure... but only if you return the favor." I said.

Roscoe scrunched his nose and jerked his chin back, "DeLang?! You got a crush on someone? ...That like... I would know? Nah!" He asked, his voice dripping with skepticism.

At the flash of indignation in my eyes, he covered his heart with his hand and a bemused grin spread across his face. "I'll be damned."

He was such a freaking douche.