A deep voice said from behind us, "You should be with me." My heart sank. Was he listening this whole time? Charlotte melted away. I turned to the most attractive boy I had ever met and said, "That's a big statement." "Why do you think I'm joking? What are you afraid of?" Luke was the same caring, charismatic Luke I knew... now dressed in basketball uniform. His outfit reminded me of the competitive, aggressive player he turns into on court. "I'm afraid of us not working out," I confessed. "Why wouldn't it work?" I thought about how best to reveal my insecurities. I am not a confident girl. How do you explain that to someone who has buckets of what you lack? "It's hard to compete with all the girls around you," I said, still not sure this declaration was the right thing to do. "I know you don't think of it as a competition, but they do. And I've had to endure a lot of cr*p as a result." And now I'm bringing out the receipts I cringed as I said, "Tamara is a gorgeous girl and your relationship with her lasted three weeks. Jamie is your dream girl and she's the basketball coach's daughter-" "You want me to bring up Jake now or later?" I had to smile at that. He had a point. "I decide who I like," he said, "And I like you. If you don't like me, that's a different thing. And if you think it's too hard dealing with the fallout from other girls, you tell me who they are and I'll take care of them one by one." I wish I could see a snapshot of his mind right now. He must think I'm crazy and, yet, he's not backing off. "Maybe you're doing this because your brother asked me out first or because it was all a bet," I added. My lack of self-confidence was really coming out now. "That's a lot of if's," he said, "But you missed one out." "I did?" He nodded and said the if I never expected, "What if it works?" What if I'd never imagined a world where Luke and I were blissfully dating, where we hung out together until we fell asleep together. A world where he didn't give me errands to pay down my debt on his laptop. A world where I can always be the zen lemur. "You focus on the downside," he said, "I'm placing my bets on the scenario where we make it." The game was about to start. The crowds had gathered around the court. The players were getting in position. "I'll miss every shot until you say yes," Luke told me. The Coach yelled out his name. Chad's father was wearing a gold jersey with "Yes to what?" I asked. "Say yes to a date with me." I stood in front of him, totally shell-shocked. I couldn't process this quickly... but he was used to me by now. My reactions have never been on point. "Say yes and the only game I'll play is basketball." He winked. That's something a player would say. The whistle blew and the biased referee, Chad, yelled out Luke's name. Chris Hayes joined in. They were all waiting for him. Luke started walking towards center court. "Take your time," he called back, "I got all night. Well, two hours actually." I watched him walk away and heard the crowd cheer as the game started. I wished I had said one more thing to him. One more reason why I was holding back: I'm scared to risk our friendship. Whether he knows it or not, he is the best friend I've had, and I'm scared that if we don't work out... I'll lose my best friend. "Millie, why don't you come sit with us?" Oma approached me. I hadn't realized that I had been standing alone for so long. "We are all sitting there." She pointed at the group, standing in prime viewing position. Charlotte waved. I joined the group, wanting to blend in with the cheering spectators. The basketball teams were comprised of all ages; a few high school players like Luke and Chris, but most were older. Employees at the bank and friends of the Chadwick family. Chad was running around with a whistle and long black socks that showed off his shapely legs. Luke kept looking at me before he aimed and... missed all the shots he took. First time, I shook my head. Second time, I mouthed no. Third time, I put my head in my hands because everyone was going hysterical that Luke kept missing. Chad kicked an opposing player. The guy dropped the ball and Chad's father picked it up. "Foul by the referee!" "Why does the coach have the ball?!" Things were fast deteriorating. Nicole was screaming her lungs out near me, furious at our team's behavior and happy her side was winning. Supporters on our side were looking dejected. I didn't want to give in to Luke's tactics... but... That's when I saw Malik sitting in the front row, looking devastated. He was wearing a jersey Luke had given him this summer and miserably watching his idol fail. The game may not mean anything to me, but it meant a lot to them. The next time Luke held the ball in his hand, he wasn't looking as playful anymore. He looked dejected. He wasn't used to failing like this and he was beginning to suffer from it, but he was stubborn. Why couldn't he just forget his stupid bet and play?! Someone passed to him, though he was waving not to. He didn't want to be passed the ball anymore. The crowd started to boo him. He stood reluctantly with the brown basketball in his hand and glanced over to me. No hope in his eyes. I nodded. His eyes widened. He stood there, frozen in place, while the crowd yelled at him. He was holding the ball too long. That's something I would do. "Foul!" spectators yelled out, "Five second rule!" I thought that just applied to food on the floor... "Really?" Chad stared at his stop watch and tapped it, "Maybe my clock is broken. I'll allow it!" Chad was not about to foul his friend. They had each other's back. Chris Hayes furiously took matters into his own hands. He knocked the ball out of Luke's hand and Luke's teammates failed to recover it. Luke just stared at me, waiting for me to change my mind. I didn't. I nodded like crazy. "YES!" I yelled. His face lit up. It was incredible to watch the transformation that came over him. He intercepted the ball with amazing speed. He handled it like an extension of his own arm, dribbling it between someone's arms and across another player's back. Everyone soon realized that this was not the same Luke Dawson who had been playing with them for the first half. Even Chris Hayes hung back to watch. Luke ran across the court and hit a clean slam dunk. The first I'd ever seen him do. The crowd roared and he raised his hands in the air towards us. Malik was jumping up and down screaming. Oma looked over at me once, and then twice. "Hey Millie," she said, "weren't you wearing a necklace today?" I immediately clasped my neck. It was bare. The necklace was gone. Mama's going to kill me.