Page 66 of If It's You

Who was this Rob? How did he know about Mack and that Maizie hadn’t been on the court for years? The thought bothered him more than it should have.

“Okay, Jayce, Lindsay, and Christian are on one team. The rest of us are the other.” Hugh said, taking charge like the natural leader he was. Like all the Jensen family seemed to be. It must be a strong genetic trait.

Christian grabbed a ball and warmed up his shooting arm.

On the other end of the court, the other team did the same. Rob and Hugh took turns shooting, but Maizie stood to the side, almost paralyzed. Rob tossed her a ball, and she jumped back before it hit her. He retrieved it, then said something to her again.

Christian pulled his focus back to his own game.

“Who do you want to take? Rob or Hugh?” Jayce asked.

“Which one is better?” Christian sized up the two boys on the other side of the court. Rob was taller, but Hugh looked more athletic.

“Funny. You get Rob.” Jayce chucked the ball at him, then went to correct Lindsay’s shooting form. She couldn’t even make a basket from the lowest block. She wasn’t going to be any help in this game.

“What are we playing for?” Jayce asked when the teams met in the center to start.

“Loser has to finish off the rest of Grandma’s beans,” Hugh said without hesitation.

Christian made a face and Jayce groaned beside him. The beans had tasted great, but everyone knew leftover beans give you gas. And there had been a lot of Grandma’s beans leftover.

“Game on.” Jayce shook on it, and then Maizie threw the ball in the air.

Christian got the ball and took it down the court, waiting for Rob to meet him. But Rob stayed low, right next to Maizie.

Bad choice.

Christian stepped up to the three-point line and let the ball fly. It sailed through the air and landed soundlessly through the net.

“Nice shot. Bet you can’t hit it again,” Rob said.

He stayed closer up on Christian next time, but it didn’t throw off his aim. He sank two more shots before Rob switched tactics and became more aggressive. But Christian was used to it, and he liked the challenge. He dribbled to the left, faked, then sank another three.

“Hey, ball hog, the rest of your team would like to play too,” Jayce said.

“Oh, sorry.” He had gotten too carried away.

“There’s no I in team,” Maizie said, running past him.

“There’s no you either,” he threw after her.

She tossed her hand over her shoulder with a dismissive wave.

The next time Christian got the ball, he threw it to Jayce, who immediately threw it to Lindsay. Lindsay barely caught it, then traveled as she turned to the basket, but nobody called it.

Maizie reached her hands high above her head to block it, but she shouldn’t have bothered. Lindsay missed by a mile. Hugh got the ball and dribbled back down the court. Jayce caught up to him, but not before he lobbed it to Rob. Rob passed it to Maizie. Lindsay was nowhere to be seen, so Christian put an arm up in the air, and Maizie missed.

“Foul,” Maizie called, looking straight at him.

“What? I didn’t even touch you,” he laughed in disbelief.

“Then why didn’t I make it?” She asked in an almost flirtatious way.

“Because you stink at shooting,” Christian smirked at her.

She glared at him, and for a moment he thought she was going to slap him.

“Give me the ball.” Maizie took a spot at the foul line and sank two free throws with an easy grin. She pointed two fingers at her eyes then pointed at him.