Page 21 of Out of Bounds

“Me, too. My girlfriend broke up with me after graduation. I mean, right after. She got her diploma, and when she sat back down, she did the deed. Luckily, I was high, so I just laughed. Anyway, there’s this girl in my econ class. She’s hot. And smart. And that’s just as important because women are more than their bodies. But she’s also hot.”

“Being smart makes her hot, right?”

“Exactly. And ladies love athletes.” Dell pretended to dust some dirt off his shoulder.

“So I’ve heard.”

“Wilt Chamberlain was one of the all-time great basketball players. He also had sex with over 10,000 women. I’m not saying one has anything to do with the other. But I’m also notnotsaying that…”

Dell fiddled with his phone. He didn’t strike Cliff as someone who could stay still, which served him well on the court.

“Wilt isn’t my favorite player. I like to think of myself as a Scottie Pippin, from back in the day.”

“Me too,” Cliff said.

“Not Jordan?”

“Jordan’s the best, Pippin was the backbone of the Bulls.” Cliff watched the entire ten-part series on the 1990s Chicago Bulls over one weekend this past summer. It blew his mind, and he couldn’t help wondering what his place would’ve been on such an all-star lineup.

“That’s what I said, too! Pippin wasn’t showboaty like Rodman and Jordan. He was the glue of that team. Too bad he had to leave the Bulls to actually get paid.”

“When you get drafted into the NBA, Dell, make sure you have a good agent.”

“Hell yes.” Dell chuckled to himself.

“I could rewatch that documentary every week.” Cliff had a jump in his step. Dell’s energy was contagious. “It was so good. It showed that Jordan isn’t some god. He just practiced and practiced--”

“And was competitive as fuck.”

Cliff gave an exaggerated nod in agreement.

“Have you seenHoop Dreams?”

Cliff shook his head no.

“That’s another really good basketball doc. We’ll have to do a team movie night or something.”

“Totally.”

Cliff could’ve kept talking about the Bulls and basketball and anything else, but Dell stopped walking and pointed to their left. Kempson Hall. Set back and with a great view of the river, it had a large oak growing in the middle of its front lawn, perfect for sitting under to study. It took a second for Cliff to remember why he was going there.

“You can’t miss the family Zoom call. Do your parents know how to work with technology at least?”

“My older brother gave them a tutorial.” Cliff gave a half-wave to Dell, a little sad that their walk was over already. “See ya later.”

“Wait. Can we try something?”

A question like that never seemed to end well. They were in public, and Dell didn’tseemlike he had any psycho tendencies.

“Sure?”

“Hold out your hand.” Dell demonstrated.

Cliff held out his opposite hand.

“Follow my lead.” Dell slapped Cliff’s hand as if going in for a shake, then slid it down Cliff’s fingers, and snapped. He threw his head to the side on the snap for added emphasis. “You got it? We slap, slide, snap.”

Cliff handled dribbling through mobs of hungry offensive players and coordinating plays to the basket on the regular. “Yeah, I got it.”