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* Chapter 43 *

"SHOT!" I yelled out just as AJ shot the ball towards the basket.

I laughed as it hit the rim and bounced to the ground. Nick grabbed the ball and dribbled for a few feet. I was already halfway to the other basket so he threw me the ball and cheered me on as I made a perfect lay-up shot.

"Woohoo! That makes the score *counting on his fingers* 15 to 8!" Nick exclaimed. "And the first to 30 baskets wins...we’re already halfway there!"

He did a little victory dance and I laughed before he called a time-out.

"Team huddle," he said with a laugh as he tackled me from the back.

"Umph...get off me! You’re all sweaty!" I teased him as he pulled me towards the basket on the other end of the court.

AJ and Bri shot some practice hoops while Nick and I talked about our ‘game plan’.

"Sooo...since we’re ahead and I know we’ll win, how ‘bout we make a little wager?" Nick asked with a mischievous grin.

I rolled my eyes and brushed back a few loose hairs from my forehead. "Like what?"

"Mmmm...nothing big," he replied with the same sly grin. "I get a kiss for every shot that you miss."

I gave him a ‘what-are-you-talking-about-weirdo’ look and rolled my eyes again.

"Only if I get fifty bucks every time YOU miss a shot."

I really didn’t think he’d actually say yes, so I turned around and walked a few steps.

"Wait! We have to shake on it," he said before he walked up to me and shook my hand. "There...now it’s official."

"Whatever..." I said as I headed towards where Bri and AJ were.

We started playing again and within ten minutes Nick and I were up to 21 shots while AJ and Bri were only at 12. Nick was dribbling towards me (I was already down by our basket) and I was waiting to set up a ‘pick’ for him. Brian walked in front of me as if he was blocking me (LOL) and I made a silly face at him to distract him. AJ was watching Nick when he ran smack into me, falling on top of me on the ground.

"GET OFF ME!!!!" I screamed before AJ scrambled to his feet. "How freakin’ clumsy are you?" I said as I stood up.

I walked up to AJ and shoved him.

"Watch where you’re going," I hissed at him before I walked off to where Nick was standing.

We continued playing our game as it got started to get dark out. The streetlights came on making it easy for us to see. AJ stayed clear of my way the remainder of the game so he wouldn’t upset me anymore. Nick made the last shot as I stood at mid-court and watched.

"Ha ha ha," I sang in a taunting voice. "We won...we won...we won!"

"Fine...whatever. We’re going to go up and get some food," Bri said.

They left while Nick and I continued shooting hoops. I rebounded the ball and instead of shooting it again, I handed it to Nick and watched him shoot.

"So...back to our little wager..." Nick held the ball in his hands and walked up to me.

"What about it?" I asked.

"Can I have my kiss?" he asked with a sly smile.

"My 250 bucks..." I replied as I stuck my hand out, waiting for him to pull out the money.

"Mine first..."

He smiled to himself when I shrugged my shoulders and rolled my eyes. I laughed at his silly smile before I gave him a tiny peck on the lips.

"Now mine..."

I stuck my hand back out.

"Aww man...that kiss sure wasn’t worth 250 bucks..." he whined as he took out his wallet.

"A deal is a deal no matter what," I reminded him as he thumbed through his wallet looking for some money.

"Yeah...but I was hoping..." he started to say with a silly grin.

"Don’t even think about it. I’m not going to kiss you like that..." I said before he could finish.

"Aaww fine then. Anyway, you’ll have to wait ‘til I get back to the hotel ‘cause I don’t have any more money on me."

I headed for the lobby door and went to the elevator with Nick trailing behind me. When we got back to my place, Nick put the ball back on the balcony while I went and took another shower. After I was finished, I got dressed and pulled my hair up into a scrunchy before I wandered to the kitchen. Arti was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine and everyone else was in the living room sitting on the couch, at my desk, or on the floor.

"Hey RT! Whatcha doin?" I asked as I pulled a cup out of the cupboard and filled it at the sink.

"Lookin’ through this magazine..." she replied without looking up.

"Anything interesting in there?" I asked while I walked over to where she was sitting.

She hurriedly closed it and stood up before I could see anything.

"Not really...mostly just gossip and junk about celebrities...nothing that’s really true anyway," she said before she walked out the doorway with the magazine in hand.

‘Ok...that was strange’ I thought to myself as I drank the rest of my water and set the cup in the sink. When I walked into the living room, I found Arti sitting on the arm of the couch next to where Kev was sitting. Bri and Howie were also sitting on the couch with Meg in Howie’s lap. Nick was looking at some of my books that were on a bookshelf on the opposite wall as the entertainment center and AJ was yet again sitting at my desk staring blankly at the screen of my laptop.

"Don’t even touch those," I said when I saw Nick eyeing a few of my photo albums that were sitting on the very bottom shelf.

"Why not?" he asked in a sly voice.

"Because I said so," I insisted while I walked over by the entertainment center and straightened one of the pictures on the wall that was lopsided. "Did you all get something to eat?"

"Yeah. Meg made us some sandwiches," Howie replied with a smile.

"You want me to make you one?" Meg asked happily.

"Umm...no thanks," I replied as I straightened another lopsided picture. "I’m not hungry."

I didn’t see the worried look that Nick gave me when I turned around to face the couch. Everyone was concentrating on the show that was on the TV so I walked past them and went out onto the balcony. There was a nice breeze that made it seem cooler than it really was. The summer air was warm as the stars started to shine in the sky above. The lights of the city were glowing brightly in the stillness of the night. I turned to go back inside after a few minutes and found that AJ had moved from his place at my desk. He left a piece of paper on the keyboard of my laptop that caught my eye.

I will NOT let things end like this. You mean too much to me to let you slip through my fingertips. You were right...it was ONLY a kiss and not a very special one at that because it wasn’t with you. YOU mean everything to me! Every moment that I spend with you is precious to me...even if you’re not exactly talking to me. I want things to work out between us and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they do. My love always, AJ

"Oh no..." I whispered to myself as I saw what was displayed on my computer screen. "Oh no...oh dang! Oh no!"

I shut the screen off and stared at the note that was in my hand.

"NO!" I yelled out to Nick.

He was sitting on the floor by the bookshelf looking at one of the photo albums that I told him not to touch.

"Put that book back!" I yelled as tears came to my eyes.

"Why?" he asked in a scared voice.

"Because..." I stood up and walked past him towards the door. "Because I hate those stupid things!!! Pictures are only reminders of how ugly the past really was."

I stopped and turned to face him. He stared at me in confusion for a few seconds along with everyone else. Kev was about to say something when I walked back to where Nick was sitting. I grabbed the album from his hands, along with the other two from the shelf and stuffed them into the small garbage can that was inside the front door before I walked out into the hall. The door shut behind me as I moved a few feet down the hall and slumped down to the floor. Hot tears were flowing down my face as I sat there against the wall sobbing in the lonely hallway. The sounds of my saddened heart echoed in the empty space as I sat there by myself.

"He wasn’t supposed to see that..." I said to myself between sobs.

I felt totally and completely foolish for leaving my computer on and open for all to see. I was in the hallway crying for about 5 minutes when both Arti and Meg came out to find me. They were surprised that I hadn’t gone far at all.

"Oh hun come here..." Arti said in a gentle voice.

Meg helped me up and I fell into their friendly arms. We went back inside the door and they led me to my room. I couldn’t see because my eyes were blurry from the tears that were falling.

"I’m sorry...I’m sorry...I’m so sorry..." I mumbled between sobs as we walked past the living room to my bedroom door.

I lay down on my bed and sobbed as Meg and Arti went to tell everyone that it was time to go. I needed some time by myself, but I was also glad that Arti would still be here with me. My head pounded with a headache as I soon drifted off to an uneasy sleep.