In the Sidelines » Damian Lillard

23.

I FELT A PAIR of strong hands grip my sides from behind and lift me off the concrete. Before I knew it, I was being twirled around in the air.

"Someone's happy to see me again," I giggled. Damian pulled me back down into his chest. I did a 180 and looked up at his elated smile. He was in his warmups, dressed to go onto the court with the team pregame.

"You've been gone for more than a week. Of course I'm happy." When Sydney visited last month to tell me her good news, she revealed that Zac had proposed to her and they were getting married in November. If that wasn't amazing enough, she added that I was the maid of honor. (Ty was the best man, and Damian evidently thought my friend would do something suspicious, so he made Ty promise not to do anything. It was hilarious to see him so protective of me.)

So, while taking a short leave from the team, I was busy helping with my best friend's wedding. Once the wedding was done and successful, I drove over to Oracle Arena the next day, where the visiting Blazers would play the Warriors.

I always looked forward to visiting Oracle. Don't get me wrong, I loved Portland, but the Bay Area was my home. It was nice to visit when I could.

"You guys have been on a tear recently. A nine-game winning streak, people are talking about the playoffs for y'all," I boasted, "and this budding star named Damian Lillard hit his second career game-winner over the Suns. I should be gone more often."

Damian took my joke seriously and frowned. "How are you gonna see me win more games then? Gotta see at least one live."

I stared at him doubtfully. "More game-winners?"

"Trust me," he smirked. "I don't know when, or how. But there will be more. Maybe, after one of them, you could run out of the sidelines, jump into my arms and kiss me, in front of everyone." He pointed at me and beamed.

I rolled my eyes. Cocky much? "That would be one hell of a way to announce we've been dating."

"Exactly. So, it's a deal?"

"Make, say, three more game-winners, and then we'll talk," I replied, waving him off.

I expected him to look annoyed or discouraged. Instead, the competitive side of him took it as a challenge. "Ara, I'm just warning you now," he shrugged calmly, "that by the end of the season, everyone's gonna know we're dating."

While I thought nothing of his declaration at the time, little did I know it was a promise he intended to keep.

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NBA OWNERS TYPICALLY did not watch their team's games on the road. When they did, they sat near their team's bench, which is what I had to do. Nobody minded, but it was difficult for me to see the game when I sat behind men who appeared two times my size.

A loud buzzing noise sounded, signaling the team was substituting in players. I forced my eyes off of the court just long enough to give Nico and Dame a fist pump. It was a close game midway through the second quarter, and as usual I scanned around to pinpoint what my team could work on.

Damian leaned to his left, making me groan. He turned around to face me quizzically. "You're in my way," I complained. He completely blocked my vision. "Let your owner get a good view of the game."

He paused for a long moment, shrugged, then replied. "Nah."

I narrowed my eyes. "Mr. Lillard," I said in a mocking tone. "Move or I'll make the team leave you behind at the airport." He shook his head. "I could force the GM to trade you," I cried out, but he simply laughed in reply. When he wouldn't budge an inch, I groaned. By now, the Warriors had called a time-out and both teams were going into their respective huddles, but neither Damian or I noticed.

"Ara, Dame, stop flirting and look up at the jumbotron!" shouted LaMarcus. I realized that he hadn't been the only teammate attempting to get our attention.

Damian and I glanced at each other quizzically then looked above in unison. To my surprise, I was on the screen. I realized Damian was, too. My eyes widened when I realized why we were being shown on the screen.

"We're on the kiss cam?" I yelled in disbelief.

Most people in the arena recognized us—after all, we were hometown faces—and soon the building was filled with awws and cheers. I began to blush and hid my face behind Damian's back. He made a halfhearted attempt to cover his face with his hand, but he was laughing, so he was clearly amused by the whole ordeal. Around me, the rest of the team laughed at my reaction.

The camera continued to focus on Damian and me, and soon the whole arena had their eyes trained on us. I placed a hand over my mouth when OAKLAND'S GOLDEN COUPLE popped up in bold, golden letters.

"This is so embarrassing. We're on the big screen. They all think we're dating. Am I actually that red right now? My God, help me. This is the longest thirty-second time-out I've ever witnessed in my life." I babbled on, thoroughly mortified.

Damian leaned back as he laughed at me. His eyes shone brightly on the big screen, and he flashed a grin while shaking his head. Finally, the people working the kiss cam decided we were not about to kiss in front of 20,000 people.

I breathed sigh of relief and emitted an embarrassed chuckle when the kiss cam changed to Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who were sitting on the Warriors bench. The arena responded by roaring in laughter.

While the crowd fixed their attention to their two star players, Damian turned his head around again and smirked. "Gotcha, Ara." I narrowed my eyes, so he spoke again. "Remember last month, when I said I'd get you back for embarrassing me? Well, I know a few people working the camera here..."

That was enough for me to connect the dots. This was his comeback to my antics from last month. I shook my head begrudgingly. "I could be mad, but that's actually quite impressive."

He looked genuinely proud. "I know, right?" Our actions were unbelievably immature sometimes.

I returned my view to the big screen, where they were still pressuring Steph and Klay via kiss cam. They shook their heads with a grin and began to point back over to our bench. Right when I thought I was finally safe, my face once again popped up behind Damian's on the big screen.

"You have to be kidding me!" I snatched the towel that Meyers Leonard held in his hand and used it to shield my face.

"I'm sorry," Damian mocked. I dropped the towel over my head. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he wasn't sincere.

"No, you're not."

He snickered childishly. "You know me so well."