Aubrey (Revolving With Axis)

115: Aubrey

115:A

And that was that. True love was born right there, that moment, on that basketball court in Mazatlan, Mexico. It couldn't have been better.

We played about fifteen minutes, seriously, sizing each other up. What we found was that we both loved the game, we were both good at it, and we were both competitive. And in the end--- we tied that first one on one game.

Of course, that was where Ben and Jeff and Mutt found us later. Mutt had a girl as well, a model, by the looks of her, tall and thin and beautiful, even without make up. The sun was creeping higher, when they joined us.

We played three on three for another half an hour. The model was cute, and useless, she'd never played before, and the guys, who had played all their lives, were solidly crafted to assist each other, and they pretty much gravitated to helping Rafe.

Because he was their bro... and on the court, the newcomer always had need of proving.

It was time for the Knock-out round.

I told him so, sweat dripping between my breasts, and down my back. His muscle shirt was plastered. His face was glistening. I pushed the wet strands of hair off my forehead and bounced the ball while Rafe explained the contest.

"You get forty-five seconds--- Mutt has a timer. Three pointers are worth five points, free throw line, worth 4 points, second blocks worth two and lay-ups worth one point each. No shooting from the same spot." He pulled the ball bag over to us, and stationed Ben and Jeff and the girl, maybe her name was Cynthia, I'm not sure I understood her through the heavy accent. I nodded.

"Ladies first." Rafe said and motioned for me to take the free throw line to start.

I flourished my hand at him. "Go ahead."

"Ohhhhh!!!" Came from all over the court, laughing followed.

Rafe tossed me the ball. I stepped back to half court, and when Mutt said go, I shot. And I made it. I ran forward, grabbed another ball, and shot, missed, shot again, made it. Forty-five seconds went really fast. I got off fourteen shots for a total of twenty-four points. All the guys were cheering, and Rafe said, in his basketball guy's voice, good job.

And then proceeded to clobber me. He got off eighteen shots, most of them from the free throw or the three point lines, and he made almost all of them. When he was done, the gang had gone crazy for him, and they were all high fiving him. Then—eyes sparkling--- he grabbed me up, swung me around, and rubbed his sweat all over my face.

And all I could say was, "This isn't over!"

He laughed, gave me two low fives, and asked if we all wanted to go another round of three on three, or since Cynthia was sitting down, how about me and Rafe against all three of them. This suited their sense of fairness, and we played hard.

And this is where we actually discovered that Rafe and I made a really intuitive and challenging team.

And we won. You can imagine the yelling, the hoopla, the jumping into his arms and leg wrapping, and then the kisses--- 'cause you can kiss your partner if he's also your fiancé.

Good humor restored, early morning issues forgotten.

"What are you guys planning today?" Ben asked us as we walked back across the sand toward the bungalow.

"We can rent paddle boards. You saw? The wind surfer things? Have you ever been?"

None of us had. But I had managed to sneak in a little research of my own. "I was thinking of renting bikes again, and checking out the Carnival dancers, the lighthouse and the aquatic shows down on the beach. They have the famous mermaid statue as well. Can't come to Mazatlan without seeing the mermaid statue."

"All those things are fairly close, what about renting skateboards?"

"Segways?"

Rafe and I glanced at each other. Segways were so cool, and so---- first date. I wasn't sure I wanted to share that memory with any other memory.

"Skateboards." I said. "But part of the ride is way up hill. The lighthouse is on that mountain top over there." I pointed and they all looked.

"Bikes." Rafe said instantly and we grinned.

"Breakfast first." I said and we ran ahead, to see who could also grab the first shower.

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