Hook Shot (Hoops 3)

Long lashes drop to cover her eyes before she lifts them to boldly meet mine. “We don’t really know each other,” she says with a little lift of her slim shoulders. “His teammate is married to my cousin. Good to see you again, Kenan.”

It’s the first time I’ve heard her say my name. It’s quiet for a few seconds while the various people in the tight circle slide looks between Lotus and me, no doubt trying to figure out what’s really up.

While I try to figure out what’s really up.

“Good to see you again, too,” I say, forcing a small smile.

“How were Iris and August when you left San Diego?” she asks, snagging a few of the olive hors d’oeuvres from Chase’s small plate.

“Good. Working on the nursery.”

She goes still for a moment, a natural smile curving her mouth, before she turns to her friend Yari who walked her over.

“So how do I convince you to wear my watches, Mr. Ross?” JP asks.

All the attention falls on me. “Let’s play it by ear,” I reply and sip my wine.

“Well, you do have great arms,” JP points out unnecessarily and again. “It’d be total arm porn.”

I wince, because that still just doesn’t sound right.

“You have no idea what that is, do you?” Lotus leans over to whisper. She’s in my space, and she smells fresh and sweet and spicy, like she dabbed drops of her personality at her wrists and behind her knees.

“Um . . . it sounds like some freaky shit.”

She laughs, and it’s the first time her openness, the freedom of who she really is, has been unleashed on me. I’ve seen it from a distance with Iris and her daughter Sarai, but Lotus’s dark eyes shine with humor and her lips twitch even after she’s done laughing.

We don’t have time to go deeper because Keir grabs a mic and verbally herds everyone into the yacht’s main saloon.

“Thank you all for coming tonight,” Keir says, spreading a warm smile around the room. “It wo

uldn’t be a party without one of our legendary games, now would it?”

He and Vale laugh when the crowd lets out a collective, exasperated groan.

“Tonight, in honor of our special guest, Mr. Kenan Ross,” Vale says, gesturing over to me, “we’ll play a new game.”

Not wanting to be the center of attention for long, I offer a brief, probably awkward smile, and hope they’ll get on with it.

“You can thank me later,” I whisper to Lotus once they’ve moved on, taking a chance that the ease which existed a few moments ago might linger.

“You’re a Drake fan?” she asks.

“Huh?” I run the conversation over in my head. Why would she ask me—

Oh, the Drake album, Thank Me Later.

“Not really,” I reply honestly. “I mean he’s aight, but he’s not like top five.”

I’m about to ask for her top five, considering this is the longest she’s ever spoken to me, when the word “kiss” arrests my attention.

“What’d they say?” I turn to ask Lotus, but she’s not there. She’s gone and is standing with Chase and nibbling off his plate. He bends to whisper something in her ear. She shakes her head, starts to walk off, but then steals his plate first before joining Billie and Yari a few feet away.

“He said we’re playing Hook Shot,” Amanda says with a look I think is meant to be sexy.

“Uh . . . that’s a game?”

“Yeah, in your honor. You know the hook shot in basketball, when you—”