Winner Takes All

Chapter Five ✘ Golden Boy

"As you make me dance,
in the middle of the street,
On the hardwood floor, we should be asleep."
Wow - Zara Larrson

"Oh my god he's hot. Who is that?" Faith asks, her eyes on Jace, who's now warming up with his team on their side of the court.

His white basketball tank shows off his toned arms that I didn't see the first time I saw him because of the jersey he was wearing. Both of his arms have almost full sleeves of tattoos, running from his shoulders to the back of his hands, and even on his fingers. I wonder why I didn't notice the ones on his hand that day at class. He also has a few on his calves, but he's too far away for me to interpret what exactly they all are. I bet he has tattoos on his chest and back as well. He's tatted almost everywhere.

Annoyingly enough, they look fucking great on him.

"Jace Parker." Maya responds to Faith, a tinge of admiration in her voice. "Leading scorer in the entire league, won MVP last year, and probably this year too. CSU's ultimate golden boy."

"Golden boy?" Faith echoes questioningly.

"Mhm. He's academically smart too, and his entire family comes from a chain of successful professional basketball players, and his position in the team brings CSU tons of attention, funds and credit." Malia explains.

"Hot, smart, and talented as fuck? Sign me up." Bella sighs, fanning herself dramatically.

I roll my eyes. "Easy tiger. Remember Micah?"

"Yes yes." Bella waves a hand in dismissal. "Micah may be number ten on the court, but he's number one in my heart." She winks, and the rest of us immediately burst into hysterics, laughing and hooting at her comment.

"Bella, you crack me up." Faith chuckles, rubbing her cheeks.

"It's starting, guys." Maya says, catching all of our attention.

I turn towards the court, and sure enough, the two teams are now in the middle of the court, waiting for the jump ball. Jace and Micah stand facing each other, being the tallest from their teams, so they'll be taking the jump ball. That's when I spot Nathan as well, standing behind Micah wearing white, meaning he's a part of Jace's team.

The referee comes in between Jace and Micah, and holds the ball above them in the air, pausing for a moment, before blowing the whistle and throwing the ball upwards. Jace and Micah jump up simultaneously, attempting to catch the ball, and Jace manages to smack it in the direction of his teammates. Everyone around me bursts into action, cheering and screaming for their supporting teams. My eyes follow Jace, simply impressed by the way he's playing. His stance is powerful, every move he made is well throughout and strong. He's fast, quick on his feet and hands.

"Beast on the court, and off." Malia sighs, and I found myself internally agreeing, but only about the 'on the court' part.

Jace's team is now playing offence, trying to get past their opponents and get a score. Nathan is now handling the ball, and he seems to be struggling to get past defence. Jace waves his hands in the air, trying to get his attention, and when he finally does, Nathan passes the ball to him. Jace catches the ball midair, and dribbles it by his side, protecting it from the risk of being stolen by an opponent.