Swish

.07

I was way too single for this.

My ex was snuggling up next to my cousin while Kara and my dad were making googly eyes at each other from across the table (what was going on with them anyway?!) while one of the most gorgeous men I'd ever laid eyes upon in person (no matter how fuck-boy his looks might have been) was sitting directly beside me.  So close it was almost like there was an invisible electromagnetic field pulsing and vibrating between us, moving and twitching and sparking like a living and breathing entity.

Or maybe I was just imagining things.  He couldn't have possibly felt those sparks between us.  Nope.  Not at all.

My foot wouldn't stop bouncing incessantly underneath the table, and at one point my knee jerked violently making the table shake with its movement.

Sara eyed me like I was losing what was left of my mind, but my mind most definitely wasn't focused on Sara, or anyone else in the room besides the infuriatingly gorgeous basketball player directly to my right.

As if the world wasn't cruel enough, the deities above just had to give him the most breathtaking looks, exquisite height, unparalleled athletic talent (abs crafted from god's paintbrush, might I add) and to top it all off, a demeanor fashioned from hell.  It was a strange dichotomy, someone so beautiful it hurt to look directly at them, yet when they opened their mouth the only thing they could do was insert their foot into it, and not in the literal way, though that would have been preferable to the way he'd spoken the previous time we'd ever come into contact.

"So do you plan on staying in college, or deferring for the draft once May rolls around?"

I was pulled out of my stupor by my aunt Kara's question, glad that I'd been staring at my uneaten plate of spaghetti and not directly into Eli's face.  Talk about awkward. 

"My parents want me to continue college, see if we can make it to the final four at least of the NCAA Championship by the time I'm a senior, but I don't know if that's the best route for me, ma'am.  Our odds of making it are pretty slim but I plan on seeing the season through and reevaluating at the end of the school year."

"Well that's very conservative of you.  Most men in your position would have immediately jumped at the chance for the draft.  It's good to know Mike's first protege has a good head on his shoulders."

I almost snorted at my aunt's praise of Eli.  He might have been smart about basketball, but he definitely didn't know a thing about manners unless he was around people who could do something for him in his industry.  When it came to the 'normal folk' it was obvious where his charms fell flat, and I'd only found that out because I'd lied about who my father was when we'd first met.  I was glad that I'd unearthed his true colors sooner, rather than later. 

"Thank you ma'am.  And thank you for inviting me to dinner tonight, this all looks delicious."

I rolled my eyes, piercing a meatball on the end of my fork and then scraping it back against my plate when I decided I didn't want it to travel the distance from the table to my mouth.  I wasn't so hungry, all of a sudden.  Not with all of the over stimulation going on.

Sara and Jared were in their own little loved up world making me want to vomit.  I had no idea what was going on with my dad and my aunt, and being sat next to Eli Shepherd was more than nerve-racking.  

"Virginia?"

"Yes?"

I met my father's concerned eyes across the table. 

"I've called your name twice.  I told you that you need to get that zoning out under control, especially if you want to do well in school.  I was asking you how you were liking all of your classes so far?"