NBA Alphabet One-Shots

bet - bradley beal

for kingsmaria
_____

"Maria? Quick question."

"Hm?" Maria hummed in response to her longtime boyfriend, Bradley Beal, with her mind in a different place.

He was driving them to the arena for his home game occurring later that evening. While the two had been sitting in a comfortable silence, the Washington Wizards guard decided to bring up a topic commonly on his mind.

Bradley continued staring at the road, clenching his jaw in anticipation. "How would you feel if I proposed to you?"

His words quickly snapped her back into reality. She froze at his sudden question. Although this was the first time Bradley had confronted her straight-up about proposing, he had been dropping her hints recently.

"Brad..." She reached over and squeezed his right hand, which was resting in between the couple. Whenever Bradley had hinted at their future, Maria would counter by saying that she wasn't ready for marriage yet.

What frustrated Bradley about her statements was that she never explained why she didn't feel prepared for him to propose. The two had been dating for two years, and it was undeniable that they were utterly in love, so Bradley couldn't think of any reason why she wasn't eager for him to propose.

He sighed dejectedly. "Is it something I'm doing? On God, I'll fix every single thing I'm doing wrong if that's what it takes for me to propose."

His words nearly broke Maria's heart.

In fact, it wasn't anything Bradley was doing. The young woman knew she would be thrust into the limelight once the public got a hold of the news—and frankly, she was scared. Maria was always a private person, so it sounded more appalling than appealing to her that people would try to get an inside scoop of her private life.

"I promise, it's not you," she replied honestly, taking a deep breath and gazing out the passenger window. She prepared to speak earnestly about why she didn't want him to propose. She twiddled her fingers, nervous that he would be mad at her trivial reservation.

"It's just—When you came into the NBA, were you nervous about all the attention you'd get?"

Bradley pursed his lips in an understanding about where Maria was heading with her question. "Ah, I get it now."

He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, thinking about the right words to say. He turned to give her an earnest glance. "You're worried that the NBA lifestyle and media attention might get a little crazy once we're married. But you gotta understand, you can't just avoid it. And for what it's worth, yeah, I was. But look how my life's turned out," he grinned. "I'm one of the stars on a team with one of my closest friends, I'm dating the love of my life, and now I couldn't give a damn about what the news says about me."

Maria didn't reply, leading Bradley to think she wasn't totally convinced.

He paused. "Babe, don't you trust me?" He jutted out his bottom lip in an pout, causing Maria to giggle at her adorable boyfriend.

"Of course I do," she replied lightheartedly, leaning over to squeeze his cheek teasingly. "In all honesty, I would love it if you proposed to me. I'm just on the fence right now."

He nodded and remained silent. The space between the two once again became silent as he pulled into the arena parking lot and stopped the car. As the two got out of his car, an idea began forming in Bradley's mind.

Bradley suddenly jerked his hand in the air. "Bet."

"Huh?" Maria asked in obvious confusion.

"You heard me," Bradley challenged with a light chuckle. "If I score at least thirty-eight tonight, you have to let me propose."

"I guess that's fine with me, but thirty-eight? Isn't that a career high?" Maria questioned. Bradley nodded. "No offense, Brad," she hesitated, "You haven't really been playing that well for the past week. Are you sure that's what you want me to bet on?"

He rolled his eyes teasingly. "Damn, my girl's cold-blooded."

She kissed him then took his hand before they moved inside the building. "Well, for your sake, you better hope you're more cold-blooded."

_____

The home crowd buzzed in euphoria. The Washington Wizards were about to win in a thrilling game, and Bradley Beal, one of their star players, was about to shoot two free throws to ice the game.

Maria glanced overhead at the box score to see how many points Bradley scored, although she secretly had been keeping track of his points all throughout the game.

Thirty-six points. Two more made free throws and he would have a new career-high, and two more made free throws and he would be able to propose to her.

Although she previously said she was unsure if she wanted Bradley to propose, her cheers were the loudest in the arena when Bradley made the first free throw.

Thirty-seven.

By now, Maria was sure. She wanted Bradley to reach thirty-eight points. She wanted Bradley to propose.

"Make it, Brad, make it," she muttered quietly. Her heart beat wildly as Bradley released his second free throw.

The ball spun around the rim once, twice, and Maria's heart dropped.

Miss. The final buzzer rang and cheers erupted around the building.

The Wizards won the game, Maria won the bet, and neither Bradley nor Maria could have been more downtrodden.

Bradley immediately made eye contact with Maria after the game and walked towards her seat.

"Hey," he simply said, taking both of her hands in his once he reached her. Both showed evident disappointment, even without the use of words.

Maria spoke up. "Forget it."

"What?"

"The bet. I don't care that you didn't score thirty-eight, Bradley. I don't care if the media tries to invade my private life. I'm sure of it now. If you propose to me, I'll say yes, no hesitation."

A large grin instantly spread across Bradley's face. "Well, that's perfect, because that would have been awkward if I did this and you didn't want me to."

Maria narrowed her eyes, puzzled at what Bradley's words meant.

Then, he got down on one knee and moved the hand he had been hiding behind his back. He revealed a small ring box and opened it.

"Maria, will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Beal?"

She covered her mouth in shock, her eyes shining happily. "You bet I will."