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shots from the free-throw line, which she made.
    The final score of the first game was 15 to 21. Under Kathryn’s insistence that she could, indeed, beat Sam, they played a second one. She lost that one 8 to 21. She did manage, however, to get off two beautiful three pointers. After the second game, they sat courtside and rested. They were both sweating, and Kathryn longed to touch his glistening body. The very physical basketball game had only enflamed her need for him. He had such control over his physical presence; she had to see how that would translate to more horizontal games where body checks were most definitely allowed.
    “I have to say,” Sam took a long drink from his water bottle, “that you are actually pretty good.”
    “See, I told you. I wasn’t trash talking for nothin'. I got skillz.” Kathryn wiped the sweat off of her forehead with a towel.
    Sam laughed. “Yeah, okay. You still lost. In fact . . .” he smirked, “I kicked your ass.”
    “Yeah well, you’ve also got seven inches and about 100 more pounds over me, so I wouldn’t be too quick to brag.”
    “Whatever. I know that I’ll be having the steak and lobster combo for lunch.”
    Kathryn punched him in his solid shoulder. It was like punching a rock.
    Sam feigned injury. “Ow! Violent.” He raised one eyebrow. “I kind of like it.”
    Kathryn was at a loss for words. She was overwhelmed by his sexy flirtation, so she just winked. Sam smiled and stood up. He offered his hand to her. “Ready to go? I’m starving.”
    Kathryn took his hand, and he helped her off the floor, pulling her into him. “Yeah, I’m ready,” she said softly. Ready for quite a few things other than food. Sam gave her a swift pat on the butt, smiled, and picked up his stuff. “I’ll meet you out front.” He headed for the men’s locker room.
    Kathryn stood speechless, watching his beautiful form stride across the court. Cold shower. Definitely a cold shower. She went to get ready for a lunch she did not mind paying for.
    ***
    They ended up going to a deli in Kathryn’s neighborhood, so she didn’t have to pay for lobster and steak. Instead, Sam had a roast beef sandwich, and she had turkey. Kathryn's appetite for sex had so dominated her senses that she didn’t realize until the first bite that she was actually hungry for food as well.
    Like the previous night, the conversation was fun, sexy, and natural. They didn’t run out of things to talk about, shifting easily from work to politics to favorite movies and music. Then, the conversation turned personal.
    “So, tell me about your family.”
    Kathryn shrugged. “Not much to tell. My parents died when I was 13.”
    A look of genuine concern crossed Sam’s face. “What happened?”
    “Car accident,” Kathryn said nonchalantly.
    “Were you in the car?”
    “No. I was at school at the time. They got rear-ended by a semi. Died immediately.” Kathryn took another bite of her sandwich.
    Sam studied her face for a moment. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t seem very . . . um . . .”
    “Sad about it?” Kathryn interrupted. Sam nodded. She shrugged. “It was a long, long time ago.”
    Sam was silent for moment. Then he asked, “Do you have any siblings?”
    “Nope. Only child.”
    “So what happened after your parents died?”
    “I went to live with my grandmother. She died when I was in college.” Kathryn never had a reason to tell anyone about her background because she didn’t really have any friends, and questions about whether or not your parents are alive or dead never come up in casual conversation. After speaking it out loud, Kathryn could see that her story may sound somewhat sad to others. She had suffered so much loss so long ago that it seemed like another lifetime. She so rarely thought about it that she had almost forgotten about it. She decided to shift the conversation.
    “So what about you? Mom? Dad? Siblings?”
    “Um, a mother, yes. An older