I was watching tv, basking in the air conditioning and the lazy thrill of a murder-mystery, when the power shut off. The screen went blank with a faint "zap", the blades of the ceiling fan slowed from a frenzied whirl to an ominous stop. Fuck. I extricated my long limbs from the sofa, my slender body clothed only in soccer shorts and a sports bra. The air in the apartment had already gone still and stale, and with a quick glance around, I could tell that it wasn't just one blown fuse.
On bare feet, I walked outside to the front porch, my neighbors up and down the block doing the same. Some just shouted out from their doorways, while others gathered to talk on the sidewalk, but it was clear from the chatter that the whole street had lost electricity. I sighed and leaned over the railing, listening to snatches of conversations nearby, but not joining in. I heard someone say something about a "city-wide blackout", another claimed that they heard on the radio it could be days long. Meanwhile, I was already sweating, rivulets running down the backs of my thighs and between my breasts. I wondered, how long until it will feel cooler outside than in?
My neighbors started to drift away, some to the corner store for ice, others to tune their battery operated radios. I knew I should have been doing something- there are things you're supposed to prepare for when the power goes out, right? Gather flashlights, candles, cold water and ice, cook off the meat, eat all the ice cream before it melts... but the heat bore down on me so heavily that all of that just seemed exhausting and pointless, and... such a bore. I slid into the one lounge chair that I had adorning my porch, and watched some boys from my college start a game of pickup basketball across the street.
They started off playing shirts vs skins, but it wasn't long before they were all shirtless and glistening under the late summer sun. I found myself fixating on a guy I recognized from my sociology class- Alex, I think. Alex was tall and lean-muscled, his arms flexing expertly with each shot at the basket. He smiled at his friends from under a scruffy mop of dark brown hair, his dark eyes sparkling. He moved around the street on the balls of his feet, confident and athletic. I lazily ran my tongue along my lips, feeling my chest tighten ever so slightly. In an uncharacteristic burst of spontaneity, I leapt up from my chair, and shouted across the way at the boys, "Hey! You need a sixth?"
The guys looked at each other- but after a beat, one shouted back, "Yeah, sure!" I jogged down off my porch and onto the street. Good thing I still had my shoes on. The guys looked at me, skeptical but smiling.
"I'm Kayla, by the way," I said. Alex stepped towards me, and I nearly got a head-rush from the scent of sweat and exertion wafting off of him, his t-shirt wet.
"You can be on skins," he said, eyeing my chest rising and falling, clad only in a scanty sports bra. I flushed, but tried to shake it off. Alex threw the ball to me, and the six of us started a new game.
I hadn't played basketball in a long time, but the flow of the game soon came back to me, and I had no trouble side-stepping the boys and scoring some layups. Thirty minutes in, we were all soaked in sweat and exhausted from the heat. The guys were ready to call it a day and try to cool off indoors, and I sensed my chance about to leave me. As his roommates headed inside, I pulled Alex aside. "Hey, you think you could give me some pointers? You seem like you know what you're doing," I said, trying to look cute as I wiped the sweat from my face with the back of my hand.
Alex smiled, "You're asking me for pointers? I should be asking you. You're a beast out there, Kayla". He took a swig from his water bottle. "Smart AND athletic... what else are you good at?"
I was taken aback by his comment. "Oh geez, I didn't think you remembered me from class," I confessed.
