The Lady of Lake Lure

Best Day Ever

Photo by Jason Hinrichsen for Unsplash

I spent the night after our loss, unable and unwilling to sleep. Each time I dozed, horrifying moments from the game would invade my dreams like an endless loop of the movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

In the dream, I’m dribbling up the court, I look down at my feet, and my right foot vanishes. I fall and continue falling down this black bottomless pit; the only thing capable of occupying my mind and relieving my mental and physical anguish is the sight, sound, and scent of a beautiful Co-Ed.

Win or lose, Courtney and I had plans to spend the day and night together at her parent’s lake house on Lake Lure. Lake Lure’s claim to fame is where they filmed the popular movie Dirty Dancing starring Patrick Swayze.

We meet up at a spot right off Ledbetter, which my homies, and I dubbed: The Old Stomping Grounds. Don’t ask me how or why, it’s a secluded spot in the woods where you could pull a car or two and park. It’s our hood’s version of Lover’s Lane.

Courtney arrives at noon. I’m already there waiting. The weather is not a typical Small Town Friendly Saturday afternoon in that there’s a light drizzle, and it hardly ever rains here.

I guess even Mother Nature shed a few tears because of our loss. It’s a couple of weeks before Spring Break, so it’s warm out. My…