Coach was right. Over the last twenty-four hours, I’d scrolled through every post, comment, and headline. They all said the same thing—that I was brave. As if I’d done something heroic and hadn’t reacted on impulse, unsure of what the hell I was doing.
I didn’t feel brave. In that moment, all I’d felt was fear. Well, and something else I didn’t want to name.
A knock came at the door.
“Come in,” Coach said.
West stuck his head in. “We’ve got twenty, James.”
Coach nodded. “You know what to do.”
“Yes, sir.” I shut the door behind me.
West’s brow furrowed. “What the hell was that about?”
West was one of the few people I considered a real friend. I got along with almost everyone, but when it came to close friends, I kept my circle tight. Funny enough, he actually grew up in Shadow Ridge—just outside Woodstone—and was a few years older than me. We never crossed paths until we ended up on the San Francisco Rebels together.
“I might’ve gotten myself into a little…pickle,” I said.
“A pickle? What the fuck does that mean?”
“You remember what happened a couple of months ago?” I asked. “When my brother’s girlfriend’s ex tried to kidnap him and Ellie Miles?”
He tugged at his shoulder pads as his brown hair fell messily over his forehead with that same arrogant grin he always had. “Kind of hard to forget.”
“Well…during all of that, I kind of…kissed Ellie?” I winced. “As a distraction, and now, the body cam footage is out for everyone and anyone’s viewing pleasure.”
He blinked. “Hold up. You kissed Ellie Miles?”
“Uh…” I scratched the back of my neck. “Yeah. I did.”
“Holy shit, dude. Nice. She’s hot.”
I punched him in the shoulder. “Don’t talk about her like that.”
“Oh, big SJ kissed his crush, huh?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
I didn’t know what it was. Her voice, her goddamn eyes, her kindness to the world. Whatever it was, it had me in a chokehold for years.
“So, the world’s shipping you two now…or did she slap you after?” He pulled out his phone. “Wait, don’t tell me. I wanna see for myself. How have I not heard about this until now?”
I snatched the phone from his hand, but he quickly stole it back.
“She’s gonna be here tonight,” I said.
“Oh, hell yeah. You should blow her a kiss or something. Really get ‘em going. You know how many fans we’ll pull if you get the Ellie Miles crowd behind us? Those fans go hard. I wouldn’t mind seeing a few of them in the stands.” He winked.
“You’re an asshole.”
“Hey, at least I’m not going around kissing pop stars for funsies.”
I glanced down to see his phone playingthatmoment.
Great.
“It was to save—you know what? Never mind. Let’s just get out there and play a good game.”
