He had a point. I sighed.
“I need to text Judge and tell him what happened.”
“Yes, you do.”
10
JUDGE
My phone vibratedin my shorts as I rushed to block Iton, but he smoothly dribbled the basketball around me, coming dangerously close to fouling me as he jammed his shoulder against my chest. Not many people could push me around, but he smirked and made it look easy. The gleaming floorboards of the indoor basketball court at the Vert Island clubhouse squeaked beneath his Under Armour basketball shoes as he took off running at full speed. I could’ve tried to go after him, but he was so much bigger than me that it would’ve taken real effort, and I wasn’t feeling it. I gave his back a middle finger that had Jury laughing.
“Boo, Daughtler, you’re doing a shitty job tonight,” Hill yelled in outrage from behind me. “Get in front of him. Come on. What magic did this guy you’re smashing lay on your dick that you’re doing this to us? We are losing!” Hill bounced around in front of me and shook my arm as I dragged my phone out of my pocket, and his spiral curls bounced and kept me from thinking he was an asshole because they made him look cute.
“You say that like we don’t always lose against Iton.” I winked at him.
“Not by thirty points,” he said miserably, running a hand through his hair.
I shrugged and grinned while he moaned and went to his knees, dramatically pounding the floor. He was doing it half to be funny, but his pride really was tweaked. He had a thing about losing—at anything. Sometimes it got ugly.
Jury bent down to blow a kiss at Hill. “If you want to show off for Iton there are other ways you could do that.” He gave Hill a smarmy wink that had me laughing my ass off, even as I swiped open my phone screen to check the text from Flynn. Warmth flooded my stomach and I tapped my sneakers on the floor.
“Not everyone is gay, man.” Hill slapped his hands on his thighs and continued to pout like a champ.
“I’m not gay, I’m bi.”
Jury flashed Hill a toothy grin, and I stared at him. For once he’d managed to surprise me. “You are?”
“Well, in theory.” He chuckled. “I’ve only been with guys, I like them better.”
“I’m not bi.” I scowled at him. “How are you if I’m not?”
He only laughed as if he thought I was joking—but I wasn’t—and ran away while Hill got up to chase him around the court. Iton had swished the ball through the hoop farthest away from us and the other guys we were playing with turned to glare in our direction, but we’d lost this game. It didn’t matter what we did at this point.
“Let’s shuffle the players and try again!” Gibson Willoughby yelled at us. He was an inch or two shorter than Hill, but he loved to play and he’d joined our pickup game tonight, along with a few of his friends. He’d arrived in high school the year Jury and I graduated, and I thought maybe he had a long-haul crush going on because he blasted his dimples in Jury’s direction every chance he got, trying to get his attention. It sucked to be Gibson, though, because I suspected he was wasting his time. Jury had been asking me when we were visiting the library again, so he had his sights set elsewhere.
“Yeah, sure!” I called. “Let’s do it!”
There was some whooping and clapping as everyone argued over the best way to make the game even, and I was happy to have a minute to check my phone in peace.
Judge:Want to mess around in the back seat of my car later?
I smirked as I read over my last text message. Flynn had gotten roped into some crap at school, and even though he was busy I’d wanted him to know I was more than ready to stand and deliver—at any hour of the day or night.
Rookie:Hell, I would love to, but I got dragged into drinks with the staff. Will it be too late if I text you when we’re finished? It might be after midnight.
Snorting, I shook my head.
Judge:If I’m asleep I won’t answer, so never hesitate to text. I’ll get to you as soon as I wake up. But your Sir will wait up for you, so no worries.
Dots appeared and disappeared several times and I had to grin. I loved that he was debating what to say to me, or maybe just taking his time to answer. It meant I’d gotten to him.
“Daughtler, can you focus!” Hill barked from center court. “I want to win at least one game!” I huffed out a laugh and waved at him. He was such a raging pain in the ass but still managed to be cute with his arms crossed and face contorted in frustration. I held my breath and finally my phone vibrated; I got the message I wanted.
Rookie:Thank you, Sir.
Chuckling, I stuffed my phone in my pocket and sprinted to the center line. Jury slapped my back with a grin. “Are things okay? You have big new relationship energy, and I thought we might lose you for a few months. I’ve never seen you so up someone’s butt....” He frowned and sighed. “Yeah, whatever. You’re stuck on him.”
“He’s just busy tonight.” I flipped off my brother, and he snickered.
