Oh, and the guy with the girl who insulted mine.
The ball slaps hard against my palms. I attempt to shake the fog from my head, but every time I try to focus…
Nicole has to be my favorite person.
And that realization hits harder than any crush ever has.
“Ball, Neelson!” Jayden’s voice snaps me out of it just in time to see the pass headed straight for my face. I snatch it with one hand, and Jayden cocks a brow. “You sure you’re here, man?”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” My sarcasm falls flat, and Jayden just shrugs.
Stop. Thinking. About. Nicole.That’ll just have to be my mantra for the next two hours.
“I think it’s cool you’re giving her a chance,” Jayden’s voice comes back, and I’m not completely sure I heard him right.
“What?” I pass the ball back to him.
He catches it. “You know, with the money her old man has, it makes total sense why you’d want to be with her. She might have a bad reputation after that whole skincare catastrophe, but at least she’s ho—”
I cut him off with a hard shove to the chest. “You need to keep my girl out of your mouth.”
Jayden stumbles back, caught by such surprise that he actually trips over himself and falls. “Hey, I didn’t mean anything by it… You know how women are… I just…”
“Find another woman to talk about. Leave mine alone.” I ignore the way all the rest of the team has stopped to stare and sweep up the ball and jog back to my place.
I expect to get in trouble, but Coach simply eyes me with intrigue and then blows his whistle. “Again! We leave for Texas this weekend, and I need ateam!” he shouts. “Let’s do it again. Same partners.”
Jayden shoots me a weird look as he stands to his feet and shakes his head. He gets back in place, and this time, I feel more confident and focused.Maybe I just needed to let out some steam.
“I didn’t mean to insult you,” Jayden huffs as we start moving again. “I guess I didn’t realize how much she meant to you. Most of the guys on the team don’t really take relationships seriously.”
I nod, understanding the type. “Yeah, that’s just not me.”
His face flashes with something genuine. “That’s cool. I totally respect that. I wanna be that way, but you know…” His voice trails off. “It feels like I gotta put on a mask to fit in.”
“I know what you mean,” I affirm, passing the ball for the last time.
“Cool.” He smiles, placing the ball under his arm as we trot over to join the rest of the team. “I like you, Texas.”
We all circle up around Coach, and I wipe the sweat from my face, feeling energized despite the physical fatigue.
“You want to win games in this league, you communicate,” Coach barks, eyes bouncing between us all. “You move as a unit, and I think that’s something we need to work on. Let’s see what we can do.”
He splits us into teams for a scrimmage, choosing selectively for each team. Marcus and I end up on opposite sides, which always gets competitive fast. We set up, and the gym fills with the sound of squeaking sneakers and our momentary shouts. On the first possession, I attack the closeout, plant, and go for a floater.
It clangs off the rim.
Marcus grabs the rebound, grinning. “Nice fail, Texas.”
“Ha ha,” I say dryly, and try to shake it off as the game keeps going.
At the other end of the court, I get beat on a switch and I’m down, sprawled on the hardwood, staring at the gym lights above me. For a few beats, I consider just staying on the floor.Maybe they’ll just keep playing around me.
But the next play is up already, and Coach is yelling, so I scramble up and get back to work.
We run a fast break, and Jayden shouts, “Trailer!”
I’m late, but I put my head down and hustle anyway. The ball finds its way to my hands at the top of the key, and finally, I don’t overthink it. I just shoot.
