He laughed, and his brown eyes lit up over the enjoyment of this walk down memory lane as much as hers.
More like a run than a walk, and damn it all, it was exactly what she needed in her life.
A man to make her feel like a kid again. To have her laughing like she once remembered while doing something she loved as a teen and didn’t get the chance to do anymore.
Not like this. When she played with Archer, she held back, but with Jayce, she went full on.
Though she was positive he was going light on her, and she didn’t want that.
He moved to the right, she countered it, he shifted to the left, she blocked him. “You’re playing hard,” he said.
“That’s the way we always did it,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows, her hat back on her head to keep her hair out of her face. “Just seeing if I’ve still got it. You’re not going toletme win in front of my son, are you? Because I don’t want that.”
The smile never left his handsome face as he backed up two feet and jumped up and sent the ball to the backboard where it hit perfectly to land through the net for three points.
“Now why would I do that?”
“Come on, Mom. You can beat him.”
They went back and forth for twenty minutes, the lead changing after every possession. If one missed, the other did, if one scored, the other did.
“How high are we going?” he asked. “You and I could be here all night if we keep this up.”
“Most fun I’ve had in ages,” she said. “But I think Archer is getting bored.” She looked over at her son as Jayce sent the ball back to her.
Jayce turned to see Archer sitting on the bench watching them, then looking down at his sneakers and back up.
“Why don’t we call it a draw and let your son play? We are tied now anyway.”
“Are you sure? I know how much you like to win.”
“No more than you, but I’m good with it. We can have a few games of HORSE.”
“He’d like that,” she said. “Thanks.”
Farrah held her hand up for him to slap it. The heat of his palm touching hers again sent flames through her body as it’d done when they were teens.
They’d never had sex, though she knew he wanted to. She wasn’t ready and he didn’t pressure her.
She’d had this fear in her head that she was losing her heart to him and wanting him to be her first, but she also knew he was leaving for college.
No way their relationship would have lasted that first year; she knew it as well as him. They both talked about experiencing life and enjoying their time away from home.
She wouldn’t tie him to her when she felt as if she wanted to do the same.
As much as it hurt, it was the right thing to do in her eyes. Let him be as free as her and remain friends the rest of their senior year.
Seemed it worked.
“Join us, Archer,” Jayce said. “You get first shot.”
“Sweet,” Archer said, jumping off the bench and running toward them and snatching the ball out of Jayce’s hand.
Her son went to the free throw line, his favorite shot, took it and banked it off the backboard. She went next, made the shot, then Jayce.
They kept the shots somewhat easy while Archer was in, but once he was out, it was back down to her and Jayce again.
Each had one more shot left to miss and lose.
