Connor put up a shot from the three-point range, and it sank through the net with aswish.
Lamont scowled. “Man, you’re killing me. Something happen today? Your sisters getting on your nerves or something?”
“My sisters are on my nerves twenty-four/seven.” He put a body on Lamont. Had to get up tight on the man. He wasn’t tall, but he was scrappy.
Lamont pivoted, faked him out, and put up a shot. It banked off the board and dropped through.
“Lucky shot.”
“It’s that girl, isn’t it? What, she go back home or something? Leave you all alone and heartbroken?”
Connor grabbed the ball and dribbled out. “She’s still here.”
“Well, something’s eating at you. You haven’t played like this since—”
Connor gave him a dark look. He did not want to talk about the days following Annie’s death. His friend had the good sense to drop it.
Lamont shrugged. “Just saying, man. You’re a hot mess.”
They played in silence for another forty minutes, until Connor was flushed with heat, his lungs full and achy. Lamont had put up a good fight, but Connor had beat him by four. He’d played like a maniac. Too aggressive, though Lamont gave as good as he got. Connor was going to pay for this tomorrow when he rolled out of bed—he wasn’t eighteen anymore.
They headed for the wooden picnic table where they’d left their stuff. Connor sat on top, uncapped his water. His breaths were ragged, his throat so dry he downed the water in one long drink. Squirrels nattered from a nearby tree, and children squealed from the playground equipment. A hot breeze ruffled his hair, stirring up the earthy smell of his own sweat.
“You ever going tell me what’s eating at you, or are we just going to pretend all that”—he nodded toward the court—“didn’t happen.”
Connor wondered if Maddy and Nick were still walking the beach. Had he tried to kiss her? The thought rankled. Connor had wanted to walk the beach with her tonight. Had wanted to kiss her again.
Now she was potentially doing both with her ex-boyfriend. Unreal. The Maddy he knew would sooner slap the guy than kiss him, but there was a lot he didn’t know about Maddy. And she’d admitted her instincts weren’t the best. She’d described Nick as a con artist, and he hated the thought that she might be sucked right back into his web.
“You two have a fight or something?” Lamont asked.
Connor slid him a look. “What’s with all the touchy-feely stuff tonight? Been watching the Hallmark Channel again?”
“Hey, my lady loves that channel—and I love my lady. Can’t fault that logic.”
“Guess not.”
Lamont and Brianna, dating for over a year now, were probably headed for an engagement soon. They were a fun couple. Connor had thought about asking Maddy to double with them sometime soon.
He still felt like trash even after burning off the excess energy. Maybe he did need to talk about this thing with Maddy and Nick. It was eating his lunch, and better Lamont than one of his sisters. He hadn’t even told them he was dating Maddy; they’d never leave him alone about it.
He capped his empty water bottle with a sigh. “So, when I got home tonight, her ex-boyfriend’s car was in her driveway. Her sisters were gone, and she didn’t answer her phone when I called.”
“Huh. He’s not from around here, is he?”
“He’s from Charlotte, like Maddy. Came all the way out here to see her—that can’t be good, right?”
“Give her some credit. He cheated on her, you said. She don’t want none of that.”
Connor wished he could make himself believe that. “That’s what I thought, man. Next thing I know she’s taking a stroll on the beach with him.”
“A stroll on the beach, huh? Well, that could be closure, could be anything, could be nothing.”
Connor pictured the two of them, side by side. “Didn’t look like nothing. Maddy said she hadn’t talked to him since the breakup, then here he is, showing up at her door.”
“You don’t think she was lying about it, do you?”
“No. She wouldn’t do that.”
