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Adonis was still staring up at his father. He slowly lifted his hand and waved at his dad. And for just a second, I saw the little boy version of him. The one from that picture on his wall. The little boy that just wanted attention from his father.

I felt tears welling in my eyes.

“I think this is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Scarlett said.

I nodded. This was the moment I’d been hoping for. I turned to look at Adonis’ father. He wasn’t waving back at Adonis. But he did nod at him. And I was pretty sure that was a win.

Liam had to grab Adonis’ shoulders and push him to the free throw line.

Adonis’ shoulders lifted and fell as he took a deep breath and refocused on the game. He dribbled the ball and sunk his free throw. And did the same with the next.

The people in the stands went nuts. We were now up by double digits and there was less than a minute left.

We’d won.

And everyone knew we’d won.

The other team looked shaken. And I got it. Empire High being good at basketball was not something they’d expected. But Adonis had a way of bulldozing himself into people’s lives. I’d learned to expect the unexpected from him. And now everyone knew that Empire High was freaking boss!

I cheered at the top of my lungs for him and the team as they dribbled the ball around, just keeping it away from the other team.

The buzzer sounded.

I swear me and my friends were the loudest ones in the bleachers.

The coach handed Adonis the championship trophy and then the team lifted Adonis into the air.

I was so happy for him. And even happier that his father had gotten to see him play.

I looked over at Mr. Ariti again. He was clapping along with the cheers. I still couldn’t believe he finally showed up.

Him hating me was worth it. What was important was that he finally showed up for his son.

We all kept cheering and watched as Adonis received a personal trophy for being the MVP of the game.

I was so proud of him.

“Called it,” Axel said.

“So much for your master plan of making him commit social suicide,” Jacob said with a laugh.

I laughed too. I could admit when I was wrong. And I’d been so wrong about Adonis. He’d quickly become my whole world.

The team started making their way into the bleachers to celebrate with their friends and family. I saw my parents pull RJ into a big hug.

Adonis surprised me by running up the bleachers toward me like he always did. I kind of thought he’d go over to his dad. But I wasn’t complaining. I slid past Jacob and jumped into Adonis’ arms, wrapping my legs around his waist.

“You did it!”

He didn’t respond. He just sunk his fingers into my hair and kissed me.

“I am so proud of you, Adonis.”

He smiled against my lips. “I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t trick me into trying out.”

I laughed. “It all worked out.”

His fingers tightened in my hair. “It did.”