Page 33 of In It to Win It

After lunch, I drive back home, but as I’m passing Marina del Rey, I impulsively take the exit off the 405 that leads to Théo’s place. I have no idea if he and Lacey are even home, but since I’m close, I decide to stop in.

Nobody answers the doorbell, but I hear voices on the beach, so I step onto the sand. Shading my eyes from the sun, I stare across the sand. Yeah, that’s Théo over at one of the volleyball nets. And Lacey. And Taylor.

Damn.

Théo spots me and waves both arms in the air, then gestures for me to come over. I’m not dressed for beach volleyball, in jeans, loafers, and a long-sleeved T-shirt. I lower my sunglasses to my nose, kick off my shoes, and trudge through the soft sand toward them. The sun is bright but not hot, a cool autumn breeze blowing in off the ocean.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Théo calls as I get nearer.

“Not much. Just had lunch with Grandpa and Chelsea, and since I was passing by, I decided to stop in.”

“Cool.” Théo slings an arm around my shoulders. “I’d ask how Grandpa is, but I just saw him yesterday.” He pauses. “And Chelsea. She spent most of the afternoon in Grandpa’s office.”

“Huh. That’s weird.” I like Chelsea, but the rest of the family doesn’t trust her. “She do that often?”

“I’ve seen here there a few times.” Théo shrugs. “Wanna play some volleyball?”

Taylor is on the other side of the net. She’s not wearing a bikini, but even so she looks amazing in a pair of short shorts and a tank top, her legs long and bare. Her volleyball partner is a kid . . . a girl about eight or ten years old. “Looks like you have four players already.”

“You can play with three,” Théo says, meaning I can join Taylor and the girl.

“This is Ava,” Taylor says, setting her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “She lives next door to me.”

“Hi, Ava.”

“Ava, this is JP.”

Ava smiles. “Hi.”

“I’ll just watch,” I say, although I’d definitely rather play.

“I’m not very good,” Ava says, wrinkling her nose. “You can play with Taylor.”

Oh yeah . . . I’d love to play with Taylor.

“You’re just learning,” Taylor objects. “And you’re doing great. You made a great save.”

Ava’s smile beams as she turns her gaze back on Taylor. Cute kid.

“I’ll come over there,” Lacey says, ducking under the net. “Boys against the girls.”

“Okay, then.” I join my brother and we high-five. “Like this is going to be fair,” I mutter to him.

He grins and bends over, hands on his knees.

Taylor has the ball. She moves into position and tosses the ball a couple of times, eyeing us across the net. I smile.

She serves with a graceful arc of her arm and the ball comes toward me. I move with arms outstretched to bump it and it soars back over the net. Lacey gets it, bumping it into the air, and Taylor rushes the net, leaps up, and spikes the ball with vicious force straight into the sand at my feet.

I stare at it.

8

JP

I look up at Taylor,taking in the grin splitting her face, then glance over at Théo. He shrugs.

The girls are all slapping hands.

---