Page 10 of Foul Line

I slip right out onto the beach from my small porch and then skirt around the water’s edge toward the treeline. I wave at a couple of the guys who are just now packing up their stuff to head back to their cabins. They’re both juniors and live down state, so the only time we see one another is at this camp. At the edge of the treeline, a figure comes into view. For a second, my heart beats hard in my chest. From far away like this, the shadow looks tall and menacing, so I wonder if it’s Hayes paying me another visit to try to prevent me from going to the bonfire. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the Ballers showing up. Chase asked me to come right in front of Ryan and Hayes. If they wanted to, they could be dicks and show up to ruin this for me just like they ruined everything for me last year.

When I get closer, I realize it isn’t Hayes though. It’s Chase. “Thought you’d like an escort.”

Damn. He really is sweet. I happen to really like his sister, too. Anyone else would’ve gotten pissed at me when a bunch of assholes kicked the crap out of their brother because of me, but not her. She knew where to place the blame. The only people who control the Ballers is themselves.

I smile at Chase as he approaches. He’s not as tall as the Ballers. He and I are almost the same height, though he does have that sporty build I like. He’s also not an asshole. That should put a bunch of hash marks in the positive column, but I don’t know. Chase is nice, but that’s just about all there is, I think.

I follow him down the small wooded path that leads to the other beach in front of where the lacrosse players’ cabins are. Camp Holly is normally a camp for younger kids, but guys like my dad and the lacrosse players can rent it out for weeks at a time. One year, a group of girl scouts had the neighboring set of cabins. I swear their favorite pastime was showing up to ogle the guys when we played on the outdoor court. Not that I blamed them, but they seemed a little too young to be checking out hot guys to me.

“My sister says hi,” Chase says, his smooth voice interrupting my thoughts.

“Yeah? You told her you saw me here?”

He chuckles a little. “I don’t know if you noticed, but she’s shipping us hardcore. I think she has a bit of a girl crush on you herself, so she’s projecting it onto me.”

I run my hands through my hair, pulling it over my shoulder. I left it down today, so there’s a lot of it. Mostly, I’m just trying to avoid him talking about us as anything more than friends. “It must be nice to have a sister or any sibling for that matter.”

He shrugs. “I guess I never thought about it before. I don’t know any other way.”

We break through the trees, and immediately, I see the fire lighting up the darkness ahead. Shadowy figures surround it, some sitting right in the sand, some standing. I don’t think we’ve ever done anything like this at basketball camp. Then again, I wouldn’t be invited if they had, so for all I know, they could’ve enjoyed all-out parties with me sleeping in my cabin completely unaware.

I bite my lip and move forward with Chase. His shoulder bumps mine when we walk, which reminds me of the short dance we shared at homecoming. Part of me wonders why I don’t like Chase. I look over at him, staring at his squared jaw, athletic build. He’s good looking. He truly is. But he doesn’t make my heart race like…well, like any of the Ballers. I know that’s dumb and sick, but I can’t control the way my body reacts.

He catches me looking at him and smiles wide. “I’m glad you decided to come. If you didn’t show, I was going to drag you out of your cabin. I half expected one of those assholes to lock you inside.”

I laugh out loud, but he’s probably right. At least, they would have when they had the claiming order in place. Back then, I would’ve wanted to stay with them, too. Now, they can go fuck themselves. “Thanks for inviting me. As ridiculous as this sounds, I’ve never been to a bonfire on the beach.”

His mouth drops. “Seriously?” His eyebrow raises. “How are you so sheltered, Tessa Dale? It doesn’t make any sense.”

I’ve often wondered the same thing myself. Anyone else would have taken advantage of the fact their father is wealthy and connected due to being a pro basketball player. I’ve never felt the need, for whatever reason. I shrug in response. “Just a good girl, I guess.”

By the time I answer, we’re at the bonfire. Chase leads me to an open space with a log big enough for two people to sit. He lets me sit first, then joins me. Our thighs brush. Nothing. No goosebumps. No dry mouth. Other than the fact that I recognize how good looking he is, I don’t feel anything from the innocent touch.

This is utter crap. I don’t know how, but it’s all the Ballers’ fault. They’ve ruined me.

One of Chase’s teammates starts talking to me about basketball, which turns into a conversation about our worst sports injuries. I’ve been pretty lucky in that department, but some of these guys…damn. I wouldn’t want to be them. I find myself rubbing my knees and silently praying for them to stay strong. My dad always says that the best way to avoid injury is to eat healthy and stay moving, even during the off-season. I’m not saying I don’t eat the occasional ice cream, but I do run and weight lift year-round for this exact reason.

The conversation eventually moves on, and I find myself staring into the orange and red flames, watching them flicker into the night sky. I’m enjoying myself, I realize. This time with the lacrosse players is giving me a slight reprieve before camp begins tomorrow and it starts being all about basketball all the time.

I pull my phone out and check the time. I can’t be out too late because we have an early day tomorrow. After breakfast, it’s straight into an early morning run with one of the coaches leading. Camp is how I got into my long-distance running habit. With Dad, we only worked on shorter distances, a mile tops. Here, I found that I liked the solitude of running more miles, listening to music, and just dreaming. It’s my favorite time to think about what it’ll be like in college, pro, and even the years after.

“Can I ask you a question?” Chase asks.

I blink away my thoughts and look over at him. “Sure. What’s up?”

“You never really answered my question before…about going on a date. The assholes answered for you.”

My stomach sinks. I rub my hands together. It would be so much easier if I just liked Chase. He’s from Rockport. He’s another athlete, so he would get my obsession with basketball. There’s nothing there though. I give him a small smile, my gut roiling at the same time. I can’t let Chase think that something might come of this. It’s not fair. “I think I just need friends right now,” I tell him, and it’s the definite truth. I tried to be more with Alec and Sloan and look where that got me. I never thought in a million years they’d betray me like they did, but here we are.

“They really did a number on you, didn’t they?”

The only people he could mean are the Ballers, but I still don’t want to talk about them. The whole backstory makes me sound weak. I place my elbows on my knees and prop my head up in my palms. “It’s over,” I say cryptically. “We’re not in Rockport anymore, so they don’t have a say in what I do. They can’t force me to do anything anymore.”

Chase scratches his cheek, then turns toward me with a look I don’t immediately recognize. “It was more than just control over basketball, Tessa. Guys don’t beat up another guy just because. They knew I was there to see you, and they were jealous.”

A couple of them, maybe. Alright, Ryan, too. He straight up admitted it to me. But, honestly, with him, I think it’s more of a control thing than an actually like me thing. If he liked me, why didn’t he ever try anything with me like Sloan and Alec? “I don’t know.”

He smirks. “I’m a dude, Tessa. I know jealousy when I see it, and they were all consumed by it. Trust me. I didn’t realize the entire basketball team liked you.”

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