Page 12 of Foul Line

Chase waves at his friends and then he and I walk along the sand again until we hit the trees. I’m almost scared to look back, but since I don’t hear anything, I allow myself to. Hayes is no longer at the bonfire. He’s not following us either. I don’t know where he is.

I let myself relax a little. Chase, too, lets out a breath. “That was fun. Serves that fucker right. He’s got a hell of a right hook.”

I almost feel sick. For whatever reason, I can’t picture Hayes hitting Chase. Hayes, who barely talked to me before, punched Chase for me. I just can’t reconcile it in my mind. “I’m sorry about that. The other guys must’ve roped him into it.”

Chase shakes his head at me again. “Are you sure you’re not supposed to wear glasses? I think you’re the only one who can’t see.”

I bite down on my lip. Maybe I don’t have any idea what’s going on. The moment I think it’s something else, my mind takes me back to what Sloan said to me before:“Don’t pretend you know what’s going on here because you have no idea.”

7

Chase and I don’t say much when we get to my cabin. I’m too wrapped up in my own head trying to untangle my thoughts. The Ballers gave me up when Lake asked. I don’t see how the situation can be any clearer than that, so why the hell is Hayes showing up at the bonfire and demanding someone get off me? They haven’t spoken to me in months. They’re the reason I didn’t play any minutes for the rest of the fucking basketball season. That alone should make me hate them.

But at the same time, I’ve always felt like me and them are the same. Cut from the same cloth. Made from the same stuff. Maybe if they weren’t basketball players, I would hate them.

I honestly don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me.

Chase says he’ll see me tomorrow. I give him a small wave, then turn to unlock my door, except it’s already unlocked.What the hell?

Bringing out my phone, I check the time. It’s barely even ten yet—so much for being excited to break curfew. Whoever unlocked my door isn’t one of the coaches looking to get people in trouble. I fling the door open to find Hayes standing in the middle of the small room, silhouetted in the dark. “Jesus Christ, Hayes,” I whisper yell. “What are you doing?”

The door bangs closed behind me, and I turn on the overhead light. His expression looks so much harsher here than in the subdued light of the campfire.

“How’d you even get in here?”

Disregarding my questions, he asks, “Do you like him?”

I drop my head back. Of course he would want me to answer his question before he answers mine. “What if I did?”

“You don’t.”

“What if I did?”

“But you don’t, do you?”

I tilt my chin in the air. “Maybe I could grow to like him.”

He moves forward. I back up against the door until he’s towering over me. His blue eyes are so intense, I’m suddenly caught up in a Hayes tornado of emotion. Everything he says and does seems heightened because he’s quiet and still most of the time. When he moves, it’s noticeable. When he speaks, it’s as if his words are coming straight through a megaphone. “Tessa,” he says. He grabs my hands in his. “I’m sorry. I’ll keep saying it until you believe it. I’ll keep trying to prove it to you. I should’ve told Lake to fuck off that night. I wanted to.”

I swallow. “You…you like me like that?”

He presses his lower half into mine. The fact that he’s turned on is apparent. A chill shoots up my spine.Hayes…

“But you like me?” I press. “You don’t just want to…” I shake my head. “You don’t just want to do things with me?”

He turns his head, his brows pulling together. I move out of his grasp and away. “You know all about Alec and Sloan. That’s all they wanted.” I face him again, my hands on my hips. “That’s not me, Hayes. I don’t let just anyone touch me. I’ve learned my lesson.”

He closes his eyes. When he opens them again, there’s a certain amount of torture there. “I wish you could see inside my head. Words have never been my thing.” He points toward the closed door. “If you knew how badly I wanted to rip that fucker’s arm away from you, maybe you’d understand. Or the fact that you’re so pretty it hurts. Or if you knew why I hung out outside your house for two weeks straight. I’ve been trying to show you, Tessa. And I’m trying to tell you now. You said you wanted words. I’m trying. I’m sorry.” His last proclamation is said with so much force that I suck in a breath.

I sit back on my bed, the mattress cushioning my fall. I hold my head in my hands. This camp was just supposed to be about basketball. I’m supposed to try my best. I’m supposed to kick their asses on the court. Not this. Not in a million years did I think I would be back in this position with one of the Ballers. I squeeze my eyes closed until stars appear, then relax. “I can’t do this right now, Hayes. I’m fucked up in the head. I’m…I don’t know. I obviously don’t know anything anymore.”

The floor creaks underneath him. I peek up to find him coming closer. His face is pinched and tinged in worry. “I have no right to ask you this. I don’t deserve any of it, but please, Tessa, don’t push me away. I’ll wait right beside you. I’ll keep apologizing. I’ll be your friend, but don’t tell me to go away. I did that once and it broke me.”

I’m trembling. The power of his words, the force of my feelings. My brain is trying to combat my body, so I’m lost in the middle, not knowing what to do. All it does is shake in response. “Lake,” I force out. Just that one word, and it makes my previously mush body turn to steel. I straighten my shoulders and look up into his eyes.

“I’ve about had it with fucking Lake,” he says. He clenches his jaw, like that one sentence was so hard for him to admit. “He’s one of my best friends, but that’s…that’s it. That’s the truth. I’m beginning to see that some things run deeper than friendship.”

He sits down next to me on the bed, and I scoot over. “You’re confusing me.”

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