Page 30 of Foul Line

Hayes turns. “Did you eat already?”

I nod, then tilt my head in the direction of the cafeteria. “You should go fuel up before the run. I’ve been kicking your ass all camp.”

He smirks, but a spark of competition flares in his eyes. Good. Maybe I’ll actually have someone to talk to during the run instead of just my motivation for wanting to beat the Ballers keeping me on my toes.

Before long, everyone else is out on the grass stretching as well until Jacquin is the last to make an appearance. Hayes is standing right next to me when we start off, but he can’t keep up. I’m not too surprised. He has a lot more weight and height to carry compared to me. Jacquin, though, is pushing it even faster today. Soon, it’s just the two of us out front, and I swear the closest person is Ryan who’s fifty yards behind us and looks like he’s really trying hard. It reminds me of the trials when he asked Matt if he liked being beaten by a girl. After that, I can’t help the smug look that comes to my face and won’t go away.

Jacquin sneaks a peek behind him before turning to me. “I’ve been meaning to get you alone, but since Irving is practically perched by your side every time I see you, I had to wait until now.”

“O-kay,” I say, treading carefully. “What’s up?”

“What’s up with you and the older O’Brien kid?”

“Oh,” I say, turning to look straight ahead again. I wasn’t expecting that question. “You mean other than the fact that he hates me?”

He chuckles. “Figured that one out on my own, thank you. Why does he hate you?”

I shrug. “It’s not obvious? I’m a threat to him, I guess. I don’t know. You’re a guy, you probably have more insight than I do.”

“His hate just seems excessive, even if you do play the same position for the same team back home.”

“You’ll have to ask him then,” I tell him frankly. Why he hates me is irrelevant now. Making him suffer for being an asshole is the only thing on my to-do list.

Jacquin takes all this in, nodding. He and I are in the same boat. I’ve tried to think back to when Lake started hating me, but honestly, all I can come up with is the year I was going to win Shooting Guard MVP over him. That’s when he got Ryan to pretend to like me—which I guess wasn’t pretend after all, even though he told everyone it was. That’s the core of it as far as I know. Jealousy. Plain and simple.

“Fair enough.” Jacquin’s quiet for a few strides before he says, “I think you should watch your back though. Most competition is decided on the court, but Lake seems determined to get to you in other ways.”

“You’re not wrong,” I say, meaning to sound as cryptic as possible. Jacquin, the guy who just got drafted and works for my father, does not need to hear my stories from last year.

After our short conversation, and after I’m practically panting from the exertion of running so fast, Jacquin slows us down once again. He slows so much Ryan is able to catch up with us. I can tell he’s gassed, but the look on his face is full of determination. He looks over at me, then straight ahead again, so I do the same.

My body buzzes from having him so close. I try to pass the feeling off as just wanting to beat him so badly, but I know it’s not all that. Ryan was my number one Baller crush at one point in time. I’ve seen him be different. I’ve felt his strong arms and heard his sweet words. Maybe that’s a side of himself he doesn’t show to everyone, or maybe it’s just me he doesn’t want to share it with again, but I know he can be different. Or at least, I know he used to be different. I guess that’s the catch. Just because someone used to behave a certain way, doesn’t mean they can’t change. And I don’t need to forget that Ryan had two chances with me. Once, a few years ago, when he sided with Lake, and just recently when, again, he stood next to Lake instead of me.

But still, there’s something here. There always has been.

In my next stride, I get too far over on my edge and my ankle starts to turn. I stumble, and Ryan’s hand comes out to catch me. His fingers wrap around my forearm and hold me steady. I straighten out my stride and look up at him.

“You okay, Tessa?”

“Y-yeah. Thank you.”

That could’ve been a disaster. I almost rolled my ankle, and as an athlete, my body is the most precious thing I have.

This is exactly why Alec needs to tell the Ballers he wants to focus on baseball. He could over-do it. He could get blindsided with an injury doing the sport he doesn’t want to do, and then he’ll be screwed doing the sport he wants to do.

I peek around my shoulder and find him in the middle of the pack. He’s jogging easily, looking around at the tall trees along the side of the road. At some points, we can even see the lake through breaks in the branches. He’s probably daydreaming about baseball, I realize.

“How long have you guys known one another?” I ask.

Ryan snaps his head toward me, his eyebrows scrunched together. I feel like I know this answer already, like it’s a part of their lore as the kings, or Rock Ballers of Rockport High, but it’ll be nice to hear it from one of them. “Since we started with intramural basketball together,” he says. “I don’t know, five years old?”

“Been with each other through a lot?” I ask.

Even Jacquin is looking over at me now like I’ve lost my mind.

He rolls his eyes. “Obviously.”

I notice Ryan does that. He gets an attitude when people hit too close to home. “Are you guys going to try to go to the same college together?”

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