Page 39 of Foul Line

At the end, I’m practically buzzing with excitement. Not only did we talk about everything I’ve ever wanted in basketball, but the lure of the lake with the guys is calling to me. I turn around, walking backward, and smirk at them. “What’s that look for?” Sloan asks. His brown hair is flat on his head from our run earlier, but he’s no less handsome than normal.

I shrug. “Nothing.”

Hayes is off to the side, watching me carefully. He’s got a slight tilt to his lips like he’s waiting for me to do or say something.

Lake and River are in the back of the pack. Before long, they break off and go toward the guys’ cabins, but the rest of them are still following me. Once my feet hit the sand, I turn, peel off my shirt and run for the water. My feet splash in. When the water is thigh high, I dive in, almost gasping as the chilled water coats me. It’s a nice sort of thrill that makes me pop up out of the water with a huge gasp. The guys have followed me, tearing off their shirts at the water’s edge and dropping them there. I swim backwards, moving my hands to take me further and further out. I duck under and then come up. My basketball shorts are weighing me down a bit, but I’m not taking those off. I’d only be swimming in my underwear then. At least now I have a sports bra and shorts on. They’ve seen me in less, but if my dad happens to show up like he did on the run this morning, he’s not going to wonder if I’m losing my mind or not.

Hayes only wades in waist deep, his fingers trickling through the water. Sloan sees me looking at him and says, “Hayes can’t swim.”

“No?” I ask, looking up at Hayes to find that it’s true. He’s blushing. I push off the sandy bottom of the lake and swim toward him until I can walk myself up to him. “You can’t swim?”

He shakes his head. “My parents weren’t much for vacationing.”

I frown at that. Sometimes I forget that I have more than most. It’s second nature for me to come home from school and just jump right in our pool. I’ve done it for years, winter or not. My mother used to joke that if I hadn’t fallen in love with basketball like my dad, I would’ve been a swimmer. I take his hand and lead him out. He’s hesitant at first. “You don’t have to go too far,” I tell him. By the time he’s chest deep in the water, I wonder why I wanted him out here at all. I’ve just taken away a really nice view.

Hands grab me from behind and pull me back. I hit a hard chest, and I’m suddenly encapsulated in essence de Sloan. He’s intoxicating in some ways. He’s so unabashed, handsome, and cocky. It wouldn’t surprise me if he fell right into his father’s footsteps, but without all the cheating and the scandals. “I missed you,” he says in my ear before he tugs on it lightly with his teeth.

“Ivy,” Ryan says.

I can feel Sloan’s lips curve up against my cheek. He arranges both arms around me in a vise grip. “Yes?” Ryan shakes his head and looks away, which only makes Sloan laugh. “Ryan’s mad, Daddy’s Girl. This is the first time he doesn’t want to share.”

“Do you?” Ryan snaps back.

“I could live with you guys all disappearing right now,” Sloan says, his hand curving around my hip, then tracing closer to my center. He’s making me squirm, and I have a sneaking suspicion everyone knows what he’s up to.

“Not likely,” Hayes says. He says it flippantly, but in that way only Hayes can. When he talks, people listen. It’s the rarity of it all, coupled with the richness of his voice. He could probably be a voice-over actor if basketball doesn’t work out. Not that it wouldn’t. After he’s retired, he could definitely have a career in broadcasting. It’s just the talking part that might get him. People do actually want to hear the announcers call the game and not just sit there looking handsome.

I put my hand over Sloan’s to stop it from inching any closer to my core. Ryan’s gaze locks with mine. I don’t know if I should move because he’s making me uncomfortable, or if I should raise an eyebrow at him and stay right where I am.

“Someone’s just mad because he hasn’t gotten a kiss yet.”

I blink at Ryan. He just glares at Sloan without telling him the truth. So Ryan hasn’t said anything about the kiss we shared yesterday? This is interesting. I thought the Ballers did that. I thought they didn’t have secrets from one another, especially about girls.

Maybe I am getting to them.

Instead of speaking up, telling them we kissed, I ask, “How exactly do you guys plan on going to the same school anyway? What if it doesn’t work out?”

Alec’s shoulders tense. He turns around suddenly and sits right at the edge of the water so that his toes are in the small waves lapping at the shore, but the rest of him is out. “We know where we’re going,” Sloan says, speaking up.

“Oh really?” I ask. “You’ve already been accepted. You have scholarships?”

A tingle of fear shoots through me. Maybe I’m already late.

He smirks. “No, but we’re going to State. Where else would we go? The Ballers deserve to go to the best college basketball team in the conference.”

“But what if you don’t? I mean, what if some of you get in, but the others don’t?” It’s a legit question. “Not only that, one of you might get a better scholarship offer at a different school.”

Sloan lets me go. “It’s not about scholarships.”

“Okay, what about playing time? One of you might get more playing time at a different school. The school you’re going to isn’t just going to let the five of you play together as starters. There’s going to be other players, other good ones.”

It’s silent for a while. All I hear is the gentle movement of us in the water. Ryan’s looking down at the ripples his arms make as he glides them over the surface. Sloan’s swimming on his back, eyes lifted toward the sky. Alec, of course, is just staring at me. Hayes’s eyes are locked on me, too, though there’s a slight narrowing of his like he’s trying to figure out why I’m asking all this.

“Where do you want to go, Dale?”

My cheeks flame. Honestly, State is on my list, too. Not only is it our home college team, but they have a really great women’s team as well. There are several others I’m interested in, but instead of saying that, I tell them I’m keeping my options open. There really are a lot of factors to consider. The Ballers can keep sticking their heads into the sand pretending that they’re just going to keep coasting, but again, they’re not going to be the kings of the school if they all get into State.

Even playing field. Something like that could cause a rift between the Ballers quickly. Maybe that’s why no one wants to talk about it.

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