Page 49 of Foul Line

“Or maybe I could make everything better.” I turn toward him, placing my hand on his stomach. “I’m on your side, you know. And Sloan’s, too. Whatever goes down with his parents, I’ll be there for him. Whatever has Hayes upset, I can be there for that, too.”

He places his hand over mine on his stomach. “We’re just so used to having only the five of us to go to.”

“Times change. If you guys think I’ll wait around to see if you choose me, you’re wrong.”

The green in Alec’s eyes spark to life. “Personally, I’m not going to let it get that far again. Lake needs to deal with his shit or he’s going to drag everyone down with him.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means I’m his friend, but he has to change if he wants to keep it that way. There’s only so much help you can give someone, Tessa. If they don’t want it, they don’t want it.”

His hand squeezes my own. The intensity in his eyes is overwhelming.

“What’s the rule on kissing you in front of the others?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Is there one?”

My mouth goes dry as I wait for his answer. “I guess I’m making it now.” He darts forward, the eagerness in his kiss taking my breath away. He urges my mouth open, and when he succeeds, he rewards me by tangling his tongue with mine. I think it’s impossible for Alec to kiss gently. Every time he kisses, it’s like he’s short on time or dangling from the end of a rope. He wants to reap his rewards from the onset in case he can’t get any more. He nips my bottom lip, and I moan.

My eyes blink open. Maybe this was a bad idea. Sloan and Hayes are right there.

Alec senses my hesitation and pulls away. He drops his forehead to mine. “Let’s play the quiet game.” He maneuvers on top of me, kissing a trail down my neck. This is not what I was thinking when I was worried about them waking up to us making out. In any case, how do people keep quiet? I start to squirm as he pulls the collar of the shirt I’m wearing down. It’s so big on me that it exposes the swell of my breast. He kisses me there, and I press my lips together. This is pure torture. I don’t know whether to yell at him for doing this or tell him he better not stop.

Instead, I give it right back to him. I sneak my hands between us and grab him. He breaks away finally, releasing a heavy exhale. He drops his forehead back to mine. “Fuck. That’s mean.”

I start to stroke him. “You deserve it.”

He pitches his hips forward in time with my strokes. A brief moan passes over his lips before he stops himself. Because I can, I release him briefly to move past his shorts and grab just him. The silky skin of his cock gliding through my fist. Alec starts to tremble. “I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as bad as I want you, Tessa. Not even baseball.”

My heart constricts before locking eyes with him again.

“Oh fuck.” He places his hand over mine, directing the pace. His hips move against me forcefully until he shivers and hot liquid spreads out over my forearm. He fights against any sort of noise, forcing his mouth shut as he trembles his release onto me. After he comes down, he takes his hand away from mine until he’s caged me in on the bed. I haven’t removed my hand from him, and he glances down. “Let me get something to clean us up with.”

I pull my hand away, and he quickly grabs another piece of clothing from underneath the bed, catching the evidence from dripping onto the bed from my forearm. He wipes me up, then goes to the bathroom. While he’s gone, I glance around the room and find Sloan staring at me. I swallow hard. He just smiles. “Not going to lie, that turned me the fuck on.”

Oh, dear God. These Ballers are going to ruin me.

25

Bad things happen in boys’ cabins. Or is that good things? It’s hard to know the difference when it comes to the Ballers.

When Alec falls asleep, I carefully extract myself from him, go to the bathroom to put my now damp clothes back on, and leave. The rain has quieted down a lot, and I haven’t heard any thunder in about an hour. I go straight for the cafeteria. Just eating those few cookies Sloan offered us isn’t cutting it as far as meals go. When I walk in, my dad and Jacquin are in there eating. There’s a hot meal in front of them and it’s then that I realize that the lights are on.

“Hey,” my dad says. “We were wondering if anyone was going to show up.”

“I think we all conked out,” I tell him, giving him a smile and hoping it’s not a smile that says I just jacked off Alec Christopoulos. Maybe notjustjacked him off, but within the last couple of hours.

“Get something to eat and come sit down here. Jacquin and I have been talking about you.”

My throat closes, but I try not to show how apprehensive that makes me. The lady in the kitchen smiles as I’m offered up barbecued chicken and macaroni and cheese. I get myself an iced tea at the fountain and then sit next to my dad at the table he and Jacquin share.

“Listen to this,” my dad says. It’s clear he’s excited about something. “Remember when we were talking about how we were going to get you back at RHS without any of the nonsense, I think Jacquin found a way.”

I flit back and forth between the two of them. How is Jacquin involved in this at all? I don’t like that he seems to know a lot about my situation. “Oh yeah?”

“I think since this is basketball beef, it should be played out on the basketball floor,” Jacquin says.

Funny. I’ve been saying the same thing.

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