Page 63 of Foul Line

Why does all this just sound so wrong?

Hayes’s arm tightens around me. There’s a glint of amusement in his eyes, but it’s Alec who speaks next. “I’m down with having sleepovers again. We can pretend we’re in middle school.”

Oh God. My whole face burns red. It was one thing to have them all in my house for a pool party, but for a sleepover? I’m not sure I’d live through it, though I can tell they’d have a fun time torturing me.

Sloan pats Ryan on the head and then ruffles his hair. “My poor RyRy, moving up on the hill with the big timers.”

I roll my eyes. We’re nothing special up there. Ryan catches my eye though, and I don’t think he’s thinking about moving up with the big timers. I think his mind is otherwise engaged judging by the way his gaze rakes over me. Hayes can probably feel the flames that flare off me. I’m engulfed.

Ryan bats Sloan’s hand away. “To answer your question, she’s still here. She’s going to come by to see me before she goes.”

I smile tightly. “Tell her hi from me.”

He nods once, and for a fleeting moment, I think I detect relief in his eyes. I don’t know why. I said I would try. As long as they don’t keep trying to shove their relationship down my throat, I’ll try.

A hand touches me on the shoulder and Hayes stiffens. When I turn, Chase is standing there. He isn’t getting that nice of a reaction from the Ballers, so I make sure to smile at him. Quickly, he takes his hand off my shoulder. Hayes’s laser-like stare probably burned it off. He sweeps his hand through his hair. “We’re leaving. I just wanted to say goodbye to you.”

I stand, Hayes’s arm brushing over my hip and then down. “You’re leaving? I don’t know why I thought you were staying for another week.”

One of his teammates comes up behind him. “We were all getting restless, Tessa. We all decided we like girls too much to stick around this sausage fest.”

I chuckle, shaking my head at him. He gives me a small salute. I watch as the rest of the team files by. Some of the guys give me a hug, which I’m sure is killing the Ballers. But really, these guys were there for me when we first got here. I’m actually going to miss them. Chase made me feel wanted here when no one else did. That’s twice he’s done that for me. When he stands there awkwardly, I tell him I’ll walk him out.

He seems relieved. He opens the door to the main building for me, and I sneak through, not looking back. Trust me, I can feel the heat of their gazes enough on me as it is. I don’t need to see their faces to know they hate what I’m doing right now. Oh well. The possessive fucks should learn a lesson.

We take the trail all the way up the small hill to the parking lot. A few cars are already backing up. They blow their horns and Chase and I wave at them. He turns toward me. “My sister tells me to tell you that she hopes you kick ass the rest of camp. She said something about girl power and all that. I don’t know. I stopped listening after a while.”

I laugh at that, thinking that when I get back from camp, I should actually try to hang out with Christie. I think we could be good friends.

He jams his hands in his pockets. I can tell he’s nervous, and I don’t know how to calm him down. The way he glances over at me, I can tell he wishes there was more between us. “So you and the big guy?”

I smirk. Me and all of them, but he doesn’t need to know that. “Something like that,” I say.

“I just hope you’re giving it to them, Tessa. They don’t deserve you.”

Apprehension crawls over my skin. There’s a ring of truth to what he’s saying, but I’m not going to let that deter me. “Friends?” I ask.

“That depends,” he says, finally cracking a real smile. “Are you actually going to text me?”

“I think I will,” I tell him honestly. The Ballers will just have to get over themselves. I’m certainly not going to stop talking to other guys just because it makes their jealousy freak flag fly.

I step forward and give him a short, awkward hug. “Take care of yourself, Chase. Find one of those college girls your friends like so much.”

His smile isn’t as wide as it was a second ago. He nods. “Call me if you need me. I mean it. No matter what. I’m staying with a teammate in his apartment next to the college for a couple more weeks before visiting back home. I can be here if you need me to be.”

“I will,” I tell him. Who knows, if this all blows up in my face like before, I might need a friend like him. But no, I don’t see it going down like that again. I really don’t.

He steps away, and I give him a wave as he walks to his friend’s car. They back out and his friend beeps the horn as they start down the road away from Camp Holly.

Strong arms surround me. It’s all Sloan who nuzzles my neck. “Thank God that fucker’s gone.”

I look over my shoulder. Ryan and River are already walking away. It’s just Hayes, Alec, Sloan, and I. There’s still a lot of hours left to Sunday, so I smile. “Who’s up for a swim?”

Alec is the first to take off running. The rest of us catch on quick after that. I start laughing, giggling even as I chase after them as we race to the water. Hayes sprints, his long legs taking him away fast. He’s almost caught up with Alec. I laugh as they both race into the lake at the same time Sloan and I hit the sand. Sloan reaches out and grabs me, swinging me through the air before running with me into the water. I scream as the water splashes up my body. There’s a chill in the water today and it takes my breath away. It also might be the fact that Sloan’s as hard as a rock against my back.

To feel this carefree with them is a weight off my shoulders. We play in the water, splashing one another and laughing, drenched through in our regular clothes without a care in the world. The only thing is, I know it’s just a facade. If Lake were here, things would be different. Hell, if Ryan were here, too. I told him I couldn’t handle the idea of him yet. There’s still too many things up in the air and no matter how much I try to drown out these thoughts with the others, they keep popping back up until I’m left wondering when everything might go back to some semblance of normality.

There’s hope on the horizon. If I win Shooting Guard MVP, I could regain control of my life for this next year. I can fight for a spot on the team and only my skills will decide if I get minutes or not. Not some stupid, misplaced faux-royalty hierarchy system. Just me and my basketball skills.

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