Page 20 of Fast Break
“No one can make you feel things you don’t truly feel,” I say, realising JT probably needs to hear this. “What’s your relationship with your parents like?”
“They’re hard on me,” he admits. He leans his head back against the head rest and I wish I could reach out and take his hand again. “But not in ways you might expect. They give low priority to my education and zero priority to my basketball. Like, if I came home with a report card full of Ds they wouldn’t comment on it other than to accuse me of spending too much time with girls. They expect full commitment and prioritisation of family above all else. They always expect me to be at home.”
“So, is this a problem for you? Hanging out with me?”
Those green eyes hit mine and I have to swallow as I feel a wave of his emotions hit me. “In some ways it is. But don’t worry, it’s not like it’s going to stop me.”
“That’s a relief. Can I ask another question? Is it just the time outside of school? Or would they also have a problem because I’m gay?”
JT is silent for a few moments but his eyes haven’t left mine. I feel myself holding my breath.
“You don’t need to sugarcoat it for me,” I add.
“Okay. Then yeah, they would have a problem with you being gay,” he admits quietly, confirming what I suspected. “But just to be clear, I don’t have any issues with it. With you.”
“Thank you, JT,” I say.
“Your mum is obviously cool about it,” he comments, those eyes still on mine.
“Yeah, my mum is the absolute best.”
“You’re lucky.”
“I know.” Neither of us speak for a while but his eyes are still on me. I feel him everywhere. “Probably better get you home, hey?” I finally say, needing words to fill the space between us.
“Yeah, course,” JT agrees, instantly moving into action. I hadn’t meant to hurry him along but I sense he feels some kind of overwhelming gratitude to me for this very simple driving lesson.
I don’t need his gratitude though. Everybody deserves to learn how to drive and I was lucky enough to have a mother with the patience of a saint who taught me everything. JT clearly doesn’t have that and it bothers me to no end. It’s just another one of the reasons I want to step up for him so much.
Of course, there are probably quite a few other, more selfish reasons in play, reasons I am trying to shove down deep inside me where they belong, but I can’t help the way JT makes me feel. Really, it’s his fault anyway for being so damn cute and adorable and plain irresistible. And he has this innocence and a hint of helplessness about him that just calls to me in ways I can scarcely control.
After all, I am but a mere mortal and nobody can claim to be completely immune to a gorgeous face and a pretty smile. Especially when that face and that smile belong to JT Sterling.
CHAPTER 9
jt
It’s Friday night and I am in my happy place as I bring the basketball down the court at the end of the fourth quarter. Trey and I are absolutely on fire tonight, hitting all our shots and dominating the scoreboard. The Dukes are enjoying a comfortable lead. It feels like everyone has lifted tonight too as I pass the ball to Marco who sets up an easy jump shot for Kye.
We’re the away team tonight but we’re only a couple of towns over so there’s still a few family and friends sitting in the stands. Chanel and her group of friends are amongst them, but I have been avoiding her all week.
I’m buzzing and I know it’s not just basketball that is making me feel this way. My head is full of Quinn, and even though he is not in the stands, he still makes me want to perform better. I still can’t believe he actually gave me driving lessons last night. My stomach squeezes again as I remember the way it felt having his hands over mine on the steering wheel.
It bothers me how out of each other’s orbit we are. Our science class project is literally the only thing we have that connects us. Quinn spends his weekends with his friends, which inevitably includes Jace, while I spend mine with my basketball crew. Our circles do not crossover in any other way, and it is something that plays on my mind.
At the same time, there is something kind of nice about the fact that there’s just Quinn and me in our own separate space, our own private bubble. I know it’s not just the science project that is bringing us together anymore either. I would like to think we are friends now—even though I’m hyperaware I don’t think about my other friends the way I think about Quinn. I certainly don’t need those five extra minutes in the shower each morning for any of my mates.
Trey suddenly makes a gorgeous intercept and the ball gets knocked into my hands. I am on a fast break, the defence trailing behind me as I slot in an easy layup, and we add two more points to our buffer. The siren trills and the game is over, another win for the Dukes.
We don’t over celebrate because we’re not the type of team who rub big wins into smaller clubs like tonight’s opposition, but Trey still fist bumps me as we walk over to our bench. Trey and I spent nearly the whole game on court so I am hot and sweaty as Coach congratulates our performance.
“After party at Insanity,” Vince shouts in our ears on our way to the showers.
“Yes, bro,” Trey enthuses. I guess that means I’ll be going to Insanity too seeing as Trey is my lift home. I’ve only been to Insanity once before and it was way too loud and full on for me, but the guys seem to love it. The club is down by the recently redeveloped South Wharf which used to be an industrial shipping dockyard but is now filled with clubs and restaurants and shops. I concede the place is pretty cool.
The locker room here is small and stuffy, and I jump under the water, feeling instantly better as my muscles loosen and the sweat washes down the drain. I’m vaguely conscious of the naked bodies beside me but it’s the unwritten law of the locker room that you never look. I’m the last one to turn off the taps and I wrap my towel around me as I find my bag on the benches. I’m glad I bought a pair of jeans with me as I pull them on along with a black polo top.
Trey is waiting for me as I tie the laces of my Nikes, and we head outside to the carpark. We drop Trey’s car off at his house on the way and take an Uber down to South Wharf. Everyone is here by the time we arrive, and it is just as loud and insane as I remember. I find myself sticking to my cousin’s side who is always so much more at ease in these environs than I will ever be.
