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Teagan dribbles the basketball toward the hoop. I remember the day we helped Mr. Nichols put it up, digging a hole for the metal post and pouring the concrete. We bugged him mercilessly for two days until he finally deemed it dry and safe to play.
A soft breeze ruffles my hair as Tegan turns to face me, still dribbling. He stares at me for a moment like he has something to say, casually crossing the ball between his legs in a figure eight, and tips his chin up. “You and Brynn seem to be getting along better?”
My heart pounds in time with the ball, but I shrug. “We were forced to live together for six weeks. It was bound to happen.”
“Was it, though?” He narrows his eyes and passes the ball for me to check, whipping it to me with more force than necessary.
Sweat pricks the back of my neck. Did he see more than I thought when he opened the pantry door?
“Weren’t you the one who suggested I bury the hatchet?”
His mouth twists. “Sure. But when you showed up unannounced today, Brynn didn’t even bat an eye. Buried hatchet or not, the Brynn I know would’ve had something to say about that. I just find it . . . weird, that’s all.”
I nod slowly, trying to come up with some kind of excuse or explanation for why Brynn’s hatred of me has cooled so drastically, but I come up short; my mind’s blank. “Huh,” I say, tossing the ball back to him. Apparently, I’m playing stupid. “I didn’t notice.”
Tegan dribbles, his eyes sharp. We start to play, and it might be my imagination, but when we start the two-on-two game, it seems a little more intense than usual, a little more competitive.
Sweat beads my back, and my T-shirt clings to my chest as I check him, arms waving in the air, chest forcing him off his target. He backs up and fakes right while I go left, taking one to the hoop, then fist a hand in the air with a cry of victory.
I take my time. The rough surface of the ball meeting my palm. We face off, sneakers squeaking, pivoting, and turning before I overpower him and make a tough shot from the side corner.
Twenty minutes later, we’re both panting and out of breath. It’s a tied score, and since the next basket takes us to ten, whoever sinks one wins.
Teagan moves the ball to the top of the court. Meeting my eyes, he tries to fake me out, but I catch the movement in his waist and block him. The ball pounds on the pavement, and he tries again. I dart right, nearly swiping the ball. He desperately tries to get around me, but he can’t, and when he goes for a three-point shot, I jump and catch the ball mid-air.
Teagan curses and I feel him at my back, wrenching my arm. For some reason it feels like we’re fighting for more than dessert. But I want that damn brownie. I want Brynn.
Teagan manages to get in front of me and he darts at the ball. I cross hands, putting my hip into it and push him off. I find a rhythm, dribbling to the top of the court and down the center. Eventually, he’ll let up and I’ll find my opening. I can wait. I have patience for days.
“You wanna hear something crazy?” Teagan says, his breath labored.
“Trying to distract me?” I fake pump right, but he delivers an elbow to my ribs. The wind whooshes from my lungs, but somehow, I manage to hang onto the ball.
“For a moment in there”—Teagan tilts his head toward the house, and I use his temporary distraction as my chance to drive in for a layup—“I thought maybe there was something going on between you and Brynn.”
My steps falter and I bumble the ball in my hands, making a terrible shot as I nearly fall on my ass. Stumbling, I right myself before my face eats the concrete, but not before Teagan rebounds the ball and dribbles it to the top of the court, then takes the shot, and sinks it.
I grunt as I straighten. I’m out of breath and my heart is pounding. But not from the game.
Teagan saunters closer, his eyes on mine as he comes to a stop in front of me and claps a hand on my back. “But then I thought, nah. The Jace I know, the one who’s my best friend, forever a Rebel and my teammate, he would never do that to me.”
CHAPTER 34
JACE
Ilie in bed,staring at the ceiling of the Nichols’ guest bedroom. When I was younger and used to sleep over, I always crashed on Teagan’s floor. As we got older, and at Nikki’s urging, I started sleeping in here instead. It’s around that time the length of my stays increased from a day to several, sometimes even a week. And they never seemed to mind. Quite the opposite, actually. They made me feel like theywantedme here, which is more than I can say for my folks at home. It’s not like I talked much about my parents’ lack of involvement in my life. In fact, I guarded it like a secret, but I always got the feeling they knew. And this is how I repay them . . . by taking something that isn’t mine, something I have no right to.
Brynn is too good for me. She’s kind and sweet and smart. She’s witty and fierce. One of the most resilient and beautiful creatures I’ve ever met. Anyone who can’t see that Brynn is the total package is a fucking moron. It’s no surprise she comes from a family that’s every bit as amazing as she is. She’s everythingI’m not, and I don’t need someone to tell me I don’t deserve her to know it. Yet I took her anyway.
My stomach twists and I squeeze my eyes closed, trying to imagine what the Nichols will think when they find out about us. Am I insane to imagine there’s even a remote chance they might be happy for us? It’s one thing to welcome me into their home as their son’s friend. It’s a whole other thing to welcome me as their daughter’s boyfriend.
And Teagan . . .
Is there any way on this planet it won’t completely destroy my relationship with Teagan?
I blink my eyes open, breathing through the heaviness in my chest.
So much is at stake. Which is why Brynn and I have to be careful, stick to the plan. We’ll come clean in the fall, after football season. With any luck, by then, Teagan will see a change in Brynn. He’ll see she’s thriving at school and is happier than ever, because I’ll be sure as fuck to do everything in my power to make her happy. He’ll have to accept us.
