I leaned over, trying my best to copy the pose Aisha had adopted earlier when she’d cleared the table.
“You’re going to miss like that,” Brody murmured just before I went for it.
“Am not,” I muttered.
“Care to bet?” he asked.
No.He was probably right, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “Okay, sure. What’s the bet?”
“I bet you’ll lose, and if you do, you never wear that shirt again,” he said.
“And if I do make the shot?”
“Then you win, and you never have to wear that jersey ever again.”
I laughed and shook my head, leaning back over and trying to line up.
Brody hovered over my shoulder.
“Fine, help me if you want,” I told him.
“Thank fuck. It was like watching a little duckling drowning,” he muttered and immediately stepped behind me. He bracketed mewith his legs and pressed his hips into mine, bending over me from behind.
“Hey! This looks a little…” I trailed off, a gale of heat blowing through me.
“I don’t give a fuck.” Brody adjusted my hands and moved his head to the side of mine, trying to see along my line of sight.
He demonstrated pulling back the cue and taking a shot. I could barely hear him. All I could think about was his hand on mine, his hard body pressing me into the table. My body was waking up in ways I’d thought were finished for me, and it was distracting as hell.
I took the shot and sunk a ball.
“I did it!” I jumped up as soon as Brody’s weight shifted and turned around. “That’s the first time!”
“Well done,” he said with a smirk. “I guess I’m a good teacher.”
I smacked my hand against his shoulder. “Save the ego trip. Now that you’ve taught me all your secrets, you’re in for a hard win, Sinclair.” I headed around the table and flashed Brody a grin.
“What is it about me that brings out your insanely competitive side, cheer captain?”
“I don’t know, you’re just exceptionally talented at annoying me, I guess.”
Brody laughed. “Likewise, sweetheart. Likewise.”
Sweetheart.
Brody
Selena fellasleep in the car on the way home. We’d ended up playing three more times, and I’d be damned if she wasn’t getting really fucking good at the game by the time we left. It confirmed what I’d been suspecting for a while.
Selena Carmichael was genuinely exceptional at anything she tried hard at.
I pulled through the heavy gates of the house and up the driveway. I was exhausted, the jet lag kicking in, but still, it felt good to be home.
Home.When had Hade Harbor started to feel like home? We’d lived in the States for a while, played for other college teams, gone to school, and yet, none of those places had ever become a home.
The lights in the house glowed, hitting the ponds that lined the front gardens.
I shut the car off and turned to look at Selena. Her hair had fallen across her forehead, right in her eyes. I reached out and pushed it back.
