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I caught Eli eyeing me with suspicion from across the gym, and I kept his stare as James yelled in my ear. His gaze trailed down my body, as if he could see straight through the T-shirt and shorts I was wearing. My face flushed, remembering it hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since he’d seen me naked.
Not that I regretted it. It had worked out perfectly. I’d seen Eli’s face last night before he’d schooled his expression. He was not happy to see me with West. My fingers grazed my basketball shorts, remembering why I was wearing a pair that went to my knees. West had left marks all over the inside of my thighs while he was tormenting me with his mouth. His very fucking talented mouth. A rush of heat shot through me, and I bit my tongue.
As pissed as I was that he’d dragged it out for so long, those orgasms were some of the best I’d ever experienced. And I planned to bring that information to my grave with me.
“Are you listening, Katalina?” James raged, and I pulled the phone a couple of inches away from my ear. “You’re going to get what I need.”
A whistle sliced through the air, and my coach strode into the gym. “I have to go. I’ll call back later.” I made my way back to the bench and threw my phone into my bag after hanging up.
“Go stretch,” my coach ordered. “It’s going to be a different type of practice today.”
No one uttered a groan or complaint as we all spread across the floor to stretch. Our practices were always brutal. It had only been a week, and my muscles had been constantly sore from taking the summer off from playing.
I sat between Bri and Abigail as I spread my legs and leaned to touch my toes. My gaze drifted across the gym again, and I watched as the guys played a short game while they waited for their coach. I studied the tattoos running down Eli’s arms as he jogged down the court. Almost every inch of his arms was covered with black ink. West had some tattoos too, but not half of what Eli did. My eyes darted to River, who’d easily made a basket. He grinned, bumping knuckles with one of the other guys before moving to guard West.
The three of them exuded confidence all the time, but when they were on the court, it was on another level. Like me, basketball had been their escape as they grew up. They loved it as much as I did. Even after all these years, watching them play was almost comforting. But now it was followed by a painful aftershock of how everything had fallen apart.
Over the last few weeks, I’d learned that West and Eli were respected as much as they were feared because of their last names. On and off the court. It was clear after watching them practice that they’d earned their captain spots.
River was quickly gaining respect in the short time he’d been here. I wasn’t surprised. He was easy to like and already had the girls on campus crawling all over him. For the sake of the families, Eli and West had to act like they got along with River, and that was helping their team accept him too. Although as I watched them play, it was clear River had to work twice as hard because West and Eli wouldn’t give him the ball unless they absolutely had to. I was grateful I wasn’t on their team, at least. The time I spent with them was more than enough.
“Kat.” My head shot up as my coach called me. He motioned for me to join him on the side of the court, and I jogged over, not liking the frown on his face.
Coach Adams was West’s uncle. Growing up, I’d called him Uncle Jack. He was a nice enough guy, but when he was in coach mode, he didn’t deal with any bullshit. He took his job seriously and was the reason this team was as successful as they were. He also dealt with family business, but not to the extent of West’s father. Only because he was the younger son. It all fell to the oldest.
He was in his late thirties and shared the deep brown hair that West had. He lived in gym clothes unless he was at the Estate. Apart from basketball, working out was his second love. He was bulky but not in a bulging steroid way. As I walked up to him, he crossed his arms.
“I know I’ve kept your name to myself since practice started,” he said quietly. “Because I want this team to be unified. And it’s easier if the girls accept you. But now I’m wondering if it was a mistake. Your family has no idea you’re going by Katie White here, and once they do, that’s going to end.”
“It’ll be fine,” I assured him, ignoring the nerves flitting through me. I had the same worry. Once my team found out who I was, it was going to change the dynamic.
His hazel eyes bored into me, and I couldn’t help but think of West, since they shared the same eye color. He sighed, looking resigned.
“You need to tell the team before it comes out,” he told me sternly. “They’ll take it better that way.”
“I will.”
“I know it probably hasn’t been easy being back.” He shook his head when I opened my mouth to respond. “I’m not stupid, Kat. I know you didn’t choose to come back here to play on my team. But whatever my nephew and Eli did, it’s too late to change it now.”
Warmth spread through me as I saw the care in his gaze. He didn’t know everything, but he knew enough to understand that my life had been better when I wasn’t in Braidwood.
“I don’t know all the details of what happened between the four of you,” he nodded over to the boys, “and I know there’s bad blood, but you need to get along with them.”
I frowned. “I have been. I don’t need to interact with them during practice.”
“Today, we’re scrimmaging against them,” he informed me. “And it won’t be the only time we do this.”
Well, shit. I had planned to stay far from them until Sunday dinner. Eli still looked like he wanted to murder me after what happened last night. And with River admitting what happened between us, I wanted nothing to do with him either. Hearing the words out loud had brought a landslide of memories I had worked so hard to bury.
“I can handle that,” I said with a small smile. “They have to behave on the court anyway.”
He let out a chuckle. “If you need anything, you can call me. And not just about basketball.”
He didn’t need to speak William’s name for me to understand. It was a nice gesture, but there wasn’t anything Jack could do to help me. He had money and his last name. Nothing else.
“I can handle myself, but thanks,” I told him.
He nodded before blowing his whistle for the team to huddle. He explained we were playing against the guys’ team before pointing out the five girls who would be starting first. A few girls looked put out when he pointed at me. I was new and already starting the game. This wouldn’t help when they all found out who I really was.
