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I shove from my seat, checking a watchless arm. “I can’t be late,” I say as I flee.
Idomanage to make it to a court, just not the one coated with sand I need to be at.
The outline of his figure swims as he jumps, side-arming a layup, while my eyes feel as if they could flood any second. My uncertainty keeps me held back from approaching any closer. Finn Casper is a curse, a plague, and I grow sicker at the idea of needing him around more every day.
A shudder of anger bites at the back of my neck, enough to dry every last one of these unshed tears.
A cold unsettling feeling settles over my bones, and it is then that I decide to make myself known. “I told you you were lacking confidence.”
thirty
Finn
Itoldyouyouwere lacking confidence.
Again, she shows up here without permission, and again her input gets voiced on things she has no idea about.
“You know, just because you look like you want to murder the rim doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere,” Hailey retorts when I don’t give her the attention she’s clearly after.
If she wants someone to gossip with, then she can head back inside and find Rory. Now is not the time for chitchat. Basketball is my focus.
Gripping the dimples of the ball, my fingers tighten and I imagine it’s her face as I bounce it and reposition my feet.
The worst kind of noise…
Silence.
“It didn’t go in.”
A growl rips past my mouth. I charge her and snag up the basketball after the failed throw all in one swoop. My shoulders and abdomen clench as my chest heaves all the way to the fence line.
Her amusement flares, growing, and all it does is infuriate me more. So much so does her examination annoy me that my hand slams on the metal of the thin chain link dividing us.
It rattles, springboarding and then stock-still is Hailey as she stays resolute in her spot, not the least bit intimidated.
“Why are you here?”
A muscle in Hailey’s cheek jumps, and I’m not sure what it means. The hollow blankness in her eyes turns guarded. “The fear.” She nods her head in the direction behind me. “It’s all over you.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Hailey’s neck cranes to the side, giving me her profile. “It’s the truth.”
“I don’t care if it’s the truth, it’s not what I asked,” I drag out, cocking my head. What crawled up her ass? She’s the one who showed up here unannounced.
My fingers wrap between the holes of the fence to what? Be closer to her? And automatically, she reacts by taking a half step back. Does my closeness unsettle her?
Air pulls through her nose. “Look, I might be able to help you. Do you want it or not?”
My eyes thin the slightest bit. What’s up with her?
Her shoulders drop an inch, and instantly, I know she’s not here to critique my ball shooting skills, even if she seems to be having a blast criticizing me. Her voice may have been bold, but there was a hint of uneasiness in it too.
Like a cockroach that won’t die, my body understands her too much to not notice the small fluctuations and I can’t not react to them. I’m no doctor, but I can do my best to alleviate whatever’s going on with her.
This pull she has over me is maddening.
My lips tug to one side in a slow cocksure expression and her glower reaches record-breaking status at my tenacity. Do I want her help? Not really. But does she need this for some reason? Yeah, I think she does.
