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Asher grumbles under his breath as he dribbles the ball. “Fine. Five hundred.” Then he points at me, smirking in a way that makes it seem like he just tipped the odds in his favor. “Grey, you’ve got Layla and Katy on your team.”
“Fine,” Grey grumbles but shoots Katy a wink.
“Works for me. Katy’s my girl.”
“Heck yeah!” Katy jumps up at me, and we high-five.
“All right, player.” I turn back to Asher. “I’m ready to shoot some baskets.”
“It’s hoops,” Asher smugly corrects me, dribbling the ball with a mocking grin.
I wiggle my fingers for him to pass me the ball. He does, and I start dribbling a bit, slowly and with not much purpose. “Oops. I had no idea that’s what you call it.” I bat my eyelashes at him and then I turn and hit a jump shot with nothing but net because those were my specialty.
Callan groans in defeat, tossing his head back. “She’s totally playing us. She’s about to wreck us on the court. Mark my words.”
“No one plays me.”
“Ash, you’re going down, brother,” Grey promises, high-fiving Katy who then cracks her knuckles like shit is about to get real.
I point my finger at Asher Reyes. “Bring it.”
“Ohhhh!” Everyone else crows.
“Let’s play some ball,” Ash declares with a bit of defeat in his voice.
I crouch down to Katy, who is all beaming smiles and ask, “Do you know how to play?”
She shrugs. “My mom played basketball in college. I know how to dribble a little, but the net here is really high.”
“True. We’ll have to make up our own rules with that. Show me how you dribble.” I hand her the ball, and she starts dribbling, bouncing the ball to an off-time tempo.
“Good. Now walk while you do it. Keep it going.” She starts walking, her eyes on me, but she’s dribbling as she moves. I give her some minor pointers, but then it’s too late for anything else as Asher is calling the game. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. You’ve got this, babe.”
“Katy, girl, whenever you want to shoot, just wink at me and I’ll lift you up so you can reach the basket,” Grey tells her.
“Ladies and Grey get the ball first,” Zax announces, since evidently he’s reffing this game. “Go.”
Grey gives me a firm nod that tells me I start, and I begin dribbling, reading the court and the opposing team. The sound of the ball smacking against the hardwood and sneakers squeaking fills the room. It’s a bit weird playing barefoot, but I’m managing to move well so far, only to find Callan coming at me. Instinctively I lean forward, getting into a defensive position to protect the ball.
“He matched you up with me?” I throw out at him.
Callan’s about two feet in front of me, arms out, body poised and ready, looking fucking hot in his tight sports shirt and gym shorts. He grins, cocking an eyebrow since he clearly just caught me checking him out.
“He thought I might distract you since you’re so obsessed with me.”
I cackle out a laugh. “Dude’s got that reversed. I’m not wearing a bra. Or underwear.” I blow him a kiss and then immediately skirt to my left right as he pounces for me. He misses, and I take aim and make my shot. Grey and Katy cheer along with Aurelia and Fallon, who are sitting on the sidelines sipping their drinks.
Callan hisses out a curse under his breath, coming in right behind me. “Are you really not wearing underwear with those tiny shorts on?” he growls against me. “If so, you can’t bend forward again.”
I laugh. “I’m wearing underwear. I just wanted to mess with you.” I turn and give him a playful side-eye. “My game is all about psychological warfare.” It totally was. I wastheshit talker on the Dartmouth team.
He licks up my neck before blowing cool air on my skin and making me shudder. “Game on.”
We continue playing, back and forth. Callan is all over me. Grabbing me and touching me and slapping my ass when he thinks he can get away with it. In return, I tell him all the fun things I intend to do with him later tonight.
Callan has the ball and he’s going up the court with me on defense. He does a crossover dribble, switching his ball hand. He’s able to dribble equally well with both, which is annoyingly impressive. Katy is down by the basket, guarding Lenox—which is freaking hilarious to see—and Grey is on Asher. It’s just me and Callan, and he’s loving it.
He fakes at me and then retreats, checking my reaction to his movements. I missed and I grit my teeth at him.
