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I cross my arms over my chest and face the streetlamps as they zip by.
The limousine is deadly silent and then I hear it. It starts off as a tiny back-of-the-throat grunt, followed by a second one.
A snicker.
A chuckle.
A snort.
Full-blown laughter fills the cabin.
I snap my head to Liam. He's collapsed in the corner, red-faced, and cackling himself silly.
I grind my teeth. He may laugh now. Just wait.Just you wait, Liam Ashley.
Chapter 3
LIAM
Basketball is my thing. I dribble the ball down the court, feint left around Cool—whose real name is Peter, but no one calls him that—and pop the ball straight through the net.Swish.I dance backward, tapping my fist to my teammates’ as I pass.
Cool grabs the ball and heaves it all the way across the court. It clacks against the rim, spins all the way around, then drops in. He smirks at me and slaps high-fives around to anyone within reach.
“Yeah, that’d becoolif it was a legal shot.” I hold up my hands and wipe pretend tears from my cheeks. “We’re still up three points.”
“You’re asking for it, man.” Cool follows me across the court as I jog backward. His grin stretches wider and wider. “Can’t wait to see you married and living the sweet life.” He elbows Tandy, another teammate. “How many practices you think he’ll miss?”
“None.” I spin around and grab the ball as John passes it my way. I race down the court with nothing but the sound of the ball drumming against the floor, and my own heartbeat filling my ears. This is what I needed. The loud squeak of sneakers and my teammates ribbing each other with every breath. I leap into the air and slam the ball through the hoop.
I hang suspended in midair, defying gravity and all the emotions that have threatened to drown me since the night I picked Trina as my future bride.
The look on her face in the limo. She was so adamant that she’d make my life miserable, I laughed until I leaked tears. I didn’t have the heart to tell her this whole thing makes me sick to my stomach.
I release the hoop and drop, landing with a thud that rattles my legs. The rim bounces back with a clang.
Cool snags the ball and holds it on his hip.
