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Tristan turned to her. “And you.”
Sakura glared at him. “Not me, and I’m not playing.”
“Oh, come on.” Mary chuckled. “Remember how we used to play back at the farm? You always beat us despite your small frame.”
Tristan laughed. “Is that so? Now don’t disappoint me, Sakura. Come help me beat the crap out of them.”
Sakura mumbled under her breath. “Fine. If we win, you owe me. Both of you.”
Mary laughed. “Not me, just Tristan. I’m voting for Sebastian and his team since Peter’s there.”
Sakura sighed.
“Oi!” Sebastian shouted impatiently.
“Coming,” Tristan yelled back and pulled Sakura along with him onto the court.
Sebastian, Nicolas, and Hayden stared in shocked surprise to see Sakura with them.
“What the hell?” Sebastian growled.
“Sakura is our team member,” Tristan announced.
“She can’t play,” Sebastian said coldly. “Sakura, go back to the sideline. Tristan, find someone else or you forfeit.”
Tristan laughed. “Forfeit! No way in hell.”
Darcy, who now stood beside Sakura, asked, “Why can’t she play?” His eyes were intense on his brother. Their stances indicated they were ready for a fight.
“Sakura knows how to play,” Richard put in. “She’s very good at it.”
Sebastian glared at Darcy, and he had the urge to punch his brother in the face. That sneaky bastard, he thought. Just because he’d kissed her didn’t mean they were a couple and that he had to defend her.
Sakura wasn’t happy with the way Sebastian was talking to her. To show him that she wasn’t going to back out, she stood her ground and said, “I’m playing.”
Sebastian gritted his teeth and stared at her long and hard. Darcy, feeling protective over Sakura, clasped his hand over hers. Sebastian noticed and nearly exploded.
“Let’s start!” he snapped.
For the first half of the game, Sebastian and Darcy were at each other’s throats. They were neck to neck, intercepting and stealing the ball from one another and throwing it into the hoop. It was like they were at war playing basketball. It was like they were the only two people on court, and everyone else were just bys
tanders.
Nicolas shook his head and knew those two had a score to settle, though he had no idea what the reason was. Then when he noticed both brothers constantly kept checking up on Sakura to see whether she was all right, he knew.
When halftime was over, the teams were even. Sebastian refused to lose and told his team members to step up. Nicolas chuckled and wondered if it was really the game Sebastian wanted to win or Sakura.
It was the second half of the game that Tristan’s team started losing because Sebastian was even more aggressive, and it seemed the rest of his teammates decided to join in the aggression.
Sakura wondered how they were going to win with Sebastian, Hayden, Nicolas, Richard, and Peter being such good players. Not to mention they were very tall. They kept stealing the ball from her.
“Look at him go,” Tristan said behind Sakura as they watched Sebastian expertly throwing the ball into the hoop once again.
“That’s it!” she said, walking back to Mary.
On the other side, Tara and Alaina laughed.
“How stupid. A girl playing basketball with men,” Alaina said.
“Serves her right,” Tara said.
Sebastian watched her heading back to the sideline, glad. He was glad she wasn’t playing anymore. Glad that she wasn’t there to torment his mind and his heart. Yes, now his heart could slow down its beating, even just for a bit.
On the other side, Sakura asked Mary, “Can I borrow your hair tie?”
Mary laughed. “Sure.” She pulled her hair tie and gave it to Sakura.
Sakura pulled her shirt off as Mary laughed. “You’re getting serious.”
“We’re losing,” Sakura said. “And I’m not losing to the likes of that man.”
“Which man?” Mary asked.
Sakura didn’t answer. She was now only wearing her white tank top and super skinny jeans. She breathed a sigh of relief because her body was covered with sweat. She pulled her hair back and formed it into a loose bun at the top of her head. She didn’t know she looked rather fetching with her skin glistening with sweat, her cheeks blushed a perfect pink color, her lips dark red, and her eyes bright with determination.
Mary hid a smile. Gosh, Richard was going to have a hard time concentrating again, like always when they’d played basketball.
Mary wasn’t wrong. Richard swallowed hard the moment Sakura returned to court. Conrad blinked and then couldn’t stop staring. Tristan and Logan chuckled and eyed each other. They suddenly realized there was a possibility they could win the game.
Sebastian wasn’t pleased, and his scowl darkened. Hayden whistled. Peter grinned. Nicolas took his glasses off the bridge of his nose, gave the lenses a good rub, and put them back on again.
Darcy felt his stomach flip. Suddenly, he wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her again until they were both breathless.
Sakura stood in the middle of the court, her hands on her hips. “Are we playing?” she asked no one in particular.
Sebastian wanted to lift her over his shoulder and take her away—where, he didn’t know. Just away from here, and he wanted to kiss the hell out of her because at the moment she was taunting him with her exquisite beauty. Then the image of her kissing Darcy back in woods flashed in his mind, and he saw red. He gritted his teeth and growled, “Let’s go!”
The game continued, and Sakura somehow found that the men weren’t as tough as she thought they’d been. Even Nicolas was toning down his aggression. But not Sebastian. He was still as hostile as ever.
