We scored. Eli putting us further ahead with a hook shot.
“I don’t comejustto watch Finn.”
“Never said you did.”
My eyes don’t move from below. She’s back to being defensive.
This time I don’t bite my tongue pointing out the facts. Upset over the fact that we lost the ball in a cheap steal.
“I asked about the players,plural.You filled in the rest.”
I arch an eyebrow, watching in curiosity as her face flushes. The air in her cheeks hollows out the longer I wait for an answer. She knows I caught her in her slipup.
She’s the one who’s mentioned Finn, not me.
I tap at her shoulder, giving her a small grin before the woman breaks out in hives. “Chill, I’m only messing with you.”
I don’t mean to, but it just happens. My eyes flicking over in his direction. Iceman unbreaking from our hold for a quarter of a second before his attentions pulled back elsewhere.
The air in my throat clogs before erupting into nothingness. I understand Hailey’s frustrations. We can’t help who we like.
It just… happens.
“Yeah, I know. You’re right,” Hailey agrees, like she can somehow read my mind.
My shoulders cave in on a weighted sigh.
One of our players has the ball. He does a small toss off, passing it back to Finn, who doesn’t hesitate. His arms extend above his head, going for a three-pointer.
It glides in the air with practiced precision. The arch is textbook perfection as it goes straight through the net. No backboard or rim needed.
Nothing but net.
The crowd goes wild all around me, but I can’t find a reason to join in their excitement anymore.
After the game, Hailey takes it upon herself to drag us both down onto the gymnasium floor.
I’m not really up for congratulating the guys on their first win of the season after my mood soured. Figuring I could take the easy way out and congratulate Finn after he got home. Eli, I could text—never mind, I still don’t have a phone.
Whelp, that puts a damper on the plan.
I groan out my discomfort, but Hailey isn’t having it. Trudging us down the bleachers, same as everyone else.
She has no idea why I’m being like this. I haven’t told anyone about my lapsed shortcoming the other day. I don’t want her to pry out of my own self-pride, so I muster up the most effort I can manage. Plastering on a smile even if it physically pains me.
The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can go home and climb into my bed. Sleep, something I doubt will come, but at least I’ll be alone to wallow in my self-pity.
“Congratulations on the win,” I say, giving Eli a quick squeeze.
“We did pretty well,” he agrees.
“Pretty good? You guys killed it.”
His grin turns gummy, bobbing his head in his reluctance to agree. It’s almost cute how modest he can be about his achievements.
Finn is far less bashful. “We fucking annihilated them.” He throws his arm up for a hive five that I smack back.
It’s the distraction of other students that diverts my attention. Consistently like on a clock, they come over and praise them on a good game as well.