A whole dang work week had passed since Lauren’s jerk boyfriend showed up. These nightly pickup games had been my lifesaver. And morning runs around camp. But I saw Megs at every turn, and there was no Lauren there to save me now. Too busy making eyes at Preppy. Just the thought of it made me grind my teeth. Like right now. At least the Friday night bonfire would be blazing after sunset. Hopefully I’d get a chance to just kick back and relax for a minute.
I clenched my fist and nodded. “She probably has her reasons.”
“Maybe, bro.”
Tucker bounced the ball as Lauren stopped walking, and shook her head at Preppy. He nodded and they came our way.
“What’re they doing?” I asked.
Cory rolled his eyes.
“Guess we’re probably about to find out,” Tucker said.
Preppy glanced around as they approached. A slow grin grew across his orange-tanned face. It was a surprise he didn’t have a spark of light gleaming off his bleached-white teeth.
Lauren was practically glowing on his arm.
I wanted to be happy for her.
I was furious.
“Hey, guys. This is my boyfriend, Ren,” she said to Cory and Tucker.
Tucker bounced the ball once, palmed it. “Hey.”
Cory lifted a hand.
“You guys down a man?” Preppy asked, readjusting his Tom Ford sunglasses. “I played intramural in college. Love to join you.”
“College? Aren’t you some fashion guru?” I heard myself saying before I could think.
“Aw, is the dumb jarhead trying to insult me?” He glanced at Lauren who crossed her arms and bit her lower lip. “He’s not serious is he?”
A fire of rage burnt through my veins, but I held it back . . . for Lauren.
“You said you wanted to play with them,” Lauren said to Preppy, “be nice.” She lifted a brow at me next. “You too.”
Like I was part of the problem.
“Tuck, you and Flynn versus me and Cory,” I said. “Let’s go.”
“Ren,” Preppy snapped.
“You sure that’s the team you want?” Tucker asked, passing me the ball.
“Your takeout.” I passed it back. “We’ll play to twenty-one. Losers jump in the lake.” I eyed the pretty boy to see if he was wincing yet.
“Game on.” Preppy pulled his sunglasses off and handed them to Lauren. “Hold these for me, babe? And be careful, they’re worth more than he’ll make all year.”
Some choice words flew through my mind . . . But, I wasn’t swearing anymore. And, babe? Was she seriously falling for that already?
Lauren took them and tucked them into her hot pink overalls pocket.
Why’d I put Cory on my team? Now, I wanted to pound this guy into the ground. Me and Tuck were even, and every night out here helped me get a better grip on my running blade. Cory was garbage at outside shots, and he had no height. But he was a beast on defense. So was I. At least, if Preppy and Tuck couldn’t score, they couldn’t win.
Tucker passed the ball in to Preppy who dribbled downcourt between his legs.
Son of a—I mean…dang.
I should’ve put him with Cory.
The game went back and forth, me guarding Tucker and Cory guarding Preppy. Preppy didn’t have a great outside shot either, so it just meant keeping him out of the key. Which would be easy enough if I wasn’t already guarding Tucker. Cory did what he could without the height, and I peeled away from Tucker whenever Cory needed backup, but Preppy was a pro at the inside game.
We held our own for the first seventeen points, making it a tie. I stepped to the three-point line and Cory passed the ball behind his back to me. I put it up before Tucker could block it, and it went through the net.
“Yes! Woohoo!” Lauren cheered from the sideline. Like the two of us were still all buddy-buddy. She must’ve forgot that she’d ditched me for her ex.
Preppy stared at her—hard, until Tucker passed the ball to him.
He dribbled down the court and put up a three, but missed. The basketball clanged off the rim and we all went for the rebound. Cory came down with it, passing it overhead to me as I hustled down the court. One more shot and we’d win this thing.
I went in for a layup, taking the first leading leap. I sprang up from the second, imagining the victory dance I was about to do, and the look of defeat on Preppy’s face after he lost to a dumb jarhead. On the way up to the hoop, something knocked my prosthetic out from beneath me, and I crashed to the ground, a stinging pain stretching across my forearm as it met the ground.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Tucker said, panting and glaring at Preppy. “What was that, man? Did you seriously trip him?”
Preppy held up his hands, like he was innocent. “Just trying to keep you out of the lake, dude.”
Lauren came running over, mouth hanging open. “What the heck, Ren? Carter, are you okay?”
She offered me her hand, but I snorted, frowned, rolled over to my knee, and got up on my own, ignoring the burn in my elbow.
“I’m fine.”
“Carter, you’re bleeding,” Lauren said, eyes huge as she studied my arm.
“Nothing a little Band-Aid won’t fix,” I muttered, glowering at Preppy. “Nice antics, Flynn.”
“Tie game. No one jumps in the lake.” Preppy slipped his arm around Lauren’s shoulders. “Come on, babe. We should go.”
He spoke to Lauren like she was some kind of robot with a voice-command function and steered her away. I wanted to throw my fist through his face, especially when she glanced back over her shoulder, looking crushed.
“Classy,” Tucker said, watching as they disappeared.
Cory joined us, shaking his head.
“We had a name for guys like that in the marines,” I said.
“Oh, yeah?” Tucker asked. “What was it?”
“If I repeated it here, I’d get kicked out of camp.” I took a shot and released a hot breath.
“He isn’t as pretty as he thinks he is,” Cory said, running to get my change.
It was probably
