Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Never!
Seeing red, I slammed my body into Connor’s side, taking him by surprise, and managed to get the ball. An excited “eeep!” escaped me, and I ran the ball over to Lee, bouncing as I went. I heard someone coming up from behind me. I panicked, throwing myself onto the ground, over the crusty old ball and guarding it with my life.
Lee and Connor let out equally loud laughter as Hell picked me up by the waist and shook me, sniggering. “Drop it.”
I couldn’t help it. I quaked with laughter. “No!”
Hell shook me a second time but I held the ball with my Kung Fu grip, giggling quietly.
Lee, still very clearly entertained, argued for me. “Oh, c’mon, Hell. Let her have a shot.”
Hell sighed, carrying me surfboard style over to the net, the ball still tightly adhered to my hands. Once there, he placed me on my feet and waved an arm out. “Go on then.”
Really?
I watched and waited for someone to rush me but nobody did.
When I took the ball and made to shoot, I looked around again to find three tall, muscular men smiling back at me.
I lifted the ball, shot, and missed. I sighed. “Let me try again.”
Lee threw the ball back and I concentrated hard, taking my time, then threw it. But it fell dismally short. I let out a huff. “It’s so high up. I’m too short.”
And then, suddenly, I was airborne.
I let out a squeak as Hell lifted me, holding me around the thighs. Lee brought me the ball. Connor watched quietly, assessing. I gripped onto Hell’s arms, my fingers digging into the hard flesh there. “Oh my God, put me down!”
Hell simply laughed. “Relax. I’m not gonna drop you. You’re tiny, little bird.”
Lee spoke gently. “Take the ball, Emmy.”
After I managed to catch my breath, I carefully took the outstretched basketball. Then I lifted it in my hands and shot it at the net.
It missed.
Lee fetched the ball for me and handed it to me again good-naturedly.
I tried again, reaching the backboard, but… “Aw,” I uttered when it rolled off the rim. Then I smiled at the guys. It was close. “I almost had it that time.”
Lee handed me the ball then clapped. “C’mon, you got this. One more time, Emmy.”
I took in a deep breath, and Hell spoke at my back. “Whenever you’re ready.”
You heard them, Emmy. You’ve got this.
Without hesitating, I lifted the ball, shot it hard, and watched as it flew into the net.
A surprised shout left me and I lifted my arms into the air, cheering and clapping at my great feat.
Hell lowered me to the ground, holding out his palm. I high-fived him then Lee but when I turned to Connor, he was already walking back to the bus.
Lee returned the ball as Hell and I made our way back. Once on board, Noah sat at the booth with his laptop open but he called me over. “Looked like you had fun out there.”
I sat opposite him and took in a deep breath. “I did.”
“Good.” Noah looked relieved. “So you think you wanna hang out some more?”
My smile was genuine but as timid as my voice. “I’d like that.”
And with that simple admission, a friendship had begun.
“See this hair?” Hell pointed to a curly hair on his forearm. I peered in, squinting to look at it. Hell took his fingers and unraveled it, pulling it straight. It was freakishly long. “I call him Golden Boy. He’s sort of a national treasure.”
“I can see why.” I pulled back and fought a smile at this ridiculous conversation. “He’s beautiful.”
The bus was long on the road and sometime after dark, the guys had come out of their cubbies like the night owls I would come to realize they were. And for reasons unbeknownst to me, they were chatty.
“My face started to swell, and soon enough, my eyes were so swollen I couldn’t see a damn thing. Looked like a Buddha.” This was Lee. “And that was how I discovered I was allergic to shellfish.” He finished on a grin, folding his arms across his chest.
I had a feeling about what was going on here and all signs pointed to Noah. I wasn’t upset about him intervening. Actually, quite the opposite. I was beginning to see a different side of these men and the more I learned, the less scary they became.
Their tall tales made me see them as flawed and human as the rest of the world. And once this became apparent, I couldn’t stop smiling.
Noah became animated partway through his story. “And I was like ‘no way,’” he groaned, running his hands down his face. “But at the end of it all, it wasn’t even my car.” He started to laugh. “I’d parked it on the other side of the lot. I was just so drunk I forgot.”