Page 25 of It Started at the Lake

Bennett laughs.

“It’s called studying your opponent and learning how to beat them,” Henry says, hitting the ball in my square again.

I’m on fire, whacking the ball with perfect force. In my peripheral vision, Bennett stands in the middle of his square examining his fingernails.

“Bored?” I ask, thwacking the wiffle ball again.

“Terribly.”

My breaths are heavy and fast. I’m hustling and it’s catching up to me. We’ll lose if they refuse to let Bennett play. “Time-out!” I say.

Evie swings her paddle. “There are no time-outs in pickleball.”

“I didn’t agree to play two against one.” I purposely miss the shot, forcing Bennett to switch sides with me.

“You’re doing pretty well on your own,” Bennett says, with his lips turned up on one side, giving me an appreciative smile.

“For now,” I say. “They’re wearing me down.”

We set up again. Bennett serves, and sure enough, Henry aims for me. I clench my teeth, annoyed and edging on angry. “We play doubles, or we don’t play at all.”

“Come on, Mils,” Henry taunts. “Lighten up. It’s just a game.”

Is he for real right now?

“Exactly, bro,” Bennett says. “It’s just a game. Play fair. Unless you think this is the only way you can win?”

Evie chimes in. “No. We can handle you.” To prove her point, she knocks the ball to Bennett.

Bennett scores. Automatically, I hold out my fist—and shoe—for a bump. He returns it, grinning at me. My stomach flutters like a flag waving in the wind. I smile back, growing warm under his direct gaze.

Squeezing my eyes shut, pretending I have sweat in them, I break eye contact. If I don’t look at him, I can’t get lost in how hot he is.

Thankfully, the game goes by fast. Bennett really is a phenomenal player.

“One more point and we win,” Bennett says.

The final score is eleven to five.

“Good game, teammate.” I hold up my palm toward Bennett, offering him a high-five.

He smacks his hand against mine. “Right back at ya. It was fun.”

A bead of sweat trails down my back. “Ugh. I’m ready for a shower. I’m all sticky and gross.”

Bennett eyes me. “You don’t want to play another game? We need to keep our winning streak going.”

I reach to grab my left ankle, bringing it up to my butt, stretching my quad. “Let’s end on a high. We can play again another time.”

“Anyone else want to play me?” Bennett asks, eyeing everyone.

No one makes a sound.

“I’m ready for some retail therapy after that loss,” Evie says. “Want to go shopping, Millie?”

I don’t have money to buy anything besides essentials. But I’m used to going along with Evie back home and reminding myself that after college, I’ll actually get to purchase items. “Sure. But where are we going? We only passed like three businesses in town.”

Evie laughs. “That’s where we’re going. Linda’s gets the cutest stuff every year. I love checking it out before the tourist season officially starts.”

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