Page 49 of Don't Let Go

“Are you fucking kidding me? You put Tyler fucking Winston on our team? You can’t do that. He’s a transplant. He can’t quitone school and come over here and sign up like that.” He was fuming, almost on the verge of going rabid, as he waved his arms around in anger while yelling.

Coach Grant pointed a finger at Paolo. “Calm down, and don’t curse in my gym.”

I rolled back my shoulders and stepped onto the court, preparing to lock horns with the jackass Rory still called a boyfriend.

Paolo charged me, his eyes crazed with red. I almost wanted to laugh. He was trying to be intimidating, and all I could think about was how this clown would cry if I socked him in the nose.

A whistle blew, and Paolo froze in place.

Coach Grant grabbed Paolo by the shoulder and pulled him to the side of the court. “Why don’t you go run some laps around the building? Cool off.”

“I don’t think—”

Coach Grant crossed his arms. “That was an order.”

Paolo muttered something as he slunk out the door.

James tossed the ball at me.

“Show us some moves. Need to earn your spot on the team, Winston.”

I dribbled the ball and side-eyed the guy to my left. “You’re on.”

I bypassed James and another guy who had a foot of height on me. I shot the ball a few yards, and it was nothing but net. I landed on my feet and couldn’t help but smile. You couldn’t keep me down.

“Damn,” Christian said, hitting my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re on our team.”

“Let’s go again.” James passed the ball back to me, and we naturally broke into two teams. Practice went off without a hitch. Paolo never returned. Without him, this could almost feel like they had always been my team.

No Quincy, though. I did miss that motherfucker. I wondered if any of my new teammates could hang out after practice. Maybe I needed to embrace this change.

We played for two hours. Coach Grant said we did well and could go home. I changed my clothes in the locker room, and as I wiped my sweaty face on a towel, I looked up and saw James.

“What’s up?” I asked, drying the sweat off the back of my neck.

He laughed and nudged Christian and Bryce. “There’s a party tonight. It starts at nine. You in?”

I dropped my towel on the bench. I guessed the first step in making friends was finding out what partying was like in South Phoenix.

“I’m game. Just text me the address.”

“Dope.”

I gave him my number, and we parted ways.

Tonight was going to be interesting.

For a moment, I wondered how weird it would feel to be at a party with people I barely knew. This house looked like it could collapse at any second, yet the music was rockin’, making the windows vibrate. The girls still wore tight short dresses, revealing their breasts and drawing attention to their asses. There was still beer pong going on as soon as you walked into the house. A thick cloud of weed hung in the air.

The house wasn’t as fancy as parties in Scottsdale, but with the atmosphere and lights, I could imagine my old friends here. Hell, I found myself looking for Quincy in all the faces that passed by.

I shook it off and slipped into the kitchen to grab a red cup filled with beer. It was piss-warm, like the parties back home. It was strange how comforting that was.

James, Bryce, and Christian were with the team laughing their asses off about something in the living room.

Christian spotted me first and motioned for me to join. “Hey. Glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” I said, taking a sip of beer. “The beer is shit.”

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