Page 48 of Stolen

“I think you’re making it sound more dire than it is—” I started.

“If we don’t come up with something, they’ll lose their livelihoods!” Diego interrupted. “They’ll lose their homes! Their loved ones will all abandon them for being failures!”

“Yeah, okay, that’s a bit dramatic—” I stopped myself, mid-sentence, realizing that pushing back on this was going to be a lost cause. “But I do love the energy. Still don’t know what passing a ball is going to do for us, though.”

“It’s going to open up your mind.” Chris offered me two thumbs up before he hurried back down the hall. “I’m going to grab a ball! I’ll be right back!”

“Trust me. You’re going to love this.” Andrew was beaming. “This has always been one of my favorite ways to pass the time when I’m going through something or trying to figure something out on the field.”

“I’m not really a fan of it.” Keith shrugged. “But that’s because I usually know how to figure my shit out without it.”

“That’s your problem, you know,” Diego replied. “You’re always pretending to be so perfect. No one’s perfect, my friend. Not even you.”

“Yeah? We’ll see about that.” Keith winked in his direction, before he started to walk away. “I’ll see y’all on the court.”

“Wait. The court?” I called out in confusion. “What court are you talking about? Where’s the court?!”

I was standingon what looked like an indoor tennis court.

I couldn’t have been sure about it, and I was too afraid to ask the athletes about it since I didn’t want to openly admit that I had no idea which sport this court belonged to.

But it had to be tennis, right? Maybe handball.

But what the fuck was handball?

It was the classic sports PR crisis, where people would’ve definitely assumed that I knew my shit when it came to literally every sport on earth. Even though, I only needed to keep up with the sports that had athletes represented by my agency.

“I think we’re supposed to stand over there,” Tommy said, nodding toward the other side of the court. I followed behind him, grateful that one of us had a clue what was going on.

“I didn’t even know this court was here,” I murmured. “Is this one of those situations where a new room appears every day the longer that we’re snowed in? Like a horror story?”

“More like no one told you where the Pickleball court was because you never asked.” Tommy laughed. “Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone took you for a Pickleball guy, anyway.”

“Pickleball!” I snapped my fingers as the realization dawned on me. “That’s right. Like tennis but not tennis.”

“We all need to be on the same side so the net doesn’t get in the way,” Diego instructed, as he expertly moved Chris’ soccer ball from one foot to another. “We should also break into teams. They don’t need to be even, but it’s probably easier if they are.”

“Mind if I join in, too?” Jacob’s voice carried across the court as he walked up next to me. “I’ll be on Team Leo or Team Tommy. Whatever they’re calling it.”

“Perfect!” Diego popped the soccer ball into the air then casually caught it in his hands. “The rest of us will be on the other side.”

“Can I ask a question?” I held up my hand, still confused about what was happening here. “What exactly are the rules? With the ball passing?”

“Right. Quick rundown,” Chris started, moving into place next to Diego. “The ball comes to you, you say whatever’s on your mind. Staying on topic isn’t necessary. We’re all just spit balling.”

“The point is to keep ideas moving through you,” Andrew added. “That’s all. And if something else shakes loose, that’s cool, too.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Can we just get on with it? Please? Some of us have better things to do.”

“Feel free to catch the ball any way you want!” Diego shouted, before he kicked the ball right over to me. “The only rule is that you need to say something once you catch it! That’s it!”

I caught the ball with my hands, panic moving through me. “Uh, okay. I think the only thing on my mind right now is how you’re so good with a soccer ball when you’re a baseball star?”

I passed the ball back to Diego and he answered, “Because soccer was my first love. But we don’t always end up with our first loves, do we?”

Diego kicked the ball over to Tommy, and Tommy easily caught it. “Truer words have never been spoken. Although, if I ended up with my first love, I would’ve been divorced before I turned twenty-one.”

“My parents are divorced. Best decision they ever made,” Andrew said, surprising me by catching the ball with his feet. “Is that something for the photoshoot? Exploring our childhood trauma?”

---