Page 46 of Caught Stealing

“Stop it,” he hisses, and I can feel the heat of his stare behind his sunglasses.

“Stop what?”

His words come out through clenched teeth. “Looking at me like you’re thinking about what happened yesterday.”

Fuck.

I quickly avert my gaze and give my best attempt at serving, surprising myself when the ball not only makes it over the net, but in bounds. Though I can’t say my luck lasts much longer after that, since standing back here gives me a perfect view of Phoenix’s back muscles, which are unfairly toned and perfectly chiseled like some sorta Greek god.

“How can you bethisbad at a sport?” Theo asks after I miss my serve, the ball veering off wide to the right.

“Throwing balls and hitting them are two very different things,” I say before taking my place by the net.

If it wasn’t for Theo—who is truly in beast mode—and Phoenix, we’d be losing by a landslide. Thanks in no part to me; I’m ashamed to even call myself an athlete at this rate.

But as the game starts closing in on game point, both sides begin upping the ante; diving for loose balls, spiking harder, doing sneaky little dumps on the other side of the net. It’s an all-out battle—a war of who wants it more—by the time it’s my turn to serve again.

And it’s also game point, with our team in the lead.

“Try not to fuck this one up, Sykes!” Noah calls from the other side of the net as he bounces between his feet.

“Shit talk your own teammates,” Theo says before looking back at me. “But seriously, Hold. Don’t screw the pooch.”

“Be nice,” Kason chides, kicking sand toward Theo. “We all have weaknesses. Volleyball just happens to be Holden’s.”

My eyes lock with Phoenix, waiting for him to make some snarky, smart-ass comment next. Except, rather than joining in with Kason and Theo, all he does is give me the hint of a smile and a tiny nod of…encouragement.

Which, at this point, is as welcome as it is unexpected.

Letting out a deep breath, I toss the ball in the air and pray like hell for solid contact. By the grace of God, I get it, but as the ball sails toward the net, I realize it looks a little low. A littletoolow.

Shit.

Defeat takes over my body as the ball smacks against the tape that runs along the top of the net, waiting for it to drop to the ground on our side of the net. Yet, to my surprise, the net bends with the movement of the ball before it flips over to their side and falls to the ground.

“We win? We win!” Theo says, jumping up and down as he flips Noah the bird. “That’s for talking shit.”

Kason is just as excited, plowing through the sand until he picks me up like we just won the National Championship.

“Fuck yes, Hold!” he shouts, swinging me around like I’m light as a feather…and he plants his lips directly on mine.

Surprise and panic blend together at the sudden affection before instinct takes over, and I kiss him back. But everything about it feels wrong. The taste of his lips, the sweep of his tongue. None of it feelsrightbecause he’s not the person I want to be kissing.

Because he’s not his best friend.

I break away, putting some space between us and rub the back of my neck self-consciously. “It was just a stupid game, Kase,” I tell him before chuckling awkwardly.

A laugh leaves him. “Sorry, got a little excited.”

“Well, you gonna kiss me now?” Theo asks, tossing his arms out to the side. “I was part of the team too.”

“Yeah,” Kason says slowly. “Not happening.”

Kason and Theo start tossing jabs, which leads to Theo tackling Kason to the ground—a feat in itself—all the while making loud, obnoxious kissing noises at him. It’s truly a ridiculous sight to behold, which is why I keep my eyes firmly focused on them.

I don’t have it in me to meet Phoenix’s stare as it burns into me hotter than a thousand suns.

I already know I won’t like what I see written on his face if I do.

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