Page 127 of A Game Of Love

The night keeps going. Lilly ends up out back with Bishop, cuddled up on his lap, wearing one of my hoodies.

I’ve been sitting next to them, not wanting to be far from my girl. We laughed and talked with the team about what comes next for us and what the ones who aren’t going to the big leagues are doing with their lives after we graduate.

My plans have changed a bit. Before, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, but now I know I’d like to stay and be an assistant coach to Jax.

Bishop still wants to open his restaurant. We’ve even been looking at places to buy.

None of them are the right fit, but it’s nice to see his excitement at the first step of making his dream come true.

We plan on travelling this summer, seeing the world. It’s what we plan on doing every summer until Lilly graduates.

My girl wants to run the bookshop with her mom. She decided to take courses to become a preschool teacher as a backup so that she leaves with some sort of degree. She's been talking more and more about wanting to write a book of her own.

She doesn’t think she could do it, that it’s all just a fantasy in her head, but it’s something I know she wants, and I’m going to keep encouraging her.

“I’m going to get some water. Do you want anything?” I ask Bishop. It’s about ten minutes away from twelve, but if I hurry, I can get back, wake Lilly up, who’s sleeping in Bishop’s lap, and sweep her away from the crowd so we can get our New Year's kiss.

“Nah, I’m good. Hurry, though.”

Nodding, I head into the house, straight for the kitchen.

After grabbing a bottle of water, I start to head back outside, but I’m intercepted by Katie.

“Hey, Toby. I’ve been trying to find you all night.” She smiles brightly up at me.

I sigh in annoyance because she’s the last person I want to see right now. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen this woman and months since I’ve talked to her. Not that I have any reason to.

I thought that meant she was leaving me alone. Clearly, I was wrong.

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to see you, that’s why, silly.” She giggles, and the sound makes me cringe.

“Well, you saw me.” I give her a half-ass smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go.”

“Wait.” She doesn’t move. “It’s New Year's. Have a little fun. You’ve been glued to Lilly all night. Let her enjoy her time with her boyfriend. Plus, you're going to need someone to kiss when the clock turns twelve.” She gives me a sly grin.

And that sure as fuck won’t be her.

“Listen, Katie, I hope you have a good night, but I do have to go.”

“Toby!” Her face falls, and her little nice act vanishes. “You're being rude. You’ve been ignoring all my texts and calls. What did I do for you to be so mean to me?”

Can’t ignore something you never got. I’ve had her number blocked for a while now. So, anything she’s been doing, I didn’t get. For good reason.

“I don’t want to be mean. But the way you're coming on to me, you're forcing my hand. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you: I’m not interested.”

“It’s because of her, isn’t it?” She scowls, crossing her arms. “It’s kind of pathetic, Toby. Pinning after your sister? It’s gross. And she has a boyfriend. It’s just fucked up. Does he know you’ve been fucking around with his girlfriend behind his back?”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “You don’t know what you're talking about, Katie. So fuck off,” I snarl, my irritation growing by the second.

Katie is a mean girl, a bully, so what she thinks or has to say doesn’t affect me. But for her to imply that Lilly would cheat on Bishop pisses me the fuck off. Lilly isn’t like that. She would never betray the person she loves.

Katie has no idea what's going on, and if she doesn’t keep her mouth shut, I’m going to do what it takes to protect Lilly the best I can.

Would it be shady of me to try and get my father involved? He is the Dean of SVU. He has power. If one of his students was harassing another, I could get her kicked out.

She already blasted Lilly over social media for that video. Something my father has put her on probation for.

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