Page 168 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

Our interaction might’ve been incredibly brief, but it doesn’t get past the girls. Dia, Sierra, and Aveena all glance in my direction, making eyes and funny faces at me—Sierra even makes smooching sounds to tease me, but I’m too busy trying to calm my racing heart to give her a reaction.

We’re not out of the woods just yet.

But we’re a hell of a lot closer to our happy ending than we were yesterday.

TJ

My momalways used to say that if the thing you were doing was meant for you, it wouldn’t feel like work.

It didn’t make sense to me until the day I stepped foot onto the basketball court.

And that’s not to say that playing to go pro is a piece of cake. I’ve had my bad days and just as many struggles as the next guy, but when it comes down to it?

Time slips away when I’m out there with my team.

Whenever I play a game, my mind travels to a world in which nothing else matters. Then, the next thing I know, the gym clock’s going off, and we’re all going home.

It’s the way it’s always been.

Until now.

This game has been, by far, the longest fucking game of my entire life.

And it’s all because of her.

Because she smiled at me.

Oh, and she waved—let’s not forget the wave.

Fuck, I’m so pathetic.

What did that smile mean? I’ve asked myself that question for the past two hours.

It fucked with my head all first half. Knowing she was there, watching me play for the first time. I played like shit, missed easy shots, and Coach didn’t hesitate to rip me a new one over it during halftime.

Thankfully, I managed to get my shit together for the second half. I passed the ball to Theo, and he scored the winning shot. Still, she was never far from my mind.

It’s the way she looked at me. She didn’t seem mad. Or like she hated me. There was no disappointment in her eyes. No resentment.

I’m not going to lie. I was hoping dropping off that fixed mug and letter at her house would earn me some points, but I wasn’t cocky enough to think it would get me my girl back.

God, is that why she’s here?

To forgive me?

My heart’s been pounding in my chest like a fucking drum since the game ended an hour ago. What if I’ve got it all wrong?

What if her waving and smiling was just her way of being friendly? What if she was just telling me that even though we didn’t work out, there’s no bad blood?

I took my sweet time showering, scared half to death that she wouldn’t be there when I stepped out of the locker room, but I can’t very well stay here forever. Plus, I’m starving because I was too nervous to eat after I left that package on Lacey’s porch.

I check my phone as I’m walking out of the locker room with my gym bag dangling down my shoulder.

I have two texts from Chance.

Chance

Hello??? What’s taking so fucking long?