Chapter 9 #2
Rolling my eyes, I extended my hand to him, and he took it without hesitation.
River’s movements were hindered just as I expected.
He had to adjust his normal effortless movements to fit the problem he had at his feet, which required lots of rethinking and flexibility.
I had to give it to him, though; he was doing a lot better than I thought he would.
I was winning, but he still managed to score two points on me. He wouldn’t admit it, but they only happened because of how juvenile I was at the game. Luckily, with the score being four to two, I only needed one more basket to win.
Dribbling the ball, I swerved to the left of River fast enough that he missed me.
Now was my chance. I ran to the net with all the speed I could muster, but it wasn’t close enough for another layup.
If I were recalling the basketball term correctly, I was shooting from the free-throw line, so I took a split second to aim my hands where the ball needed to go.
But River, being the genius he was, smacked the ball down the second it escaped my hands.
Now he had the ball, but I’d be damned if I let him score another point on me with his shoes literally tied.
River skillfully turned his back to me just before I lunged at him, and each time I tried to get around him, he pivoted with ease.
It was almost as if he knew me so well he could predict every move I’d make.
If we were thirteen years old again, I’d fully believe that theory.
Nothing I did was working, and it was annoyingly impressive how quickly the guy adjusted to his new way of play.
I was about ready to accept my defeat, but in a desperate heat of the moment, I leaped and attempted to smack the ball out of his grasp.
It was a stupid idea considering River was six-foot-one, and I was a whopping five-foot-seven, leaving no logical way for me to jump over him successfully and knock the ball, but they say you miss one hundred percent of opportunities you never take.
The only thing I was successful in was flinging my arm over his shoulder and falling onto his back like he was giving me a piggyback ride. River, already off balance from his rigid stance, buckled under my weight.
Before we knew what was happening, we were crashing to the ground as the ball bounced away from us.
“Your elbow is in my eye,” River groaned, my body feeling the low vibrations of his voice as I lay atop him.
Panic ensued inside me. I rolled myself off him and onto the concrete, flustered for some inexplicable reason. “Sorry.”
I held my breath as I watched him sit up with his hand pressed tightly against his eye.
I wasn’t sure if I had damaged that pretty face of his, and the possibility of it made me sick.
It wasn’t until I saw the grin on his face that I let myself breathe.
As a weary laugh escaped his lips, I chuckled in relief.
“What was the thought process?” he asked, his voice oddly soft.
“To not let you score,” I breathed.
“By jumping on my back?”
I snorted. “I wasn’t trying to do that. It was an accident.”
“Oh, so we weren’t supposed to end up on the ground with your elbow in my eye?”
I made a slight frown as I adjusted to sit on my hands and knees. “Is it okay, by the way?”
River shrugged, but the hand still holding his eye gave him away. “You didn’t hit it that hard.”
“Let me see.” I inched so close to him that my leg pressed against his. Only one more inch and I’d be sitting in his lap. I shook that thought away as I gently pulled his hand away to get a clear view.
“What’s the verdict?” River asked, tone unserious.
I brushed my thumb along his cheekbone, beneath his injured eye. “I didn’t hit you that hard. It might not even bruise.”
I could see all of him so clearly—the fine cut of his jawline, how his brown eyes brightened into an almost golden shade in the light, the way his eyes gazed into mine like he could feel the sparks flashing around us like a firework show.
Don’t be ridiculous, Alex.
But how could I not when one look of his made me feel like the most important person in the goddamn world?
My limbs lay messily over him, my hand now lingering on his cheek, and my leg draped over his thigh.
I offered a lopsided smile, feeling suddenly vulnerable in our current position.
River tried to return it, his lips tugging shakily to form a small grin, but the delusional side of me swore there was a hint of apprehension behind it.
“Did you win?” Millie shouted through the fence. “Alex! Did you win?”
I pulled away from River the moment my niece’s voice snapped me back into reality. River and I scurried to our feet, and I subconsciously took a step away from him, thinking we could both use the space.
“Knocking him down to win? That’s so smart!” Millie chirped.
“I didn’t mean to knock him down, Mills,” I shouted. “I didn’t win.”
“Aw, man.” Her disappointment was short-lived. “Can I go play?”
My head tilted. “Play?”
The child pointed to her left. “There’s a playground!”
I followed her pointed finger and spotted the area she was referring to. We were on a college campus, so it wasn’t a full-blown playground, but a swing set in a sandbox. It was empty and within eyesight of the courts.
Maybe she could wear herself out. “Five minutes.”
With the way her face lit up, one would think I had just promised her pizza for dinner every night for a year. I watched as Millie skipped to the swing set, purposely focusing on her to not have to deal with the uncomfortable atmosphere between River and me.
My hands rested on my hips as I panted heavily, and my body felt like I’d just run two marathons. Fuck, I seriously needed to go to the gym more.
“Hands on your head.” I viewed him from the corner of my eye as River demonstrated. His arms rose above him, and he placed his hands on his head, his chest rising and falling at a quickened pace, but not as rapidly as mine. “It’ll help you catch your breath faster.”
I mimicked his position and paced in small circles. It was helping, but my legs felt like lead, and I was so hot I could melt. “I’m never being active again.”
He chuckled through his nose. “There’s a water fountain over there.”
Beside the courts and across from the swing set was a restroom, but I saw no signs of a water fountain.
River noticed my suspicions and gestured for me to follow him.
We entered the bathroom corridor, and when we turned the corner, there were two water fountains awkwardly bolted into the wall.
It was a secluded area that could only be found if you’d wandered to the toilet, but it didn’t block us from hearing the ball on the courts or the few people passing by. What an odd place to put water.
I couldn’t help but scarf down the drink after feeling like I had been dying of thirst. The cold liquid stung against my teeth, and honestly, it was what I needed to forget how badly I longed for my ex-best friend, mere inches away from me, yet out of my reach.
To forget how much I wanted to press my body against his, but intentionally this time.
How desperately I wanted to trace my fingers along the curves of his bare chest that I hadn’t seen yet, but already knew was more defined than my own existence.
Ex-best friend. I called him that, even though I knew I wanted more long before we stopped being anything at all. Even now, seven years later, I still wished I had gotten the chance to call us more. Instead, I was stuck with the term ex-best friend.
A firm hand gripped my shoulder, followed by a calm but warning voice. “Too much at once and you’ll cramp.”
I backed away from the fountain with a sharp nod as the back of my hand wiped over my lip. River peered down at me, and his mouth did that weird thing where it tried to form a full smile, but failed.
My heart leaped when he took a step toward me. River’s hand cupped my face, and his thumb found the corner of my lip and wiped gently. “You missed a spot.”
I didn’t think I did, but my heart was pounding too loudly for me to respond without it turning into a rambling mess. My tongue grazed along my bottom lip as heat swirled in my chest, not fully believing what I thought was happening.
And the next thing I knew, River’s lips were crashing against mine.