On The Rebound (Steinbeck U #1) - L.A. Cotton Page 0,46
She’d do it, I bet.”
“You do that.”
What the fuck was happening right now?
“A bunch of us could go out, make it seem less formal. I bet Brad wouldn’t mind getting some alone time with Josie.”
“You noticed that, huh?”
“So obvious.” She rolled her eyes, but her expression quickly sobered. “You know, I wouldn’t ever cheat on Declan, Zach.” Vic’s voice cracked a little. “I was just lonely. I mean, I am lonely. And hanging out with you... it makes me feel closer to him somehow.”
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck!
My chest squeezed at her words. I’d known all along what this was, but it didn’t make it any less hard to hear.
Vic wasn’t here for me. She was here for herself. For my brother.
“Good to know,” I mumbled, the urge to crack open a bottle of vodka burning through me.
But I’d arranged to meet the guys at the court first thing in the morning for a little three on three action.
“That’s not... That was a dumb thing to say.” Vic pouted. “I just meant—”
“I got it the first time. I’m not Declan.” I’ll never be Declan.
I’d heard it my entire life. But hearing it from Victoria, the one person I thought was on my side through this shit show... well, it stung. But deep down, I got it. She was lonely and she was hurting and no one else understood.
Except me.
Our mutual loss bonded us. It gave us common ground. But that’s all it was.
“So what do you think? Shall I set it up?”
“Whatever.” I took a long pull on my beer.
Victoria would do it with or without my blessing, so there was really no use in protesting.
“Yay.” She clapped her hands. “It’ll be fun. You’ll see.” There was something in her gaze. A glint of mischief that if I wasn’t a few beers in probably would have raised my suspicions.
But I knew Victoria well enough to know she was always working some scheme. It was just my fucking luck she’d decided to turn her attention to Calli and Joel.
“The fair is in town this weekend, it’s perfect.”
Jesus. I ran my hand down my face. This was really happening. She was going to set up Joel and Calli on a date, and I was going to stand by and watch it happen.
My teeth ground together.
“Are you okay?” Vic asked, eyeing me with concern.
“Yeah. I need to get some sleep. Are you staying or going?”
She flinched at the severity in my voice. “Can I stay?” It was barely a whisper.
This was the Victoria I liked—the girl who let her walls come down.
I gave her a curt nod as I stood and moved to the hall. “You know where to find me.”
“Foul,” Brad yelled as I pushed Dev off me.
“Watch your fucking hands,” I gritted out, clutching the ball to my chest.
“I barely touched you,” he snickered.
“Come at me again like that and we’ll have a problem.”
“Relax, Messiah,” Joel jogged over to us. “It’s your free throw.”
“Damn right it is.” I edged to the free throw line and pulled my jersey up to wipe the sweat off my face. It was only a little after ten, but the sun was already soaring high in the sky. It was going to be a hot one.
“Drop back, D,” Joel said to Dev. “I’ve got him covered.”
“You think, Molineux?” I smirked, spinning the ball in my hands.
“Just take the damn shot, Messiah. We all know it’s a sure thing.” He rolled his eyes.
“Nothing in life is certain, Joely boy.” I lined up the shot, bending my knees slightly and snapping my wrist to release the ball. He jumped, throwing his arms high but nothing was going to stop it from slicing through the air, hitting the backboard and dropping through the hoop.
“And that’s how you do it,” Brad hollered.
“Nice one.” Joel held out his fist. I stared at it for a second, but then bumped mine against it. “So did Vic mention the thing to you?”
“Thing?” I played dumb as we walked off court to get some liquid refreshment.
“Yeah, the fair tonight? She said she mentioned it.”
“Oh that, yeah. Sounds cool.”
“And you’re okay with it?” He side-eyed me as he chugged his water. “With me asking Calli to come along as my date?”
Date.
I fucking hated that word.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know, you tell me. I kind of got the impression you two—”
“Hey, man. I saw the kiss.” I clapped him on the back a little harder than necessary. “It was fire.”
“Yeah.” His chest puffed. “It was pretty fucking awesome.”