Always Only You by Chloe Liese (z-lib.org).epub

lost in thought. I tip my head and jerk my chin. Pay attention.
When Kris drops the ball, Ren finally blinks and breaks away from watching
me.
Rob sighs and scoops up the ball. “Again.”
“Why?” Tyler says. “We’re losing tonight, at which point the playoffs are
over, and you know it.”
Ren drops his hands, and gestures to Rob. Rob volleys it to him. As Ren
chests it, then easily uses his thigh to send it back to Rob, he yells,
“Scapegrace!”
Rob’s eyes narrow as the ball sails his way, but when he heads it toward Lin,
a grin lights his face as he hollers, “Rapscallion!”
Half of the guys’ gazes swivel over their shoulders to me. I studiously focus
on my phone, so they don’t feel intruded on. I’m having a hard time focusing my
eyes, and out of my peripheral vision, I can see them all passing some kind of
inscrutable look between themselves, like they’ve been caught doing something
they shouldn’t.
I cough thickly into my arm as Lin says his word, so I miss it. But when
François cracks it toward Andy, his bellowed oath echoes in the room: “Basecourt
apple-john!”
Lin snorts. Tyler doubles over in hysterics, and Andy flies toward the ball,
saving it from touching the floor. Juggling it, he settles it on his foot, then stares
at Kris, deadly serious. “Mewling cut-purse.”
Laughter erupts in the room, the ball starts flying, not once touching the
ground, as shoulders drop and frowns dissolve. I watch the ball travel in a
psychedelic blur across the space as stars dance in the corner of my vision. The
room’s warmer, my labored breaths a refrain as it tilts and spins beneath me.
I take a step back and brace myself against the wall, rubbing a hand over my
face. My hand comes away damp. I’m sweating. Clearing my throat, I try to take
a slow breath, and squint, one-eyed, hoping it clears my vision.
For a moment, the world seems clear, and I can see how different the
atmosphere is in the space, now. As if a switch was flipped, the room’s mood is
shades brighter, like the sun bursting over land the moment it escapes a cloud.
The oaths just keep coming, their laughter swelling in volume and
complexity like a swarm of bees. These guys either all picked up on Ren’s
cursing creativity over the past three years, or they’ve turned into giant
Shakespeare dorks, too. Whatever the explanation, the effect is the same. Morale
restored. Spirits lifted.
God, the brilliance. Ren did what he always has—brought the joy, made
people feel better. And this is why he’s instrumental to the team. This is why, as