Nick held his hand up, halting Ryan, but he was speaking to Wachowitz. “You might want to watch your words. Ryan hasn’t missed one practice this week, and he’s already captain. You know he has a say in who gets nominated.”

“Team nominates the co-captain.”

Nick’s grin went wide, and his head cocked to the side. “But Ryan gets final say. If he doesn’t like you, he isn’t going to pick you.”

Wachowitz’s stance grew less intimidating. His head lowered, and he stuffed one of his hands into his pocket. “You serious?”

Ryan released my hand. He passed both his friends, moving purposefully. He went up to Wachowitz and shoved him against the locker. “I don’t give a rat’s ass if I’m captain or not. You come at me like that again, and I’ll get your ass kicked off the team.”

Kirk and Nick pushed forward, standing close behind Ryan.

Wachowitz swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, and he moved his head in the same motion.

“Yeah, man. I apologize.” He held his fist up, but Ryan ignored him.

Meeting my eyes, Ryan spoke to Wachowitz, “Do it again, and we’ll have more than fucking words. Got it?”

Wachowitz’s gaze jumped to mine, and he swallowed again. He didn’t say anything else, only turned and disappeared down the hallway. He didn’t bounce the basketball against any more lockers.

“Well, that was fun,” Kirk said as Ryan came back.

Ryan was still holding my gaze. I had darkness in me, but so did he. There’d been a few glimpses over the last couple months, but this was the first time I’d really experienced it. It was a window into how he’d been before I showed up.

A shiver went down my spine as Ryan bent to kiss me.

“I’ll see you later?” he said softly.

I nodded, feeling all sorts of flutters in my chest.

He stepped back and clapped Nick on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Wachowitz is going to have a hard practice today.”

Nick’s grin was almost evil. “Hell yes, he is.”

They took off, but Kirk lingered behind.

“Basketball isn’t your thing?” I asked him.

He laughed, shaking his head. “Sports in general are not my thing. I love to watch, bet on the game, hit on chicks in the bleachers, but that’s it. You?”

Me?

Come on, Soccer Superstar.

I heard Willow calling me that again and found myself saying, “Soccer, actually.”

“Really? It’s a spring sport here for us. You going to play?”

I heard myself saying, “Yeah. I think I am.”

I wasn’t sure who was shocked more, him or me. Then again, I hadn’t thought about sports since June twenty-eighth.

Bouncing basketballs sounded like a thunderstorm—with whistles shrieking, tennis shoes squeaking against the gym floor, and a whole ton of yelling. The smell of sweat filled the room, but someone had propped open the double doors so fresh air circulated through, along with the sound of dance music being played somewhere down the hall.

I’d gone to the bathroom and saw some of the dance team practicing a routine near my locker.

There were a lot of students out and about in the school, but I was one of the only audience members for basketball practice. The coach came in, saw me, and started to protest. I saw how his shoulders tensed, and he scowled, but Ryan ran over, with Nick and another guy hot on his heels. They talked to their coach and after a bit, his shoulders relaxed and the scowl flattened to a firm line of disapproval. He said something to Ryan, who nodded and ran back to his place for drills.

I went back to my homework, not making a peep, and finally practice ended.

The guys stayed around for a scrimmage game, and I sat and marveled at how damn good Ryan was. He’d been the first to finish the drills. He’d given the calls.

I mean, I could be biased, but he seemed to be the best at shooting, and he worked the hardest.

Wachowitz, on the other hand, was dragging. He’d been lagging behind half the team since the middle of practice. He missed a pass, and after he missed another, one of his teammates yelled for him to tag out.

He did just that, and the game kept going.

“Can I sit?”

I turned, surprised that I hadn’t noticed anyone coming up the bleachers, and saw Cora pointing to the seat beneath me.

I nodded. “Sure.” I moved down a little, giving her some space.

She sat, straddling the bench so one foot was next to mine and the other was below her. She watched the court. “I always forget how good Ryan is until I see him.”

“Really?”

She nodded, her gaze solemn.

We watched the game for a moment. Ryan’s teammates cut across the gym, and he passed to one of them. The toss was so fast that the ball was in his teammate’s hands before he blinked.

She sighed. “Just get ready. It’s about to be insane, especially with you being Ryan’s girlfriend.”