The Beginner's Guide to Henry and Gabriella

| 29 | and the conversation with the little white lies

Henry's POV

GABRIELLA WON.

Her friends circled her, crushing her in a deep embrace. A little more than half the cafeteria joined in, applauding and whistling her victory. A blush dusted her cheeks as she softly smiled from ear to ear.

A pang swarm in my chest. I couldn't believe I was at fault for dwindling that smile at one point.

I wanted to apologize. I needed to apologize. Not to clear my conscience, but to clear hers. To rid her of the blame I pinned on her shoulders. Bringing up her father and Emilio was the shittiest thing I could've done and did. And I let her walk away. 

"You okay, man?" Adam slapped a hand on my back, glancing in the direction I looked away from.

Things settled between him and me. It was like the last two months never happened. It was like Samantha and I never hooked up. She even sat next to me this morning, nervously asking me if Adam's mom showed indifference when we'd mention her name— like if we ever did. Our conversations usually dealt with our games, college basketball, and our families.

He told me about their little behind-the-scenes relationship that happened a year ago. I don't understand how he never told me then, especially when she and I started doing whatever the hell we were doing.

It all seemed forever ago.

Before I could address Adam's concern—not that I even had one— Jeffery flinched loudly, bringing a balled-up fist to his mouth. His other hand balanced his phone in front of him. Rocco, who stood next to him, winced and glanced away from it like if he'd seen a dead man.

"What's up with them?" I asked in hopes of diverting my attention somewhere else—to someone else.

My priority was the game and taking the team to the championships. I should focus on that right now. For now.

Adam rolled his eyes. "Monroe had a game yesterday with East Bay High. This Riley dude scored 25 pts in the first quarter."

"Yeah, and they're all lay-ups," Jeffery pointed out. "The dude's shorter than I am, and he's obliterating their defense."

"I keep telling you to stop watching those videos," Adam scorned. "You'll psych yourself out."

"I think he watches them for something else," Rocco joked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I complimented his ass one time, and you said you'd never tell!" Jeffery exclaimed. "And we have to study their moves if we want to win. Henry's benched for half the game. There goes our shooting guard. We have to make up the points somehow, and it's by having a strong defense and not letting them take easy shots."

"He's right," I thought out loud. "We have to study their plays. It's not a huge advantage, but it's something." I turned to Jeffery. "If you're as this passionate on the court, then Coach did right in choosing you to be starting five. Your mom's coming to the game, right?"

He grinned like a little boy given a giant rainbow lollipop for the first time. "Yeah."

"Bring every video you have," I told him and then addressed the rest of the boys. "Be at my place at five. We'll go over some footage."

Rocco sucked in a breath. "Might be a little late."

"It's Monday. What are you doing?"

"Asking Lyla to homecoming," he answered.

"She's your girlfriend." I raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that already a given?"

Jeffery laughed through his nose, bemused. "You'd think, but with Miss Lyla Moore, there's always gotta be...more." He slung a lazy arm around Rocco's shoulder. "Our little boy here is a simp."