Cara Playing Cupid

Chapter 5 - Invite

I dribbled the ball, letting the rhythm of the bounce calm me down as Sophia and I fell into our usual practice routine. But today, our usual banter had taken a serious turn.

"This is a complicated situation," Sophia said, catching the ball with a hum of frustration.

"Exactly," I sighed. I couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety that had settled in my stomach since yesterday's conversation.

She looked at me thoughtfully as she passed me the ball. "Do you think we should ask Daph about what Blake said?"

I shook my head, catching the ball from her. "It's better if she doesn't know about his interest."

"Why?" She arched her eyebrow.

"Because..." I passed her the ball. "It'll only make Daph uncomfortable. You know how shy she gets around people. If she finds out Blake likes her..."

Sophia caught the ball smoothly and finished my thought. "She'll be extra awkward around him."

I nodded, trying to ignore the throbbing in my head from lack of sleep. "We need to keep him away with no one noticing."

I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night because of the storm in my head. In the morning, I took two cups of coffee to keep me awake, but it wasn't helping.

"How are we going to do that?" She asked, her brow furrowed as she tossed the ball into the hoop with a satisfying swish.

"We need to stick with Daph all the time," I said, making her scoff.

"That's nearly impossible."

"Okay, then as much as we can," I replied, feeling the frustration build as I made a quick shot and scored.

"And how are you going to stop Blake's plan for the party?" She raised a point I'd been dreading.

I made another shot, hoping it would clear my head. "We can't stop Daph from going. So we'll have to keep them apart the whole night."

"Just to remind you." She crossed her arms. "Elijah's parties are invite-only, and we aren't invited."

I felt a wave of panic crash over me, and I let out a groan. "Shit, shit!"

"Exactly." She smirked.

I took a deep breath. "We need to get that invite from Elijah."

Sophia looked at me, waiting for more. "How?"

"I'll have to think of something-"

"I'm not lying!" The shout cut through the gym like a knife. We turned to see two of our team members, Susan and Erica, locked in a heated argument. The rest of the team had stopped their stretches, watching the drama unfold with wide eyes.

"He told me himself!" Susan thrust her phone screen towards Erica, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and hurt. "He texted me!"

"Ok. Fine." Erica threw her hands up, her face a mask of frustration. "I didn't tell you because I knew you'd lose it."

Sophia nudged me, her eyes darting between the girls who seemed ready to explode. "Stop them."

"Why?" I frowned, still confused about what was going on.

She rolled her eyes. "Because Vivian's not here, and you're the captain."

"Oh, right..." I mumbled, suddenly aware of my responsibility, and jogged towards the chaos.

"Why in the world would you sleep with my ex?!" Susan's voice cracked with a mixture of betrayal and fury.

"He's your ex, Susan!" Erica's voice was defensive. "You guys broke up months ago. You said you were over him!"