Cara Playing Cupid

Chapter 19 - Shot

"Glad to see you girls enjoying the night."

The voice made me stiffen, and I instinctively turned to see Blake and Elijah standing behind us with wide smiles on their faces.

"Hello, ladies." Elijah's tone was smooth, almost teasing as he addressed us.

Daphne's cheeks flushed a soft pink. "Hi." She mumbled, unable to keep the shy smile off her face.

Sophia gave him a smirk. "This is quite the setup."

"Yeah, I kind of went all out this year." He shrugged like it was no big deal, but I could tell he was proud of the sprawling scene around us.

Sophia raised an eyebrow, her gaze moving deliberately to me before flicking back to Blake. "We can see that."

Blake's eyes caught mine, and for a moment, everything else faded. "You like it?"

He is asking me?

My heart skipped a beat, but I forced myself to maintain a cool exterior, even though the warmth creeping up my neck betrayed me.

"It's nice," I said, offering a smile that I hoped looked more confident than I felt. "And unpredictable."

"That was the point." Blake's grin turned smug, and I couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. There was something about the way he looked at me like he knew exactly how to make me second-guess myself.

Before I could reply, Elijah stepped forward with a playful grin. "You guys wanna play some ball?" He gestured toward the court, where a few people were already warming up. "A couple of our players got a little... drunk, so we're kind of short."

My gaze flickered to the court, and then back to Elijah. "Uh, I'm not really in the mood-"

"Afraid to lose again?" Blake's voice cut in and the challenge clear in his tone.

I shot him a dead glare, wanting nothing more than to wipe that cocky smirk off his face.

"Again?" Elijah frowned, but I wasn't about to elaborate on the last time I'd played against him. It hadn't exactly been my finest moment.

Sophia casually draped her arm over my shoulders, grinning like she knew something I didn't. "You know what?" she said, nudging me playfully. "We'll join you guys."

Blake's eyes sparkled with mischief, and Elijah looked delighted. "Great. Let's go."

"What are you doing?" I squinted at Sophia, who was bouncing with excitement beside me.

"What?" she asked, her attempt at innocence failing miserably when her lips curled up into an amused grin. "This is a party. We came to have fun, right?"

Daphne and I exchanged a glance, then followed them toward the court. Something about the way Blake kept looking at me made my stomach flutter, and I was pretty sure he knew it.

"I never said we had to play with them," I muttered, irritation mixing with my nerves.

Sophia shrugged, unbothered. "It's just basketball, Cara. What could go wrong?"

"Yeah, except Blake always has to turn everything into a competition," I said, shooting her a look.

Sophia just winked. "And you love it."

Daphne, who had been quiet until now, beamed and gave us a thumbs-up. "I'll cheer you guys on!" she said, standing with the other partygoers near the sidelines.

I took off my jacket and handed it to her. "Can you hold this?"

"Sure thing." She nodded, her eyes wide with excitement.