Cell Mates (boyxboy) (Book 1: Behind Bars)

Chapter 29: Everything changes.

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Chapter 29

 ~Riley's POV~

The sweat cascaded down my face, trailed down my neck and soaked my shirt. I wiped at my face with my sleeve then refocused, spreading my legs and crouching, eyes darting from Nate to John and back again.  The big guy's eyes narrowed on me and I watched as a sinister smile crept up on his face.

I looked away from him as Nate shouted my name and a second later the ball was in my hands. I dribbled the thing on the soft grass, darting out of John's way and into Kyle's path. When I threw the ball over his head, Nate caught it before Kyle could register the move then he glared at me and I gave him the finger.

I swiveled just in time to see Nate take the shot and succeed. We were making use of our surroundings, using a low hanging tree branch as the basket and a soccer ball we'd found in the basement earlier that day. So far we were tied, John and Kyle against me and Nate, though Kyle's contribution to the entire game was questionable.

"Riles, heads up!"

I threw my hands out but John plucked the ball from the air before I even had the chance to catch it and I ran with him as he dribbled it. He made to pass it to Kyle, then seemed to change his mind and took the shot instead. We watched as it bounced off the branch but he caught it easily and took another shot; this time it went over.

"You know you can pass me the ball once in a while!" Kyle shouted at John who was now chasing Nate.

"Bloody ball hog...I quit."

I laughed at that, watching out of the corner of my eye as Kyle, walked across the lawn, pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the ground before lowering himself into the grass beside it.

I threw my hands up. "Come on Kyle we can't play with just three people."

"It's fine, he wasn't much use anyway." John panted.

"Gee thanks Johnny." He drawled sarcastically and I shrugged, turned away from him and  got my head back in the game.

Basketball was the only sport I was actually good at despite my height and it was amazing to be able to enjoy it after so long. When Nate passed it to me again I poised to take the shot but John slammed into me and we both went down, the ball falling from my hands and rolling across the grass.

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me and I pushed against John's wall of a body and he jumped up, stretching a hand to help me to my feet. I ignored it.

"What you can't win so you maim me?" I glared, pushing up from the ground and brushing the grass and dirt from my bruises.

"Fuck you, I've got this."

"Calm down kids." Nathan teased from across the lawn, spinning the ball on two fingers.

"What a waste of a perfectly good day." Kyle sighed dramatically then completely spread out onto his back, hands behind his head.

"What're you talking about, this is the most fun thing we've done since we got here." I brushed some more dirt from my scratched elbows then pulled my shirt off too to shake the leaves off.

Kyle rolled his eyes. "Trust me there's plenty of ways to work up a sweat and this isn't a good one."

"We should get back to the case." John commented and I sighed. As much as I was dying to solve this, one day of relaxation would have been nice.

John stepped over Kyle on his way to the porch and Kyle turned his head to watch his lover go.

 Nate threw me the ball.