No Turning Back (Rewrite)

Chapter 22

"What are you smiling about," Conner asked with a raised brow. He stood in front of me with his arms flared out at his sides.

I bounced a basketball in my hands, stepping from side to side. I glanced around his flailing arms, looking for an opening. "Thinking about how I'm about to break your ankles." I faked a right turn, creating an opening as Conner lunged to the side. Easily, I skipped around him and threw the basketball into the hoop. Grinning, I watched it swoosh through the net.

Conner caught the ball before it could crash onto the court. "Nah, be honest. You've had that goofy ass smile on your face for weeks now. Tell me what's been going on." A grin appeared on his lips as he tilted his head. "Did you finally kiss the girl you were telling me about?"

Blush spread across my cheeks. I opened my mouth to answer, but Justin's voice interrupted me.

"What girl," he asked as he jogged up to us. "Didn't Mia dump you not too long ago?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm with someone else now."

"What's her name? Does she go here?"

"No, she goes to one of the public schools. Her name is...Jayla."

Justin smirked. "Jayla, huh? What does she look like?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Um, she's Latina, and she's got these beautiful green eyes and curly dark hair and dimples when she smiles."

"A Latina? I bet she's got some nice curves. Good rack, wide waist, and a booty to bounce a dime off?"

My eyebrows threatened to come together. "Yeah," I tried to say confidently. "She's really pretty. I...I really like her."

"You should bring her around to hang with us sometime. I'm sure the rest of the team would love to meet her."

"I don't know. Maybe. She's shy around new people."

Conner threw his arm around my shoulders. "And the two deserve some alone time to enjoy the honeymoon stage. Have you noticed the soppy smile on the dude's face? Let him enjoy the moment."

Justin held up his hands. "Whatever. Let's just see if Daniel can actually hold onto to this one."

I grinded my teeth together as I watched him jog off towards his shooting partner. "Why does he always have to be an ass?"

Conner shrugged. "Because he's jealous of how many girls you pull on the daily." He nudged me. "Don't worry about it." He pushed the ball into my hands. "I know your lady is shy and all, but I'd be down for a double date. I'm sure Bella would be able to open her up; she's a sweet girl."

I smiled. "Thanks, man. I'll talk to her about it."

Basketball practice surprisingly didn't drag on today. Quickly after my conversation with Conner, I was heading out to my car. I took a shortcut down to Donnie's school. With practice, I couldn't pick him up on time. The two of us had talked about his babysitter picking him up after school, but he refused.

"I'll wait for you," he insisted.

Thankfully, his school offered an after-school program where the students could hang out and get some of their homework done. All of them gathered in the school library with board games and crayons spread over the tables. Usually, I'd walk in with sweat dripping down my shirt, earning wrinkled noses from the supervising teachers. Still, Donnie never failed to launch himself into my arms, hugging my legs so tightly at times I thought they might break.

Today, his grip was especially tight. I struggled to bend down and sign him out due to his tight grip. "Hey, bud," I said as I rubbed his head. "How was your day?"