Page 95 of Playing Dirty

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Except I did.

Caleb leaned slightly closer to say something to her.

She laughed once.

Small.

Quick.

Not performative.

Real.

That was worse than anything else.

Because I knew that version of her now.

And it wasn’t for me.

Jace nudged me lightly with his elbow. “You’re staring.”

“I’m not.”

“You are absolutely staring.”

I forced myself to move.

Ran the drill again.

Missed timing by half a beat.

Coach whistle cut instantly.

“Reed!”

I exhaled once.

Reset.

But my eyes still drifted back.

Even when I didn’t want them to.

After practice, I stayed on court longer than I needed to.

Everyone else left.

Noise faded.

Shoes gone. Voices gone. Just echo and empty space.

I kept shooting anyway.

Because I didn’t want to think about anything else.

But she was already there anyway.

In the background of everything.

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