CHOOSE WISELY

I could hear Sawyer's laughter floating through the hallway. I threw open the bedroom door so quickly I wasn't sure what was faster – how quickly my mind thought about her in the mornings when I woke up or how I raced to her in the mornings when I heard her feet pattering in the hallways.

Seeing her made me think about what happened in the kitchen – how I almost kissed her before Fletcher fucking interrupted us. I didn't realize what I was doing or at least where I was doing it at.

My brain doesn't function around her. Not when she's wearing her workout clothes, and they consist of spandex shorts and an oversized long-sleeve shirt. Except it's her smile alone that brings me to my knees. I have to stop from dropping to worship the ground she walks on every time she steps into the room.

Now I'm leaning against the corridor of my bedroom, watching her laugh with Joey. They're jumping around in their gameday clothes. My girl's curly hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail that must've taken hours to slick back.

I could barely see the number three on her back from the tight coils cascading over her shoulders, but my eyes kept lowering to the glow of her brown skin. Every inch of her legs glimmered. Every inch made it harder for me to breathe.

I fell against the corridor, losing my breath. My fingers clutched my sweatshirt. It didn't slow the beating of my heart. It didn't even make it easier to breathe.

"Are you going to stand there all day?"

My eyes tore away from the curly-haired girl to find another girl standing on the stairwell in her volleyball attire.

"Are you coming tonight?"

I saw Sawyer turn around as I rolled my eyes. "Yes. I'm coming tonight."

"Maybe we can meet up afterwards?"

I pushed away from the wall. "No."

"So, you're coming tonight?" Joey approached us. "Coach Peterson benched Amanda to play Sawyer tonight!"

"Oh, really?" I cocked my head to look at Sawyer.

"Come on, Taylor," Joey pulled away the blonde. "I need help with something."

I didn't care to watch them disappear down the stairwell. I didn't even care if they were still watching when I turned to Sawyer.

"You still haven't invited me, Sully."

A blush kissed the tops of her cheeks. "Sorry. I was distracted."

I leaned over her, my shoulder pressed against the wall as she rested her hand on my chest to stop herself from stumbling forward. "By what?"

"Well, I thought you were gonna – "

"Sawyer! Taylor is here!"

I ignored the woman at the end of the stairs. "Thought I was gonna what?"

She bit into her lower lip. Her eyes shifted from the space beside me back to my face. "Kiss me."

"Did you want me to?"

Her hazel eyes flickered to mine. "Yes."

"Sawyer!" Joey came up behind me. "We've gotta go. We're going to be late."

"I'll see you at the game," I winked at Sawyer.

Just as she started walking away, I pinched the bottom of her shirt to keep her from moving. Her feet scuffed against the wood.

"Next time we won't be interrupted," I peered down at her. "Good luck tonight, Sawyer."

Just as she disappeared down the stairwell, I shouted for Fletcher. "Get ready! We have a game to go to!"

I grabbed my keys from the bedside table before finding my best friend in the hallway with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing?"

"Put some shoes on," I pointed at his bare feet. "We have a volleyball game. How did you not know this? Your girlfriend is one of the players."

"Of course I knew that," he furrowed his eyebrows. "But why are you going?"

"Do you think I'd let you go alone? I'm supporting your sister too, by the way. So, let's go. I don't want to be late."

"Cade and Tory are coming."

"Tory? Why is he coming?

He shrugged. "I guess he wanted to see Sawyer play."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

I felt a million questions filling my head. Why the fuck was Tory going? Fletcher asked me too many times to slow down on the drive to the arena, but I wanted to see Sawyer before she played, and I was pissed. I wanted to know why Tory kept shooting his shot at Sawyer. Was he shooting his shot? Or was he going because Cade was going?

It didn't matter because the second I stepped inside the arena; I saw him standing beside Sawyer. He's smiling down at her as she's laughing, and I have to pretend like I don't want to kill him as Fletcher's directing us towards the entryway.

"What's up guys?" Tory nodded as we approached them.

"Here to support Sawyer," I shoved my hands into the pockets of my joggers. "What are you doing here?"

"The same," he turned back to Sawyer. "You should've saw her in practice. It makes me worried for the other team."

"You've seen her practice?"

"No," Sawyer furrowed her eyebrows. "He came into the weightroom while I was training."

"Coach seemed to have found a new favorite from the way I heard her talking."

"I wouldn't know," I shrugged. "I've never seen her place. Not even in practice."

Sawyer tried to grab onto me as I turned away. "Carter – "

"See you in there," I moved out of the way of her touch. "Good luck."

I heard her call out for me again. If she asked why I ignored her, it was because the crowds got too loud, and she had better company to occupy her time with.

My fingers ran through my hair as I followed Fletcher up the stairs. I couldn't stop the images of Tory staring down at her with a smile on his face. It seemed like she was just as happy. Like it didn't matter what happened between us yesterday or earlier in the hallway. Like I didn't matter.

So, I watched the team flood the gym, and when Fletcher cheered for Joey, I searched for the curly-haired girl. Despite the tightness in my chest, I stood up from my seat the second she hit the floor. I wanted to be the loudest person.

My eyes steered to Tory cheering from the sidelines, and her eyes found him first. When reality hit, I dropped back down to my seat. I watched her search the crowds likely searching for Fletcher, but when she saw me, her fingers wiggled back and forth to acknowledge me.

"What the fuck is he doing here?" I snapped at Fletcher, my eyes burning holes into the back of Tory's head.

"He's taking Sawyer out for ice cream – "

"What? And you're okay with that?"

"No," he rolled his eyes. "That's why we're going out for ice cream tonight."

"So much for just wanting to support your sister," I grumbled. "Now he's trying to take her out."

"It's whatever. He can't do anything if we're there," he stood up. "Do you want something from concessions?"

"I'm good."

Cade approached me with Tory trailing not so far behind. "Am I seeing shit or is Carter really sitting before me? Dude, what the fuck are you doing here? I thought you hated attending this kind of shit."

"Well, I'm supporting, Sawyer," I avoided the blonde-haired punter sitting beside me.

"Speaking of," Cade smacked Tory's chest. "What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "We're going out for ice cream. I told her I paid her back."

"Pay her back? What really happened yesterday?"

I snapped my head to look at them. "Yesterday?"

"Yeah," Cade snickered. "Dude tried convincing me they were in her room all day, but nothing happened. I call bullshit."

"She helped me with my paper. Nothing happened!"

"Oh, come on," Cade pushed. "You said you still didn't finish the paper. What were you really doing?"

"Shut the fuck up," I bit.

"Woah," the quarterback of my team laughed. "What's your deal?"

I stood from my seat, ignoring Cade as I stood over Tory. "Let's make a deal."

"A deal?"

"You're gonna take Sawyer out for ice cream. You'll buy her whatever she wants."

He narrowed his eyes. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch," I shrugged. "You either keep your hands to yourself or I'll snap your fucking legs in half."

"Bro – calm down," Cade stood from his seat.

"Choose wisely," I stepped past Tory. "Make a move on Sawyer or never kick a football again."