Shot clock | Book 2 in USC series

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑𝟔.

" Yeah," Carson backs him up. " Because you know why?"

" Why?" I entertain them.

" Because you, Dominic Steele, are a Dawg. Not a dog... a Dawg!"

" Woof! Woof!" Kyler barks in addition to Carson's hyping.

"And a beast on and off the court! You are a 6'7 beast with the best dunking abilities in our generation! You are greater than all of your haters combined! So from now on, you go out there and you leave it all on the court and give them something to talk about! Cus you're a what?"

" A beast," I answered.

" With some enthusiasm please!" Kyler holds his ear, waving his hand for me to speak up.

" A beast!" I gave in, feeling better and determined.

I couldn't sit and mop about something that I had no control over. But what I could do was take all of that energy and apply it to my game. It could be my motivation instead of a distraction. And even though we weren't together, I knew that she would want me to be at my best. She wouldn't want our breakup to affect my game or let the critics get to me.

" Great! Now get dressed. We are going out for dinner."

" Our treat," Carson adds.

" Both of my boyfriends are treating me to dinner? It's my lucky night," I joked.

" If you say anything we'll deny it," Kyler calls out as I enter my room, shutting the door behind me.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I expect it to be a message from my agent, reminding me that I had to be in L.A after this weekend's game to finish up filming for the music video. On one hand, the video was nearly done. On the other hand, I still had two more months of this ticking contract to fulfill.

Instead, it was a memory from snapchat.

A video of Rhegan dancing in the kitchen of the basketball house after she tried— and failed— at making me breakfast.

She didn't have a cooking bone in her body but it was the thought that counted.

I stared at the screen, emitting a longing sigh for the girl that stole my heart and took it half way across the country when she left. The emptiness that I felt inside was indescribable. It felt like I was going day by day functioning on autopilot and only serving off of the thought that she would come back to me.

That we would be together again one day.

I wasn't one to give up and I wasn't going to give up on her.

Not until I knew that it was really over.

There was no bone in my body that believed that. Not even for a second. Either it was a sock cosmic joke that she came to USC, that we ran into each other again, or it was fate. It was meant to be. One way or another, we always found our way back to each other.

And we would find our way back to each other again.

Rhegan Emilia Clarke, the girl who broke my heart, was my soulmate. The love of my life. I wasn't going to give up on her. I wasn't going to leave her.

" We'll be back," I whispered matter of factly before my screen went black. " We always come back."

I released a heavy sigh as I stalked to my bathroom, undressing and leaving a trail of my clothes behind me. Being a fool in love was really a full-time job. It was more stressful than my actual job and the only reason I put myself through this stress was because the reward was worth the risk.

Stepping into my shower that was nearly scorching hot and could give me third degree burns had I not gotten used to the water temperature that Rhegan insisted on showering in, I let the water trickle over my head down my back and chest. My head was bowed as I palmed the wall and allowed the water to wash over my body as I stood in silence alone with my thoughts.