BEYOND

BEYOND THE V

Every tingle from the caresses of his lips was becoming electricity, and every spark of his tongue meeting mine was turning into fire, both dangerous elements surging through my veins and raising my alarms, almost as loudly as the roars of the crowd around, and I wasn't sure which one made me lean away from the kiss, breathless.

Anyway, it was just in time, as I adjusted my glasses on my nose to watch the guest team entering the court, the school players ready to step in on the other side. Well, except for their captain whose breathy chuckle still tickled my skin.

"That's why I need you front row."

I didn't dare protest this time because first, I didn't fully trust my legs, and second, it would have only lost more time, and I already sensed too many glares on us as he walked me to my seat, although my mind was still too blurry to see from whom.

It already took me a few seconds to process the voice coming from behind me as Asher ran towards his teammates.

"So it's you who stole my reserved seat?"

"Paxton?" I blinked at the pair of green eyes, too similar to the ones still making my head spin, yet with fewer twinkles of bad intentions in them. "I'm sorry. We can switch if you want."

"No, I don't think Ash would be happy with it." He nodded somewhere over my shoulder, from where another type of glare was now burning me. "I'm better here anyway, 'cause I don't have the principal's eyes on me, so I can look at my phone."

Oh yes, another con of this seat I hadn't thought of: I was exposed to everyone's eyes, including the principal's and Asher's. Thus, I wouldn't be able to pull out my phone, nor the sketchbook I'd packed in my bag to occupy myself.

Watching sports wasn't my thing, and according to the few Google searches I'd done last night, a basketball game lasted about one hour in total. What would I do during all this time? Apart from peeking at Paxton's lighting phone screen apparently.

"Is it Kylie from Asher's birthday party?" Lifting my gaze from the name on the screen, I instantly realized how indiscreet I was. "Sorry, I didn't mean—"

"No, it's okay. It's not a secret." Paxton didn't lose his smile. On the contrary, it stretched brighter as he continued, "And yes, it's her. We've kept in touch since then, and she's actually asked news about you when I saw her yesterday."

"Oh, well, tell her I say hi when you see her again." Because he would probably see her again, if I read right the name lighting up his screen again and the twinkle that instantly followed in his eyes. "How is she doing?"

"She's fine I think. I offered to beat her ex's ass, but she refused, saying he's not worth it." He shrugged, though his face was fully serious now. "So I'll probably stick to telling everyone about the disgusting cheater he is."

"Good," I said, not sure what to reply, and I didn't get to add anything else when a loud whistle blow resonated from the court, attracting everyone's attention, including mine.

One player was winning my attention more exactly, his tall figure standing out, as much as the orange sweatband at his wrist and his athletic skills.

I didn't know anything about basketball, except for what Asher had explained to me yesterday; however, his talents were obvious from passing the ball and dribbling to doing steals and every other move he made that was not shooting, as he followed the collective tactic, leaving everyone confused, especially his opponents who started dropping their guard on him by the third quarter.

It was when he switched tactics, swiftly taking the lead and scoring a basket from the farthest line.

Yet the other team still had two points over them, while they only had a few minutes left, and time passed quickly—for the players, but also for me, I realized.