Eden

Chapter 8: Lifetime

Noah's POV

"Pass it loser!"

I quickly look to see Jade flashing me her usual I-hate-your-guts sneer, waving her arms to signal for me to give her the ball. I'm starting to question why I wanted her on my team in the first place. I must've been seasick, or maybe I'm going completely mental.

We've been playing for nearly twenty minutes and she's still giving me attitude. For the past few rounds, I've happily thrown her the ball whenever she asked, but whenever she has the ball, she acts like passing the ball to me is the equivalent of giving your soul to the devil. To be fair, the fact that she thinks I'm the literal antichrist is not news.

"Are you deaf?" she yells again.

That's it.

Without a second thought, I sprint forward, pivoting around Kai before propelling myself off the ground. Within the split second of weightlessness as I float in the air, I swing my arm forward and dunk the ball straight into the hoop.

"Damn, Noah!" Kai applauds me with a pat on the back as I circle back around. He throws his arm in the air and I give him a high five before running back to the center.

Jade looks like a pissed off kitten as she scrunches up her face in cute yet annoyed manner. Feeling satisfied with myself, I top it off by flashing her my most cocky wink.

Annoyance burns in Jade's dark amber eyes as she meets my gaze. "Did your parents smack you in the head with a bat or something?"

My stomach twists and a lump forms in my throat. My parents. It's weird to hear someone refer to them in plural.

Her eyes scan my face, patiently waiting for one of those comebacks I'm so used to giving. I search my brain for a clever response, but the words are stuck in my throat. As I remain painfully silent, something glimmers in Jade's eyes. It's a look of realization. Realization and understanding.

She sees through me.

I quickly pull on my poker face and let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Only on every day of the week that ends in y."

A look of relief washes over her, and I can't believe my ears as she lets out a giggle—a giggle so adorable the sweet sound squeezes my heart.

"I gotta hand it to you. That was pretty clever." She smiles a rare, genuine, toothy smile. For a girl so hell-bent on pushing me away, she's sure doing everything to turn me on.

"Are you guys done?" Liam cuts in with a cough.

We look over to see him and Kai observing us with amusement on their faces. Heat immediately races to my face. I look back at Jade, and the sweet, innocent smile has disappeared from her face as quickly as it appeared.

"We've been playing for a while. Do you guys wanna switch up the teams?" Kai asks.

"No," Jade responds.

I look at her in surprise. Did she just say no? Kai and Liam look at me and then at each other, confusion plastered all over their faces.

Jade points at me. "I want to play him one-on-one."

Her fiery amber eyes meet mine, the amusement in her piercing glare is daring me to take her on like earlier in the arcade.

"Come at me."

Jade flashes me her sexy, devilish smirk. "If I score this round, you owe me a smoke."

"Deal," I respond without thinking twice. I knew she was trying to get at something, but that doesn't matter. There's no way she's getting past me.

"Your play." I pass her the ball.

"Your funeral." She smirks, tossing her smooth black hair over her shoulder before walking to her position. My lips turn up at her flash of confidence. The passion that glistens in her eyes when she plays ball almost reminds me of my own.

Jade bounces the ball at me, catching me off guard. "Check!"

I snap out of it and immediately focus on the ball in my hand. The ball returns to her hands as I pass it back, and the next round begins.

Before I can react, Jade sprints forward dribbling the ball at her side. Thankfully, a lifetime of training has taught me how to act on situations like this. As I manage to slide in between her and the hoop, she quickly turns her back to me, keeping the ball out of my hands.

"Not bad for a toddler." I block her path towards the basket.

She begins to back up against me, dribbling the ball in one hand while simultaneously pushing me back with the other. "I try."

I can feel the heat of her body radiating against mine as she closes the distance between us. We're so close that my lips nearly hover over the nape of her neck. The cool ocean breeze rolls through the court, causing her silky black hair to fly majestically into the air.

Cherry blossoms.

She smells like wild honey and cherry blossoms.

I can feel my heart beating faster.

Suddenly, in a lightning-quick motion, Jade spins around and sprints forward, attempting to get past me. My body jerks to the side trying to cut her off, but she pivots around me.

In the blink of an eye, the ball reflects off the backboard and swishes through the hoop.

"Gotcha." Jade winks at me, punches me in the arm, then jogs to retrieve the ball.

No way. I blink in utter shock.

"Damn." Kai appears beside me. "That's tough."

"A five-foot-tall girl just beat you." Liam pats me on the back.

"I'm aware."

Jade saunters back up to us. With one hand on her hip and the ball in the other, she flashes me her classic mocking grin.

"How does it feel to be beaten by a toddler."

Pretty shit. "Feels great."

Jade passes the ball to Kai before turning back to me. "You gonna hold up on your end of the deal now?"

Oh, right.

She won. I owe her.

"Right now?" I raise an eyebrow.

She rolls her eyes. "What? You got somewhere better to be?"

"Where are we even going to smoke?" I respond.

Jade glances at Kai before her gaze returns to me. "Our room has a balcony."

She has a balcony suite?  The way she dresses,  talks, acts—you'd never expect her to be from the kind of family who could afford that suite. Attempting to mask the look of surprise on my face, I turn to Liam and Kai. "You guys coming with us?"

Liam and Kai glance at each other, the expressions on their faces almost implies that they're plotting something. Liam finally turns back to smile at me, landing a punch on my arm. "I'm good bro. I actually wanna shoot some more hoops."

Cheap move. Liam hates basketball.

"Yeah. Me too." Kai adds.

Liam and Kai smile mischievously at each other before running off with the ball. Great. Now I'm stuck with her.

I turn back to see Jade is already striding towards the exit, her flowy white dress moving with her swaying hips.

She spins around, her warm amber eyes meeting mine. "You coming or not?"

A/N: Hey guys! I know this is a short chapter compared to my other ones, but I put a lot of heart and effort into it. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote! <3