Long Shot (Hoops 1)

“I gotta go,” she repeats. “See you tomorrow.”

Before I can reply, she dashes across the street. A huge body-builder looking guy steps out and helps her and Sarai into the back seat. He stares at me once they’re inside, his presence like a threat—like a warning. He makes me want to snatch Iris and Sarai away from him. I stand there frozen, feeling helplessly protective until the red taillights disappear around the corner.

“Gus!”

I turn toward the only person who calls me that. Jared is parked a few feet away. I’m still not driving much, so he dropped me off.

I tap the hood of his low-slung sports car. “Dude, you’re such a poser.” I laugh and slide into the front seat, careful of my throbbing leg.

“You’re just jealous of my whip,” Jared replies.

“That fact that you used the word ‘whip’ in an actual conversation makes my point.”

We share a grin, but Jared’s ebbs as quickly as it appeared. “Was that who I think it was?” he asks, never one to pull punches. “Walking out with you? The chick with the kid?”

“Who?” I conveniently find something outside my window fascinating. “Was that who?”

“Cut the shit. That was Caleb’s girlfriend, Iris DuPree, wasn’t it?”

I swivel a curious look around to him. “How do you know Iris?”

“I interviewed her maybe two years ago for an internship,” he says. “She’s sharp.”

“Yeah, she is. Why didn’t you give her a job then?”

“Because at the end of the interview, she threw up all over me.” Jared’s grin is rueful. “She found out she was pregnant. I offered her a job, but by then she was on bed rest and couldn’t work. I believe she was on bed rest almost the entire pregnancy.”

Pregnant. Unable to work or earn money. Confined to the bed for months. No wonder she said she’d had hard choices to make. It sounds like she did the only thing she could do—stay with Caleb.

It infuriates me. She barely knew me. Of course, she wouldn’t have turned to me, but I wish she had. I would have done anything to keep her free of him.

“Please tell me this hasn’t all been about her. Tell me you didn’t provoke Caleb and jeopardize your career, a thirty-million-dollar contract for some chick?”

“Some chick?” I lift one eyebrow. “You must not remember her if you think she’s just some chick.”

“I do remember her. I know how she looks.” Jared shows his disgust in the scrunch of his brows. “You sound whipped. I assumed it was just pussy.”

“Watch your mouth, Jared,” I snap and point a warning finger at him.

“I didn’t mean any disrespect, but damn. She lives with Caleb. They have a kid together. It’s really inconvenient if you have a thing for her, Gus.”

“We’re friends.” I rebuke him with a glare. “And don’t call me Gus.”

Jared knows I hate the childhood nickname and uses it to get on my nerves. I have enough on my nerves without adding him.

“So this dirty play was about Iris?” Jared asks. “I saw her at the game with her daughter.”

“Yeah, I saw her, too.”

“Doing rehab here in Maryland—that isn’t about her, is it?” Jared shakes his head, not waiting for my answer. “And now you’re conveniently volunteering with her.”

I tip my head back into the soft leather of the headrest, answering with only a sigh.

Jared bangs a fist into the steering wheel. “Dammit, August. What part of ‘keep the hell away from my girl’ do you not understand? What’s Caleb gonna have to break next for you to get the message?”

I snap narrowed eyes over to him. “I’d like to see that motherfucker try to break something else.” I adjust my seat, leaning back, worn out from the few hours at the community center. “There’s more going on than meets the eye. She’s wearing his ring, but she tells me they’re not engaged.”

“Maybe she’s playing you both. The only thing better than having one rich man strung out on you is having two.”