Foul Line: A High School Bully Romance (The Ballers of Rockport High Book 2)

by E. M. Moore

  “Thanks a lot, bro,” Sloan calls out even though I’m sure Alec can’t hear him right now.

  “It means,” Hayes starts, “someone started shit about his family. Ivy doesn’t like people who say shit about his family.”

  My brows pinch together as I work on Sloan’s fists, wiping crusted blood away to reveal the damage underneath. Luckily, it doesn’t look as if any one of them are too badly off. When I glance up, Sloan is pulling a Hayes. His face is a mask as he looks down at my work without a sign on his face one way or the other. “Care to elaborate?” I ask, keeping my voice even.

  Sloan’s tongue darts out and licks his lips as he locks gazes with me. “Someone recognized me. I don’t think they agreed with my father’s politics.”

  “They called his dad a man whore,” Hayes supplies.

  Sloan’s faces changes in an instant. The death glare he’s sending his friend right now makes a lump form in my throat. “Isn’t someone talkative all of a sudden?”

  Hayes lifts his hand, giving Sloan the middle finger. Luckily, Sloan just laughs it off.

  “So, you went ape shit?” Part of the scene I witnessed earlier makes sense. Sloan egged the fight on, but Alec was right there when his friend needed help. He is the bigger of the two even though I’m sure Sloan can hold his own.

  Sloan takes the washcloth from me and sets it on the table, dismissing my attention. He falls back on his bed and crosses his feet and his hands behind his head. “I don’t know why I care. It’s true.”

  I know exactly why he cares. I’m not exactly happy with my father at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still love him. “It’s natural,” I tell him.

  His gaze slides over to me. He truly looks at me, wondering if I’m just placating him or if I’m being serious.

  I give him a small smile, and then walk back into Hayes’s grip. He sits on his bed, dragging me with him, and I sit on his lap. A quick check of the clock tells me it’s almost midnight. I should go back to my cabin, but at the same time, I’m too wrapped up in these guys to want to have to worry about them all night. I turn in Hayes’s grip. “Can I stay here?”

  His jaw tenses. The steady rise and fall of his chest hiccups for a moment before he leans back, wordlessly. With little effort, I fall right into place next to him. I kick off my shoes and let them drop off the side of the bed.

  Sloan sighs. “If anymore funny business happens with Tessa tonight, I can’t promise I won’t jackoff to it.”

  Hayes actually smirks. He kisses the corner of my lips, and I’m so comfortable right next to him that I close my eyes, letting myself drift off immediately. So many things went down today. Ryan…Lake…but somehow, none of that seems to matter when sleeping curled up next to Hayes.

  29

  What I don’t expect when I wake up is the massive hard-on pressing into my back. I blink awake. Hayes doesn’t stir, so I know he’s not even aware of it, which makes me smile into the pillow. I lift my head carefully. Sloan and Alec are still asleep, too. Both of them look peaceful, the bruising that’s starting to appear on their handsome faces a juxtaposition to the cherub-like faces as they’re lost in a dream world. I’m glad it’s Sunday. I don’t have to worry about basketball today, but more than that, neither do they. Their fists need to heal, and maybe some of their cuts and bruises will go down, so that they don’t have to explain anything to anyone. The fact that the cops didn’t show up last night is promising. It means they probably won’t be, so at least the Ballers are out of the woods on that front.

  Now, the guy’s car they borrowed? That’s another story. I flip on the bed until I’m staring up at the ceiling. Lake’s addicted to pain killers. I can’t even remember him being injured recently, not that I would’ve heard when I was at Broadwell. No, this has to be at least a year old or more. No wonder why he’s such a fucking prick all the time. Isn’t that one of the side effects of drug usage? Massive assholery.

  Regardless of that, when he said he hated me yesterday, it wasn’t the drugs or the alcohol talking. No, that came from his core. Something that still baffles me, but I know my guys won’t ever give me the answers I want. Some of what they’ve done makes sense now. They were trying to help Lake. They probably didn’t want him to go back to the pills if he was in fact staying off them recently.

  Hayes stirs. His hand lifts and rests on my stomach. I slept in my jeans, something that didn’t prove to be very comfortable. Right now, however, the shirt I have on is halfway up my stomach. Hayes’s palm glides over my bare skin.

  I turn my head to look at him. His eyes are bright this morning, like sapphire chips glistening in the noon sunlight. “What are you thinking about?” he whispers.

  Reaching out, I trace my fingertips over his cheeks. I don’t want to bring Lake up this early in the morning, and honestly, I’m not sure if I should. He’s obviously dealing with his own demons. And just when I had myself convinced I should make that bet with him. Then again, if I made a bet with him about MVP, maybe he’d get off the drugs. He’d have to if he wanted to beat me.

  Hayes’s fingers press into my lower lip. “You’re not going to tell me?”

  I smile. “Nothing important.”

  “I know that’s a lie. You have that fierce look on your face, and I know Tessa Dale doesn’t think about trivial things.”

  His hand traces lower, dipping just under the tops of my jeans. He makes my heart stagger inside my chest.

  “Is this okay?”

  I gulp and nod. As soon as I do so, the part of his fingers I can’t see any more trace the top of my panties. My breath comes to a grinding halt. His other hand deftly maneuvers the button on my jeans through the buttonhole. Still keeping his gaze locked on mine, he lowers the zipper.

  I bite my lip.

  “That’s so sexy,” he breathes. He leans over and captures my swollen lips in his, all the while sneaking his hand lower and lower until they scoop under the lace and he cups me. I moan into his mouth, but he swallows it up. He keeps his lips on me, kissing a languid rhythm that matches his finger strokes once he pushes inside. My hips come off the bed, but his kiss doesn’t let up. Any moans or whispers my body is begging me to make are all caught up inside Hayes now as he works his finger in and out of me. Of all the things I’ve done with any one of them, this feels the most intimate. Hayes is trying. I think if I asked him to stop being friends with Lake, he would. I won’t. I don’t ever want to be like that. Maybe if Lake gets off the Oxy, we can coexist.

  He curls his finger, and I gasp into his mouth. His tongue glides over mine, and he presses his dick into my thigh. I reach down to cup him and his kiss falters for a moment before he continues ravaging me.

  Hayes is fucking huge. As I wrap my fingers around him, I wonder at the logistics of fitting him inside me eventually. Maybe not now…

  His thumb presses on my nub.

  Or now.

  I try to turn on my side, but Hayes holds me in place. His finger moves faster. I’m so caught up in his movements that all I can do is clasp his dick in a tight fist. My high builds and builds. I know I’m going to come soon. Hayes must realize it too because he deepens the kiss. I cling to his shoulders with my free hand, my nails sinking into his skin as I ride his finger. Sparks fly in front of my eyes as I constrict over his finger, sending me blissfully over the edge.

  His finger slows as my body comes back down. He finally lets me break away, and I almost gasp as I try to rake in air that my chest so desperately needs. “That was evil,” I tell him.

  He pushes hair back from my face. “I didn’t want an audience.” When I raise my eyebrows at him, he says, “I didn’t want to wait either.”

  I give him a smile. He pulls his fingers out of me, rearranges my pants back as they should be, and leaves his hand on my stomach like he had it when we started. A sleep-mussed Hayes is a gorgeous Hayes. His dirty blond hair is wild about him and the blue in his eyes, either excited from what we just did or from just waking up, is intoxicating. See
ing as I still have my hand on his hard cock, I start to stroke him. Immediately, he entwines our fingers and pulls me away. “I won’t be able to keep quiet, Tessa.” He leans over and kisses me on the nose.

  “Not fair,” I tell him. “You tortured me.”

  A smile plays over his lips. “You call that torture?”

  “I call that one hell of a way to wake up.”

  His gaze burns into mine. The way he looks at me leaves me with no uncertainty of his feelings for me. “If only they weren’t here,” Hayes says, raking his gaze down my body.

  Wherever he looks, heat pricks start. It makes my mind go there, and I guess Hayes is thinking the same thing because he asks, “Have you had sex before, Tessa?”

  I nod. I’m watching him the entire time to try to gauge his reaction, but like usual, I can’t tell. “My ex,” I tell him, thinking about Andrew and how quickly he forgot about me. The only part that hurts about any of that is the fact that Tiff didn’t waste any time after I’d left to shack up with him. It’s like I never belonged at Broadwell to begin with. Maybe I was always meant to be at RHS. “Not extensive knowledge, and it wasn’t even that good,” I admit. My cheeks bloom red. I remember Andrew fumbling and after too short of a time dropping on top of me. He’d asked me if I’d enjoyed it, and I’d lied. That was the first time, but it didn’t get much better from there. So much so that by the end, I’d been avoiding him and definitely any advances of that kind. I just felt like there should be something more. With Alec, Sloan, and now Hayes, I know I was right. If I let my guard down with Ryan, I know it would be the same way.

  I don’t need to ask Hayes if he has experience because clearly, he does. In fact, I don’t think I want to know how much experience all the guys have. They have reputations and have told me themselves that they shared girls. That they played a game about only going as far as the other guys with the girls because they could toy with them how they wanted.

  I shake that thought away because I think it’s different with me, and not because they’ve told me so. I’m actually starting to believe them.

  Which only brings another round of problems. Not only do I like four separate guys, but they all like me. How much longer will they be willing to share me? Sloan gave Hayes knuckles after they walked in on us kissing. Is that a show?

  “Don’t worry,” Hayes says, misconstruing what must be plainly written all over my face. “We’ll go easy on you.”

  “We’ll?” I ask.

  “You belong to us.”

  My body should automatically resist that remark, but instead, it gives in and lets the full force of his words flow through me. I swim with feelings, letting goosebumps prick my skin and revel in how much that one sentence makes me feel wanted. It makes me feel everything I’ve ever wanted to feel when it came to the Ballers.

  I glance down. He’s still straining in his boxers. I lick my lips. “I think you need to practice your quiet voice.” I push him down on the bed, wrap my fingers around his boxers, and peel them down. I think he’s in shock because he doesn’t move.

  “Tessa…” It’s like a warning mixed with excitement. He can’t lie. I know he wants this. Me.

  I lean over, and he turns on the bed. His silky head is erect. He shivers when I get closer, and I’m just about to wrap my lips around him when footsteps on the small porch outside stop me. Oh fuck.

  Hayes quickly pulls his boxers up, picks me up, and trades places with me on the bed until I’m pressed against the wall. My heart thuds in my chest. I squeeze my eyes shut, praying it’s not my dad. It’s Sunday morning. I don’t know why it would be, but stranger things have happened.

  Hayes stretches out, completely blocking me from view while arranging the covers over me. He leans over and I hear him open the book I saw on his bed and prop it in front of him. A knock comes on the door. I have to clamp my jaw shut. This isn’t good. If it was Ryan out on the porch, he probably would’ve just walked right in.

  “Come in,” Hayes says tersely.

  On the other side of the room, I hear someone stirring. When the door opens, a mattress creaks and Sloan says, “The fuck…” It’s laced in sleep, but the next time he talks, he says, “What the fuck are you doing here?” It’s more cautious, strained. He’s probably wondering where I am and if I’ve been caught by whoever walked in.

  “Calm down, Ivy,” Jacquin says.

  My eyes widen underneath the sheet. Jesus. He is a coach, and I’m sure if he found me in here, he’d turn me in despite the fact that he’s basically our age.

  Another body stirs, and this time, I hear Alec groan.

  “What the fuck’s wrong with your face?” Jacquin asks. I’m not sure whether he’s asking Alec or Sloan. It could be directed toward either one…or both.

  No one answers.

  “Whatever,” Jacquin says. “That’s not what I’m here for.”

  Hayes shifts, propping his body up more. Footsteps creak the floorboards. Hayes is doing his best to angle his body in front of me. Thankfully, I’m so small compared to Hayes that I really don’t think I’ll be found out as long as I can stay quiet.

  “What are you here for?” Sloan asks, every bit the part of his senator father coming out now. He’s direct and upfront. His voice is almost laced with this cold, bored indifference that sends shivers up my spine. I was once on the receiving end of that voice, and I hated every minute of it.

  The floorboards stop creaking. “I want to make it clear that I know O’Brien’s dirty secret. It’s obvious if anyone is paying attention, so I’m going to make one thing clear to you guys. I’ll gladly spill. There’s only one thing stopping me.”

  “And what the fuck is that?” Sloan sneers.

  Hayes hand moves back and wraps around my thigh, holding me tightly.

  “My good will, but that’ll end soon if he doesn’t leave Dale alone.”

  What the fuck? Me? Hayes’s fingertips curl into my flesh.

  “I don’t care that you guys are content to sit back and let all this play out. I’m not, so here’s the deal. If Tessa wins Shooting Guard MVP, O’Brien leaves her alone until you guys graduate. He doesn’t mess with her chance to play for the team. He doesn’t terrorize her. Basically, he doesn’t say shit to her.”

  I’m so confused. This is the bet idea he came up with. Why does he want to make it for me?

  “And if she loses?” Alec asks.

  “If she loses, I won’t say a thing about Lake’s pill problem.”

  “How does this help Lake? Either way, you won’t say a thing.”

  “Trust me, I’ll talk if he decides he won’t do this. And he has to leave her alone from here on out, too, until the MVP is decided.”

  “What do you care?” Sloan snaps. “Why are you trying to help Tessa?”

  Here’s Sloan’s possessiveness that he hid away yesterday when he saw Hayes and I kissing. Maybe Hayes is right. I belong to them, so they don’t care about each other. Only the outsiders. I perk my ears up because I’m interested in Jacquin’s answer, too. Why does he care so much?

  “Unlike you guys, I guess I don’t like to see innocent people being fucked with.”

  After a pregnant pause, Sloan says, “We’ll talk to him.”

  “Talk fast,” Jacquin says. “And either way, I’d get your buddy some help. Opioid addiction is no joke.”

  Footsteps cross the floor and then I hear the telltale squeak of the door as it opens and then slams closed. I wait a few beats before I emerge. When I come out of my hiding place, both Sloan and Alec are looking my way. They visibly relax.

  Hayes sits up. He eyes me, half looking away. “What’s up with that?”

  I shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  It sucks that I automatically don’t trust people. There’s just this vibe I get off Jacquin that I don’t like. He’s actually trying to do something nice for me, something I didn’t want to instigate myself. It sounds a lot like a bribe and that’s not really my thing. Jacquin knew I probably would
never do it, so he pulled strings his way.

  How he found out about Lake, though, I have no idea.

  30

  After returning to my cabin shortly after that, I don’t see any of the guys until lunch. Alec texted me that they were already there if I wanted to meet them, so when I stroll in, I’m not surprised to see all of them in the cafeteria already, without Lake. River is there though. Without his brother, he isn’t as terrifying. He just looks like a little boy trying to be an adult. I almost feel bad for him. He probably looks up to his brother so much and has no idea what’s really going on with him. I’ll have to make a note to ask the guys if they should be getting Lake professional help.

  Then again, none of this is actually my problem.

  A few of the lacrosse guys wave at me. I wave and smile at them while Chase looks around. He smiles back, but it’s not a full-lipped smile. It’s soft and small, almost sad. Before I can think any more about it, a hand closes around my wrist. I look down to find Hayes’s eyes lock onto mine. I go to sit, but he moves his thigh in my way, so I end up sitting in his lap. He’s already done with his food, so he pushes his own tray out of the way and moves mine in front of him.

  Alec smirks. “I never pictured you as a PDA type of guy.”

  I almost laugh at that. That’s what the Ballers do. Even Hayes. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Though, I suppose when it came to Hayes it was that the girls were always hanging off of him. He never reciprocated. They were just like an extension of his body, like an awkward growth or something.

  Though River leers at me, he keeps his mouth shut. Even though I’m dying to ask how Lake is, I don’t bother. I know I won’t get straight answers right now anyway. If anything bad happened, I’m sure I would’ve heard about it by now. He’s probably just sleeping away a massive hangover.

  At River’s request, the guys regale them with stories about their bar fight, leaving out every detail regarding his brother. In fact, I can tell that Sloan and Alec at least are a little paler today than normal. Alec is downing water like the well’s going to dry up, and Sloan keeps rubbing his head. It serves them right. Hayes drank, too, I think, but he must not have had as much as the others. Then again, his drunk state might be similar to his everyday state. The only time I really feel anything from him is when his eyes are zeroed in on my own, and I’m captured by his sight. It’s like being in a warm embrace.