More Than A Game (The Kings of Kroydon Hills Book 2) by Bella Matthews (the best electronic book reader .TXT) 📗

mind, I was happy about it, not scared to death and resenting the hell out of all of it.” He’s finally slid his aviators off his face, and I can see his eyes. His handsome face that’s usually full of laughter and happy is full of stress and, I think, fear.

Murphy kicks his feet in the water, splashing my legs. “Anyway, that was before I walked in on my mom bent over the kitchen table. Swear to God, I’ll never be able to erase that image from my memory no matter how hard I try.” He closes his eyes and exaggeratedly shakes his head. I’m guessing he’s trying to get me to laugh. There’s the Murphy I know.

“And now, she’s marrying Coach. I’m going to have to see him at every family function. Christmas morning. Jesus. He’s gonna be everywhere, and I think I’m always going to be picturing his white ass until the end of time.”

This time I kick water at his legs. “You’ve had a pretty fucked up few hours. I’m sorry I added to it.” I genuinely am, too. I hate that my insecurities may have made his night worse.

“You really didn’t, Sabrina. I just wanted to numb the pain last night, and by the time you got there, I’d finished off half a bottle of Jack. I don’t even remember what you said that set me off. It probably didn’t take much.” He surprises me when he reaches over and tugs a lock of my hair.

Umm . . . okay.

Pulling my legs out of the pool, I stand and look down at him, offering my hand. “Truce?”

Murphy stands and looks me over from head to toe. “Yeah, okay. Truce.” He reaches out to place his hand in mine but instead pushes me in the pool. But the moron forgets I was an athlete too. Before I fall in, I grab him and bring him along for the ride.

6

Murphy

As the sun begins to set on the Sinclairs’ backyard, and the fireflies start to light up the night, we’ve eaten all the food and told every funny story that we’ve all amassed about Cooper Sinclair. And all things considered, we had a fun afternoon. We’re sitting around two teak tables that have been pushed together. The smell of the BBQ has begun to fade.

There’s been a ton of talk about the wedding, the bridesmaid dresses, and the fucking flowers. I had no idea how much chicks are into this shit. I think it helped keep everyone’s mind off the fact that Coop is flying out in a few hours, and it worked for a while.

The afternoon flew by, especially after Sabrina and I called a truce. I forget how much fun that girl can be when she isn’t a massive pain in my ass. It doesn’t hurt that she’s smokin’ hot too. She has long, thick hair—the color of my favorite chocolate candy—and big brown doe eyes to match. She’s not skinny, but she’s not heavy either. Her body is the result of years of playing soccer, and she has the sexiest legs and ass I’ve ever seen. They’re shapely and muscular.

Sabrina Cabot wouldn’t break while I fuck her. And I need to stop that train of thought right there.

I’ve got enough girl drama for now.

When Brady and I were in elementary school, Sabrina was in school with us, always trying to prove she could do anything the boys did but better. Competitive little shit. Then fifth grade hit, and her parents decided to send her to the all-girls Catholic school. She was always tight with Chloe, so we’ve all been around each other for years, but it wasn’t until we were fucking around in the pool today that I saw a different version of her.

Most girls would have freaked the fuck out if they got pushed in the pool. They would have been whining about their makeup or their hair, but not Sabrina. Nope. She just pulled me in with her.

Didn’t seem to care at all that we could all see through her wet, white t-shirt. When we both surfaced after we fell in, she just laughed and pushed my head down again as she swam toward the shallow end and proceeded to throw the ball around with the guys for a while before she got out of the pool and asked Nat if she could borrow some clothes.

I wasn’t thrilled when she reemerged from the house in a pair of Nat’s dry shorts and one of Cooper’s t-shirts. I mean, I guess her C cups don’t fit in one of Nattie’s tiny shirts. But still, seeing Coop’s shirt on her annoyed me.

Not sure I’m ready to dissect that just yet.

That brings us to now.

Cooper has his duffle thrown over his shoulder and is holding a crying Nattie. He asked to be allowed to say goodbye to everyone here. Coach is taking him to the airport alone, and Nat is struggling with saying goodbye.

Brady walks over and pulls her away from Cooper.

She goes from sad puppy dog eyes to pissed in a split second. “Cooper Sinclair, if you get yourself hurt, I’ll never forgive you. Don’t ever forget I’m your older sister, and I will kick your ass.”

Coop reaches out and grabs Natalie’s hand. “Love you, Nat.” He looks around at all of us—Nattie, Brady, Declan, Bash, Chloe, Annabelle, Tommy, Sabrina, Carys, his dad, my mom, and me. “I love all you guys. Take care of each other, and I expect care packages and letters all the time. I want to know everything that’s going on in Kroydon Hills.”

Annabelle’s brother, Tommy, steps forward, squeezing his stuffed dinosaur tightly. “I’ll send you letters, Cooper. I promise. I’ll tell you everything that’s happening and make sure you know all the scores of all the games.”

“You better, Tommy.” Cooper squats down to look in Tommy’s eyes. “I’m counting on you, buddy.”

Annabelle pulls Tommy back. “Be safe, Coop. We promise to send you those cookies you like.” She kisses him on the cheek