Page 11 of Falling Into You

“You’ve got no shot,” Tucker said, scrambling to his feet and dusting his hands off on his shorts.

“Zero shot. Less than zero shot,” Kai amended, nodding as he ate a handful of chips.

“Oh yeah?” Jacob asked, feeling confident. He’d hit the backboard, after all. Why couldn’t he get it through the hoop? “How about we make this interesting?”

“A wager?” Cody asked, popping open a lukewarm Sprite and taking a swig. “I like it.”

“If I make it, you do my math homework for a week,” Jacob suggested.

“Wait, which one of us?” Tucker asked.

“Kai, obviously,” Jacob replied. Kai was the only one of them in honors-level math, plus he’d just been recruited for the math spot on the academic decathlon team.

“No can do, man. I got way too much on my plate right now,” Kai said. It would have been convincing, except they could all see him scrolling through TikTok videos of girls in bikinis as he said it.

“Oh, I know!” Tucker said, his eyes lighting up. Never a good sign. “If you don’t make it, you have to try out for cheerleading.”

Cody and Kai both cackled. “Yes! Oh man, yes! Pleasedo that. Please!” Cody gripped Jacob’s shoulder.

Jacob hesitated. He couldn’t try out for cheerleading. Other than having watched his sister do it for years, he knew zip about the sport. Plus, there was no way he, or anyone else, for that matter, could participate in two varsity sports during the same season. All the teams practiced every day after school, and there would definitely be overlaps in game times. It was logistically impossible. So even if he landed a spot on the squad, he’d have to immediately quit. And if he did that, Rory would hate him forever.

But then again, it didn’t matter, because A) he was going to make this shot and B) even if he did have to try out for cheerleading, it wasn’t like he’d make it and, oh yeah, C) he was going to make this shot.

“You know what, fine!” he said. “You’re on. But if Idosink this, all three of you guys have to try out.” Jacob tossed up the ball and caught it again.

Kai, Cody, and Tucker looked at one another and came to some sort of silent agreement.

“Deal,” they said in unison. They all shook on it.

Jacob palmed the ball and turned toward the basketball hoop. He couldseethe ball sailing through the air and swishing right through. Could feel the heft of it leaving his fingertips. Could hear his friends’ groans as he jumped up in victory. He couldn’t miss. And he couldn’t wait to watch them try to learn whatever cheer routine Rory would choose for the audition.

“Three! Two! One!” Jacob shouted.

He lifted his arms. The ball soared. Everyone held their breath. Kai had left his TikTok scrolling to follow the arc of the ball with his phone. The ball smacked into the backboard, clanged against the rim of the hoop... and ricocheted off toward the street.

“Noooooooo!” Jacob cried.

“Yeeeeeeesssss!” Tucker shouted.

Kai had a monster grin on his face as he turned the camera to Jacob. “Jacob Reilly, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Jacob tried to quell the pounding dread in his chest. “Gimme that phone!” He made a grab for the evidence, but Kai was too quick. He slid out of the way and dived for the open window to Jacob’s bedroom. Jacob dived after him and was halfway through when something snagged his feet. It was Cody and Tucker. Each one had a hold of one of his ankles.

“No way you’re getting out of this, Reilly!” Tucker shouted. “You made a bet, and you never go back on a bet!”

“Let go of me!” Jacob said, struggling.

“Never!” Cody cried out.

But even as he said it, Jacob felt his shoe coming off the foot Cody was pulling on. The second his foot was free, he gave an instinctive kick and his heel collided with something—from his position, he couldn’t quite tell what. But then Tucker shouted, “Oh, shit!” and released Jacob,who went tumbling into the room, landing safely on his mattress.

“Cody!” Tucker shouted.

Outside, Chad screamed.

Heart in his throat, Jacob scrambled up and around and looked out the window at Tucker, who was staring over the side of the house at the ground. He was alone.

Rory