Page 182 of Last First Kiss

“I—” Jamie exhales. His brows knit. “I don’t know why I’m still standing here.”

“I’m glad you are,” Jordan says with a tiny smile.

“What do you want, Jordan?”

He sounds exhausted. Sad. Jordan tries not to be discouraged by it.

“I want to play a game,” he says.

“What?” Jamie snaps.

“Let’s play a game,” he says again, tossing the ball back and forth between his hands. “You and me.”

Jamie shakes his head. “I don’t want… fuck, why are you—”

“Here are the rules,” Jordan barrels on before he loses the nerve. Before Jamie can stomp away. “We each get five attempts to make a shot. For every ball that goes in the hoop, we’ll tell the other person one thing no one else knows.”

Jamie’s jaw flexes, but he doesn’t interrupt.

“No interference,” Jordan continues. “I shoot five times, then you. From wherever we want on the court.”

“One thing no one knows,” Jamie says stiffly.

“One thing,” Jordan agrees.

“And if we miss?”

Jordan pauses. He hadn’t quite thought about that part. “We, er… buy the other person King of Pops?”

Jamie’s eyes narrow.

“Okay, look.” Jordan squeezes the ball between his palms. He steels his confidence. “If I miss, you can walk away. If you want. If I miss a single shot, you don’t have to hear anything else I have to say.”

“I don’t?”

“No,” Jordan whispers.

“I can just leave?”

Briefly, Jordan shuts his eyes. He tries to find that younger, championship-winning, scholarship-earning Jordan from high school. Bobby, one of his old teammates, used to say Jordan had ice in his veins whenever it came time for the fourth quarter. That Jordan was fearless with the game on the line.

He desperately needs to be that Jordan now.

His eyes open. He smirks. “If I miss even one shot, you can go.”

For a second, Jamie stands motionless, thinking. WatchingJordan like he’s unsure if Jordan’s bluffing or not. But Jordan knows the moment Jamie sees the spark in his eyes. The dare. He’schallengingJamie to walk away.

And, just like when they were teens, Jamie doesn’t back down.

“Fine. You go first.”

Jordan dribbles the ball a few more times. He gets comfortable with the feel of it. Stretches out the last bits of his nervousness.

He moves to his favorite spot on the court: the three-point line.

Two more bounces before he lines up his shot. When he releases the ball, it soars in a perfect arc. Swishes through the net without touching the rim.

Jamie catches the ball. He turns to Jordan and waits.