Playing for the Other Team Read Online Free Page A

sip, and choked when it burned all the way down my throat. Vodka, with a little bit of juice thrown in for good measure, apparently.
    “Holy hell,” I croaked. Trip elbowed me.
    “Don’t be too loud. We still have way too many parents ghosting around the place. And now finish it. C’mon! Down in one!”
    He had directed so much attention my way that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter unless I wanted too many people to become aware of the fact that I was having a weird night. So I forced down the remainder of my drink, suppressing a shudder.
    Even though I was used to hanging with this crowd, I felt uncomfortable throughout the next half hour as they all goofed off and drank and flirted. There was a disconnect I had never felt before. Trip kept me supplied with alcohol and threw me the occasional wary glance. I wondered whether he was worried or suspicious.
    “Hot tub!” Fletcher shouted through the room at one point.
    “Yes! Let’s go!” Nova’s expression brightened at the prospect of spending time with a bunch of guys in hot water while wearing very little clothing. The more I studied her, the more glad I was that I had not gone through with that little interlude back at the pool. Not that there was anything wrong with a girl openly liking sex, but…this just wasn’t me. It never had been, and now I knew it.
    As everyone filed out of the room, I hung back. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, jealousy toward anyone who could enjoy this night without worries, without fretting about what it meant to be gay, what to do, how to act.
    “Coming?” Trip demanded to know, and I nodded. I followed the group obediently, but as soon as Trip’s attention had shifted, I doubled back and made my way toward the rec room instead. I had no idea where Jasper might have gone after Trip had interrupted our earlier conversation, but it felt essential to find him again. I didn’t even question it.
    And he was in the rec room, I realized as I reached it and peered through the open door. My heart jumped so high I thought it might lodge in my throat. He had taken off his jacket and was now only in his dress pants and shirt, which…God he looked good. The crowd around him was cheering on someone’s game of pool, and he was laughing along, so animated and cheerful, as I’d rarely ever seen him in four and a half years of going to the same school. As I watched, he drained the cup he’d been holding, and by the grimace he made, I guessed there had been alcohol in it.
    Eventually Jasper noticed me. He turned his head and gave me a wry, weak smile, nothing more. Careful not to attract attention, I pushed past people I didn’t know, worked my way through the crowd until I had closed in on him. Stepping into his personal space…it felt right. It shouldn’t have, but it felt so right, especially after the visceral reaction I’d had to Nova.
    “Sorry about earlier,” I said near his ear, hoping he would be the only one to hear me with the crowd cheering so loudly. Still, he stepped closer until his side and my front were touching.
    “Nothing to be sorry about.” He frowned. “What’s up?”
    “Can we, um, talk a little more? I mean, I don’t want to ruin your prom, so I understand if—”
    He clasped my hand willingly and pulled me along, just like that. We left the crowd behind, exited the room, reached a stairwell. I felt giddy and dizzy and wasn’t even sure why.
    “Where are we going?” I demanded to know.
    Jasper chewed his lip, obviously thinking. “Somewhere we won’t be overheard or interrupted would be nice, I guess,” he said. His hand was still holding on to mine tightly, as though he had forgotten to let go. I certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.
    “I don’t think a place like that exists in this building.”
    “Sure it does.” He gave my arm another tug. “Come on.”
    We went upstairs, where Jasper finally let go of my hand as we passed by the very occupied racquetball courts and