Ch. 2

Rowan POV

Today’s practice was exhausting. The guys were underperforming, and as the captain, I had to be the one barking orders. "Pick up the pace! If you can't even handle basic layups, just get off the floor!" I yelled across the court.

Inside, I was losing my mind. I had been waiting for Matteo to show up, but he hadn't even arrived yet. If this was how a head coach was going to run things, showing up this late, it was better we didn't even have a team.

An hour later, I made my way to the court. The rest of the guys had already taken a rest for some minutes and were already warming up again. Without saying a word, I picked up a basketball and tossed it into the air towards the pole.

Miss.

I grabbed another one and I still missed.

Another, but still missed. I didn’t care anymore. I just kept serving one ball after another, not caring whether they landed in the net or flew past it. All I wanted was to get rid of the frustration bubbling inside me.

A gentle tap on my shoulder pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned around. “Hey.”

It was Ralph. Out of everyone on the team, he was the only one I could call a friend. The rest tolerated me at best.

I knew why. If I weren’t the captain and had to deal with someone like me every day, I would probably hate me too. But what choice did I have? Being captain meant making decisions that wouldn’t always make everyone happy.

“Hey.” I forced a smile.

Ralph smiled back. “Are you okay?” His eyes studied my face before he reached up and smoothed the crease between my brows with his thumb. “You looked really angry just now. Better now, though.”

I laughed quietly and pinched both his cheeks. “I’m fine.”

That was one thing I liked about Ralph. He always knew what to say to make me feel a little lighter. “Care to share?” he asked.

Before I could answer, a basketball came flying straight toward him. I reacted without thinking, catching it inches away from his face.

Ralph blinked before letting out a relieved laugh. “Thanks.”

I nodded and looked toward where the ball had come from. Of course it was Wesley. The one teammate who had never accepted any decision I made as the captain, and the same guy who always found one reason or another to always say bad stuffs about Ralph.

I walked over, with the ball still in my hand. “Hey,” I called. “What was that about?”

Wesley shrugged without any hint of guilt. “I missed.” He said but anyone with eyes could see that his smirk said otherwise.

“Ass. You expect me to believe that?” I asked.

“You can believe whatever you want, Captain.” The word *Captain* rolled off his tongue like it was an insult.

“What if it hit him? He wasn’t even looking.”

“So?” Wesley folded his arms. “It’s basketball. It’s normal that balls fly around all the time.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I asked, getting worked up again. “But does it go straight at someone’s head?”

A few of the guys stopped practicing to watch us.

Wesley glanced around and let out a huff. “What?” He shrugged. “You going to punish me now?”

“I asked you a question.”

“And I answered, duhh.”

The two of us stared at each other. Finally, I tossed the ball back to him to stop my fist from doing the tossing. “Just keep your shots under control.”

He caught it with one hand. “I’ll try.” He whispered but the mocking smile never left his face.

I turned around before my temper got the better of me.

“Thanks,” Ralph whispered as he caught up with me.

I shook my head. “You know he did that on purpose.”

“I know,” Ralph said. “By the way, he’s my roommate. Just let him be. He’s actually nice to me when we’re alone. I don’t know if he just enjoys being rude in public. I don’t care."

Before I could answer, a sharp whistle echoed across the court.

“Everyone!”

Matteo stood at the edge of the court, with a clipboard in one hand.

So he finally decided to show up.

Immediately, my eyes met his. Matteo looked away instantly, like he was refusing to hold my gaze. A smile touched my lips because I liked that reaction. I liked knowing I still affected him.

Yesterday, after I broke into his office, he had actually struggled to get out of my grip when I held his chin up. If this had been two years ago, Matteo could have easily overpowered me. But now, he seemed to have gone weaker than I remembered, even though his frame looked bigger and broader than before.

Matteo eyes moved round the court but he couldn’t look at me for more than a second. He kept his eyes on the clipboard, tapping his pen against the plastic.

"To the baseline. Now," he ordered, his voice echoing across the court. "Five on five scrimmage. Let's see if you can actually run a play."

The guys immediately moved, rushing to line up. I took my time, walking straight to the center of the floor and taking the top position. I didn't care about the drills or his orders. My eyes were locked entirely on him.

Matteo finally raised his head snapping directly to mine. His jaw tightened instantly and I realized he was trying so hard to look like the any other head coach, but I could see that he was tense.

"Wesley, you're on the white team," Matteo called out, pointing toward the other end.

"Rowan, you're running the point."

"Got it, Coach," I said. I purposely dragged out the title, making it sound like a mockery.

He raised the whistle to his lips, his eyes burning into mine. The blast went off, and the ball was tipped.

I didn't even care about scoring or winning the scrimmage at the moment. I just wanted Matteo to watch just me, and that was exactly what he did.