Page 21 of Playing for Keeps

I ducked automatically, and Luke’s blow glanced off my chin.

Then I swung up with my own fist, making solid contact with his jaw.

Luke staggered back, but swung again, landing a lucky punch on my nose. There was a loud crunch and I felt it swelling instantly. Blood pulsed from the corner of Luke’s mouth.

For a second, we stared at each other, our chests heaving.

Maybe this was what Luke needed, to get his anger out of his system.

Hell, I’d volunteer to be Luke’s punching bag at every gym session if it meant he’d get over this, be my friend again. I’d do anything… anything to fix this.

“You want a free hit?” I raised my hands up. “Go for your life.”

Luke spat a mouthful of blood on the ground.

When he looked up, the anger burning in his eyes had me taking a step back.

“I wish I’d never met you.”

His words had hurt me more than a king punch ever would.

I sent him a sideways glance now as we headed off the basketball court.

Had playing basketball together reminded him of the good times in our friendship? Or did he still wish he’d never met me?

* * *

That evening, Coach’s no technology rule began to make sense. Normally, on road trips, everyone retreated into their own space and scrolled through their phones, but tonight we hung out in the main room and yarned and played some of the board games on the shelves.

I kept an eye on Luke because I remembered what it was like being a newbie on the team, and how all the in-jokes meant that half the conversations made no sense.

But he seemed to be getting along okay. Some guys here remembered him from age group stuff, and when I walked past him to grab a coke he was talking with Isaiah and Levi about the Japanese domestic rugby competition.

Not that I should’ve cared. Luke had always been able to look after himself.

Zach brandished a pack of cards he’d found in the dining room. “Who wants a game of Five Hundred?”

“I’m in,” Reuban said.

“Sure,” I said.

“What about you, Hunter? You can be Ethan’s partner.”

I looked at Luke, who was wandering past the table. Something flickered in his eyes.

Fuck. Was some creature that controlled the cosmos having a grand joke at my expense? So far, this camp had been an epic reminder of all the stuff Luke and I used to do together.

But then, given we’d done pretty much everything together growing up, was that a surprise?

How many summer nights had we spent at his family holiday home playing Five Hundred? His parents were card nuts and had taught us to play when we were kids.

Those summers with his family in Wanaka had been some of the happiest weeks of my life. Luke’s skin had always gone a shade or two browner, while I’d had a perpetually peeling nose. We’d played thousands of games of Five Hundred together, eventually getting to the point where we could consistently beat his parents.

The blatant cheating system we devised might have had something to do with our success rate.

Luke’s throat worked. He met my eyes briefly, then looked away. “Nah, I’m good just watching.”

I felt as if a hammer had slammed into my chest.