Page 27 of Trick Play

“Perfect, I’ll work on a few concepts for hockey, swim, and dive. Do you mind doing basketball and wrestling?” Dustin asked me.

“Yeah, thanks.” I appreciated him taking hockey off my hands. I might not have to work with any of those guys, but the less I had to think about them, the better.

“We can check in with our progress on Monday after class?” Mya offered, and we gathered our stuff before saying bye.

I stood from the table and rested my bag on top while I shut off my tablet.

“Kenny?” a familiar voice called from behind me.

I stopped and slowly turned before freezing in place. “Haley?”

She beamed and rushed over to me, throwing her arms around me before I could even process that I was really seeing her.

My hands fluttered to her back, patting before I stepped away and took her in. She was so beautiful. And mature. And tall.

“I … wow. Haley, I can’t believe it.” I was truly at a loss. Where was the sixteen-year-old that was barely entering puberty? She’d been so small and thin with a mouthful of braces the last time I saw her.

“I know! I can’t believe we haven’t run into each other sooner.” She scanned me from head to toe. “You are absolutely stunning. I always thought you were gorgeous, but geez. I think I’ll always feel like the awkward runt next to you.”

She was sweet. When Ethan and I were together, she’d try to tag along whenever possible, but he rarely allowed it. That didn’t stop Haley and me from hanging out when I was at his house. I taught her how to do her makeup, different ways to style her hair, and we gave each other manicures about once a month. She was like my own little sister for so long.

Then one day, she wasn’t.

I didn’t only lose Ethan when he broke up with me. I lost his family, and some days that hurt even more.

“You’re ridiculous. You're so beautiful. I can’t believe how different you are.” She wasn’t my little Hal anymore. “I can’t believe you ended up here. I thought you wanted nothing to do with Ethan or the h-word.”

She cringed. “Things didn’t work out at my old school.”

There was definitely a story there, but unlike Mya, I knew when not to press.

“I’m sorry. Are you liking it okay though?”

Her eyes brightened. “Yeah, I haven’t decided what I want to major in, but I’m enjoying the generals.”

A woman with a blond pixie appeared next to Haley. “And she has the best boyfriend ever.”

Haley chuckled. “Kennedy, this is my friend Ella.”

Ella’s lips turned up, “Ah, yes. The mistake.”

I scoffed. “Excuse me.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh no. I didn’t mean you, I meant Ethan’s mistake. Breaking up with you.”

Haley elbowed her before speaking. “Sorry, I told her about Ethan breaking up with you and how much my parents and I loved you and how I thought that was the biggest mistake he ever made.”

Ella blushed. “Yeah, sorry. I tend to stick my foot in my mouth.”

Haley arched a brow. “It’s true.”

I wasn’t sure how I felt about Haley’s friends knowing about me, especially if she went into detail about everything I’d done to be with him. It was a little humiliating to look back at how blind I was.

“Well, it was nice meeting you.” I turned to Haley. “Hopefully, we can catch up soon.”

“I’d really love that,” she said before giving me another hug.

“Sorry I’m late,” Lauren said as we broke apart, joining our little circle. “Who’s this?”