The Play (Briar U, #3)

by Elle Kennedy

At the end of August we held open tryouts, an event that serves to showcase players who weren’t recruited out of high school or those who try out for the hell of it. One of my new favorite teammates is the result of those tryouts—Conor Edwards, who saunters into the room as I’m settling in a chair in the front row.

Also, Rupi’s and Brenna’s cycles somehow synced up so now they get their periods at the same time. They’re really mean when that happens.

I give an awkward shrug. “Right? You think I should quit hockey and get into acting?” It’s a lame joke. The actual punch line is, it’s not a joke at all. The story I just told is the unfiltered truth. The only part I left out was how the asshole’s son endured weeks and weeks of obnoxious boasting about that stupid strawberry cheesecake prior to Thanksgiving, and then years of bitter griping about the pumpkin pie following it. Yup, that’s my father for you, doesn’t give a shit about anybody but himself. He wanted to look good and one-up his brother, and fuck all the closed bakeries and my horrible selfish mother for depriving him of his needs. Poor Mom was walking on eggshells for months afterward. That man is impossible to please. When I opened my “PATIENT” envelope last week and saw the disorder I’d been assigned, I’d almost laughed out loud. Hardly any research required, as I’m wholly familiar with the symptoms and how it manifests. I’ve lived with it my entire life.

shit.

Dad isn’t my favorite person, but I don’t typically complain about him to anyone. My whole life, I just went along with the cookie-cutter perfect family thing we’ve got going on. Anything else would’ve felt self-indulgent. I mean, I’m a rich dude who grew up in Greenwich and attended elite private schools. Other people have it worse. Some of them suffer from actual physical abuse, which is far worse than simply being unable to meet the unrealistic standards of an egomaniac.

😭poor hunter. i want to give him a big hug.

LIES! because she didn’t have wifi hooked up until recently. last time she was there she told her it wasn’t set up yet so he couldn’t have hooked it up when he moved her in. i never would have guessed he was cheating with her. wow.

Corinne didn’t have Wi-Fi until nearly a week after she’d moved in. When I came over to help with her closet, it still hadn’t been set up.

There’s always someone with a shittier life than yours. That doesn’t turn the shit in your life into roses.”

Fascinated by child psychopaths, unhealthy relationship with food, will break your PlayStation if you f*%k with me.

“Was that your move?” Delight dances in her eyes. “Licking the lips, brushing hair off my face, that little thumb rub. That’s totally the move. Right?” I flash a cocky smile. “Depends. Did it work?” “Yes,” she says frankly, and now it’s my breath that hitches.

busy singing along or bopping her sexy torso to the beat. She’s the cutest fucking thing and I want to kick myself for rejecting her.

“That’s Dean,” I tell Demi, who for once is speechless. “Oh,” she finally remarks. “Wow.” I narrow my eyes. “What does that mean?” “It means he’s insanely attractive.” “Yeah, and he knows it,” Garrett says with a sigh.

when two hot people are dancing, it’s inevitable. But the sight of Dean’s hands on Demi’s body makes my blood boil.

I silence her protest with a growl. “You want your rebound? I’ll give you your fucking rebound. Let’s go.”

“I promise you, I’m not seeing anybody else. I’m not sleeping with anybody else. I’m with you, and I’m all in.” His voice cracks. “I love you.”

But this girl, the gorgeous woman in my lap—I’m definitely in love with her. I love everything about her. Her intelligence, her sassiness, her craziness. She has the most dynamic personality. There are so many different facets to Demi Davis, and the more I learn about her, the more I love her.

“Yeah, but in Rupi’s defense, she knew she was going to marry Michael Hollis the second she met him,” Summer points out.