A Guide to Being Just Friends(28)

What she remembered from gym class did not help her. The best she could say was she’d avoided getting a ball straight to the face. However, when she dove for the ball Noah spiked, she’d eaten a bit of sand. Sweat dripped down her back. Maybe she should hit Rob’s gym.

“It touched the net,” Wes said, his eyes on his brother when he reached out a hand to haul Hailey off her butt. She’d have worried about looking awkward or yanking him down but he wasn’t paying much attention.

“Did not,” Noah said, hands on his hips.

Hailey dusted herself off. “It definitely touched the sand.”

Wes and Noah both turned to her, gazes similarly unimpressed. She pulled her cheek between her teeth so she didn’t laugh.

Fiona waved her hands. “Hello. Someone want to throw me the ball? It’s our serve.”

Noah hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “She’s right.”

Hailey, closest to the ball though not close enough to have made contact, grabbed it and threw it to the other side.

“What are you doing?” Wes asked, his tone clipped.

“Passing them the ball. What’s the big deal?”

“It’s our serve.”

She grinned, her toes twitching in the sand. Before she could reply, Chris called out, “Don’t engage, Hailey. Not worth it. Noah and Wes are both poor sports.”

“But only one of us can actually play,” Noah called.

“Yeah. Me,” Wes said, walking back to his spot.

They’d split into teams of four with Fiona, Noah, Rob, and Grace on one side, Chris, Hailey, Wes, and Stacey on the other.

Hailey glanced at him, meeting his gaze. “You’re a tad competitive.”

He shrugged and she could see him try to loosen the stiffness in his stance. “Noah brings it out in me.”

“Wes is the oldest so he’s always blamed his issues on his poor younger brothers,” Noah called.

Chris snorted out a laugh. “Noah’s the middle child. That comes with a whole host of its own issues.”

“Thank God I’m an only child,” Hailey said, getting into position.

“Me too,” Grace said.

“I have four sisters,” Fiona said. “I love them but you should be thankful.”

Even in the later evening, the sun baked their shoulders and the sand toasted their toes. By the time they’d played two rounds, thankfully each team winning one, Hailey was exhausted.

“Moving in the sand is so much harder than on a gym floor,” she said as they walked back down the path that led to Noah’s house.

“There’s a women’s league at the rec center near you guys,” Noah said. Hailey searched for a polite way to say “pass.” Instead, she just smiled.

“Speaking of,” Noah said, turning to Wes. “Your coding class is full. Twelve teens. It’s a good sign.”

An expression of happiness—different than the others she’d witnessed—crossed over Wes’s face. “That’s great.”

When he saw Hailey looking at him, he gave one of those little almost smiles. “Noah works closely with a community center. They try to offer a variety of classes for preteens through adults.”

“We’re looking for all sorts of people to offer their specialties,” Noah said. “Magazine writing, salad making? Gracie does a course on interior design.”

Grace swung Noah’s hand between them. “That sounds lofty. I do a Saturday morning session with ten-to twelve-year-olds. We use Legos to create cool spaces.”

“That’s fabulous. I’d love to get involved, though I’m not sure how popular salad making would be.”

Noah shrugged. “You never know. Any other talents you’re hiding?”

“Noah.” Wes’s word was an almost growl, making Noah laugh.

“Legit question, man.”

Hailey thought about what her other talents could be. “No real talents but I love reading. Do you have a book club?” She narrowed her gaze at Fiona in a teasing way. “My cousin talked me into one that doesn’t read books.”

Fiona leaned back. “We regret nothing.”

Hailey laughed. “Fair enough.”

“A book club could be a great idea,” Wes said. “You could involve local bookstores, libraries.”

“A lot of authors have started offering online workshops and visits,” Everly said, her voice so quiet Hailey almost missed it.

Hailey nodded excitedly. “I went to an online event that featured three of my favorite rom-com writers. It was so fun. They answered all these questions and played games. I was so surprised they just gave up their time like that.”

Everly smiled. “For some authors, not doing in-person events lessens their anxiety while making them feel more accessible to their audience.”

“We had one of Evs’s favorite nonfiction authors on our podcast. It was very enlightening,” Stacey said.

“You do a book club and I could do a writing workshop,” Fiona said.

Hailey glanced at Wes then met Noah’s waiting gaze. “Absolutely. That sounds fun. Sign us up.”

The afternoon and evening had yielded so many wonderful things. Hailey felt the fidgety pieces of her soul begging to settle in and claim, “We’ve found our place.” But it was never that easy and things weren’t always as they seemed. The blind optimism of her early twenties had turned into cautious hope. That was what filled her now.