Free A Penny's Worth (The Cephas Bourdon Series) by A.M. Hooper Page A

can play basketball, huh?” he asked. He passed me the ball. “Check.” I passed the ball back. He dribbled the ball in place. “Let's see how you do at defense.” He dribbled the ball around the court and I followed him, holding out my hands. There was no way I was letting him beat me. He tried to fake to the right, but I jumped in front of him. He moved to the left and I followed. Finally resorting to pushing through me, he shoved his way down the court. I was laughing so hard my defense was miserable. Grabbing onto his arm, I pulled him away from the basket. He laughed and pushed me away.
    “That's cheating!” he complained, the left corner of his mouth twitching upward. He turned and shot the ball through the hoop with one hand, tripping over my feet on the way. We landed on the ground in a crumpled mess. I couldn't suppress my laughter as I pulled myself out from under his heavy body. I collapsed back on top of him, my head landing on his abdomen. I let myself relax against his body and listened to his heart slow as his laughing subsided. He clasped his hands beneath his head and situated himself into a comfortable position, joining me in staring up into the sky like me. The warm breeze wafted over my skin and I let out a contented sigh.
    “You're kinda good at basketball,” he said. “When you're cheating, that is.”
    “Oh, please,” I replied jokingly. “You didn't warn me about how good you were . I had no choice.” Cephas was silent for a minute. The wind rustled the leaves of the oversized willow tree near the edge of the court. I felt Cephas’ hand move softly through my hair. I shut my eyes and listened to the crickets chirp over in the bushes. Cephas’ thumb traveled behind my ear, then down my face. He paused on my cheek, rubbing gently around the bruise Chase had given me.
    "Wasn't your dad angry when he found out your boyfriend hit you?" Cephas asked suddenly.
    "Oh, well, he isn't home right now. He's away on business for a couple more days. It should be healed up by then," I muttered. He paused before speaking again.
    "So you're not going to tell him?" he asked, sitting up and leaning against his hand on the ground for support. His fingers stayed near my ear, though, running through my straight hair. Concern hid his smile.
    "No. It would be better if he didn't know."
    "But you're not going to keep dating Chase, are you?"
    "Why shouldn't I?" I asked sarcastically, lifting my head to face him. "Who else would I date if not the great and noble Chase?"
    His eyes narrowed. There he went reading my mind again. He could see straight through me — he knew I had yet to break up with my stupid boyfriend, and he also probably knew I probably wouldn’t.
    “Why do you date a guy who treats you like that?” he asked seriously.
    Truthfully? I wasn’t ready for people to know who I was, yet. If I broke up with Chase, people probably wouldn’t like me, and they would definitely think I was an idiot. High school was not the place to be brave and courageous . I could be myself after graduation. The reasoning sounded shallow, even to myself, but it was true: I couldn’t survive high school on my own. I needed Chase. I jolted myself away from my thoughts, embarrassed at the despair so evident on my face. I looked at the ground, but Cephas’ hand tipped my chin toward his face. 
    "You know, I can't always be around to save you," he smiled. His voice always sounded so warm and welcoming.
    "Why not?" I questioned. A sudden frown furrowed his brow. H e looked sad. In fact, the expression froze onto his face for a long moment as his eyes held mine captive.
    “I should probably get home. I have lots of homework to do before tomorrow,” I offered. His silence made me uncomfortable. His hand released my chin and I sat up; I ran my fingers haphazardly through my hair in an attempt to straighten the disheveled mess. Cephas stood and held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet. Steadying me with his