That’s what life is. It’s messy. It’s sexy. It’s ugly. It’s brutally hard yet joyous all at once. And this life, it’s all mine. Just like the boy who is making me feel like the woman I never thought I’d become . . . right . . . now.

  THE END

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  Varsity Tiebreaker - Book 2 in the Varsity Series

  By Ginger Scott

  PREORDER THE EBOOK NOW: https://amzn.to/2zluA2u

  Abby Cortez is a girl with goals, on the brink of stardom. Falling in love isn't just something she doesn't have time for—it's something she doesn't really believe in.

  Tory "Salvatore" D'Angelo loves falling in love. The star basketball player at Public gives his heart away one night at a time then takes it back when he's ready to move on.

  But what happens when a jaded heart opens up to a free one? Is there a place where these two opposites might just be a perfect match?

  Tory D’Angelo

  I’ve never really gotten the appeal of flowers. I mean, one, they’re super fleeting. Every time my mom’s gotten flowers, I swear they’re dead within three days. Feels like a major waste of money. Of course, my mom’s flowers probably came from the man she was having an affair with, so it’s entirely possible my perspective is tainted. Even so, what do flowers say about a person’s feelings for someone else?

  I like you enough to pop into the grocery store and pick up this pre-arranged bundle of plant clippings wrapped in plastic.

  I mean, yeah. Flowers are pretty and shit, but there are a lot of things that are pretty. Cakes are pretty, and you can eat those. A perfect three-pointer drained within seconds, nothing but net . . . that’s a thing of beauty. Art, a really hot red dress, or hell, a puppy! All of that is as aesthetically pleasing as a bundle of flowers. Yet here I am, clipping the stems off some weedy-smelling plant shit over my kitchen trash while my best friend June tells me what a good idea this is.

  “She’s going to love them,” June assures me while she reaches toward my bundle, tugging on the stem of something. She pulls it free and dumps it into the trash with the stems I chopped off at an angle because “angles take in the water better” or whatever.

  “She won’t love that one?” I cock a brow and laugh. I’m still not sold on any of this.

  “That one’s dead.”

  I form an O with my mouth and drop my chin to stare at the drooping flower where it lies in the trash.

  “Huh.” I nod.

  June giggles then wraps her hands around the bouquet, holding it steady so I can slip the giant band around the stems again. I never thought my best friend would be a girl, let alone June Mabee. I’ve pretty much picked on her since she got boobs, probably before that if I’m being honest. I still call her Maybe Mabee. June and I collided in epic fashion a couple months ago. We kicked off our senior year on a strange note, going through some really awful shit together. We’re kinda honeymooning at the whole best friend thing, I guess, but she’s not sick of me yet and turns out Maybe Mabee doles out some pretty solid advice. Though, I’m not totally sold on the whole flowers thing.

  “You sure this isn’t stupid? I feel really stupid.” I’m sweating, and I’ve already showered from basketball practice, changed my shirt twice and put on a whole lot of deodorant. This is strange territory for me. To put it succinctly, I have a fucking crush. It’s bizarre because hooking up with any girl at Public High—or in our whole town of Allensville, really—has never been an issue for me. June says it’s because I’m used to being chased, and maybe that’s true. But I also think it’s because the girl I’m trying to impress has never, not once, shown an ounce of interest in my presence. In fact, if I had to make a guess, I would bet on her hating me.

  “Abby is going to die . . . in a good way!” June’s said that a lot, that little add-on of in a good way. Feels like a hedged bet to me.

  Abby Cortez is June’s other best friend.

  Fine.

  She’s her real best friend, and I’m the new guy June hangs out with sometimes while she waits on her boyfriend, Lucas. My real best friend. Along with my twin brother, Hayden, we’ve become our own clique. Except for the little part about me being pretty sure Abby hates me. Oh, and me wanting to kiss her candy lips and wrap her legs around my waist just before I lay her back on the hood of my car.

  This is complicated. But flowers is the key. June swears by it.

  “You look amazing,” June says, stepping into me and brushing something from the shoulder of my shirt. I went with a button down, mostly because this shirt is snug on my arms and chest, making me look a little bit beast-mode. I didn’t need June to tell me how much Abby likes man candy. She was digging on the new guy, Cannon, for a while, and she noted his arms and chest a few times. Apparently, though, he’s moody as fuck. Thank God!

  “Where’s your brother?” June asks.

  “Job interview,” I answer, bending down to catch my reflection in the glass front of the oven. I actually have product in my hair. Who am I?

  “Wow. D’Angelo boys are going to work?” June mocks.

  I shrug as I stand and face her.

  “It’s hard to be around here, and Hayden’s had a harder time than I have. I think he wants something to fill the free time.” June’s eyes soften, but she’s careful not to let them dip into pity. We don’t do that around here.

  My dad moved out a month ago. It’s still pretty fresh for all of us. My mom was having an affair with Lucas’s dad, and when it all came out, it basically blew up both of our families.

  "Have you guys talked to your dad lately?” June asks. Our pops said we could go to Indianapolis with him if we wanted to, but this is our senior year. We’re primed to win state this basketball season, and we both decided we couldn’t give up on that. Staying here means sticking out the next few months in a house with a parent we pretty much have lost all respect for.

  “Our first family therapy session is next week, with both of them. It promises fireworks,” I say. June grimaces in response.

  “You sure it’s not weird, me forcing some double-date with you and Luc?” I squint through my question, and a small part of me wants her to let me off the hook. I’ve never been afraid of rejection, but with Abby, I put it at a solid fifty-fifty that she kicks me in the nuts when I ask her out.

  “Stop,” June protests, laughing at my nervous behavior. “It’s sweet. And it will make you both more comfortable. Plus, it’s Eight Lanes. Bowling is the easiest first date ever.”

  “Says the Eight Lanes employee who bowls a two-hunny,” I say, one brow arched.

  June’s laughter ticks up but stops when we’re interrupted by the familiar rumble of Lucas’s truck in the driveway. I start to jump in place because he is supposed to bring Abby to the house with him and suddenly I’m full of enough energy to power a lightning bolt.

  “It’s go time,” I say under my breath. June squeezes my arm and offers me a reassuring smile.

  Lucas busts through the door first, and I puff out my cheeks to indicate how stressed I am. But something about the look in his eyes freezes me to the floor. My jumping stops, and my heart does too.

  “Abort. Mission,” Lucas says, pointing at me then staring intently into his girlfriend’s eyes.

  “What the—” My protest is cut short when Abby follows Lucas through the door in a rush, her hand gripped firmly in my brother’s. My eyes see nothing else. I’m blatantly staring at the place where my crush and my twin are fused together.

  What the actual fuck?

  “I got the job, yo!” my brother says. At least, it sounds like his voice. I couldn’t testify he said the words because I’m not looking at his mouth. I’m looking at the way Abby is holding his elbow with her other hand, bouncing with excitement. That’s two hands she has on him now. Two. Hands.

  “Did you hear me, bro? I got the job!”

  I shake my head—literally shake my head—and force my gaze to meet Hayden’s. We are nearly physically identical, but our personalities are vastly different. Where I’m loud, he’s quiet. My confidence is offset by his reservation. I believe I can make any girl fall in love with me. And Hayden . . . he’s never had a girlfriend. Ever.

  Until—

  “You’re looking at the new host at Two-fers,” my brother says, holding up his new work shirt. It’s bright red with two weenies embroidered on the pocket. It’s ridiculous, and my natural instinct is to make fun of it, but I can’t seem to find a single funny thing to say.

  “Wow,” I say, over-exaggerating this terribly small word.

  “Right?” He pushes at my shoulder, pressing the shirt into me to take. I unfold it and stare at it while I fake laugh. I toss it on the counter and hold my hand up for him to slap, and we grip each other and pull in for a hug. My eyes catch June’s over my brother’s shoulder, and they are full of pity. Motherfucking pity!

  “I hope it’s cool that I invited Hayden to come with us?” Abby asks from somewhere behind me. I can’t bear the thought of turning around and looking at her.

  “Of course. Yeah, totally,” I croak out. I cough to cover my weak-ass voice.

  “I just gotta change, and we can go. What’s with the flowers, dude?” my brother asks, pointing to my fisted palm that’s nearly choking the bouquet to death with my grip.

  “Oh,” I say, lifting them and feeling suddenly numb. “I—”

  “He lost a bet,” June says, coming to my rescue.

  Hayden nods, accepting her answer, then dashes up the stairs, leaving the rest of us here in this instantly shrinking space.

  “That a new thing there?” June says to her friend in a half-whisper I wish I didn’t hear.

  “We’ve been talking a lot, with everything they’re going through, and I don’t know, it just sorta . . .” Abby’s head waggles side-to-side, but it’s the blush that colors her cheeks that has me defeated.

  Just sorta.

  The sudden need to rush from the room hits me, and I march across the kitchen toward June. “Here you go, a bet’s a bet,” I say, shoving the flowers I knew were a bad idea into her chest. She hugs them and lets out an “oof.”

  I keep walking, making eyes at Lucas on my way out, knowing he’ll follow me to his truck so I can scream obscenities and feel like a fool with only him as my witness.

  “Wow, someone’s a sore loser,” Abby teases from over my shoulder.

  I huff out a laugh, not even able to lob one of my normal comebacks because she’s so dead-on. I am a sore loser. I’m also done catching feelings for some girl.

  PREORDER NOW!

  Abby and Tory’s story continues in Varsity Tiebreaker,

  releasing July 23rd and now available for preorder here:

  https://amzn.to/2zluA2u

  Acknowledgments

  I’m gonna keep this short and sweet. This series is about the ride, about escaping our reality a little right now and living in between some angsty, fun pages, feeling some swoon then holding hands over our hearts. I wanted to write a world of characters to take us all away, and I wanted a dash of sports in the mix because hey…it’s me! And I miss sports!

  This series was started in the middle of a pandemic. Never in a million years did I think I’d write that statement. And it turns out that leaning on others when writing during the middle of a pandemic is crucial. There is no way I could have jumped feet first into this thing without my support team and without the readers holding out supportive hands ready to catch me after THE END.

  This series has lived in my head for about a year, but shaking off the stress of the world today proved a little tricky. Thank you, Autumn, for telling 2020 to take a seat and shut up and let me write and edit. I always need you but this year, I need you a little more. My betas, Jen, Shelley, TeriLyn—I love you. Brenda Letendre and Tina Scott, bless you and your editing genius. And finally, my sweet Tim and Carter, my world, thanks for being the constant in the storm.

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review. The book market is daunting for us small authors, and getting the word out in this increasingly noisy world is becoming so hard. I am incredibly thankful to my readers and supporters for every boost they give. It’s those viral shares, the recommendations to friends, that help get my stories seen, and I don’t for one minute take any of that for granted. I get to do this because you give me your time and your passion—you tell others to give my books a try. So thank you all…to the moon!

  And hey, don’t worry…I’m in my groove now. You guys are going to love Varsity Tiebreaker and Varsity Rulebreaker. Take that, 2020!

  Also By Ginger Scott

  The Varsity Series

  Varsity Heartbreaker

  Varsity Tiebreaker (July 2020)

  Varsity Rulebreaker (October 2020)

  The Waiting Series

  Waiting on the Sidelines

  Going Long

  The Hail Mary

  Like Us Duet

  A Boy Like You

  A Girl Like Me

  The Falling Series

  This Is Falling

  You And Everything After

  The Girl I Was Before

  In Your Dreams

  The Harper Boys

  Wild Reckless

  Wicked Restless

  Standalone Reads

  Cowboy Villain Damsel Duel

  Drummer Girl

  BRED

  Cry Baby

  The Hard Count

  Memphis

  Hold My Breath

  Blindness

  How We Deal With Gravity

  About the Author

  Ginger Scott is an Amazon-bestselling and Goodreads Choice and Rita Award-nominated author from Peoria, Arizona. She is the author of several young and new adult romances, including bestsellers Cry Baby, The Hard Count, A Boy Like You, This Is Falling and Wild Reckless.

  A sucker for a good romance, Ginger's other passion is sports, and she often blends the two in her stories. When she's not writing, the odds are high that she's somewhere near a baseball diamond, either watching her son swing for the fences or cheering on her favorite baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ginger lives in Arizona and is married to her college sweetheart whom she met at ASU (fork 'em, Devils).

  FIND GINGER ONLINE: www.littlemisswrite.com

 

 

  Ginger Scott, Varsity Heartbreaker

 

 

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