Out of Bounds

18

"Good game," Vincent said as he fist-bumped Shiloh. "You were in the zone in the second half," he added with an impressed grin.

"Well, I had to take back our score because I was playing badly in the first quarter," Shiloh replied with a small laugh. He grabbed a sports drink from the cooler and handed one to Vincent before opening his own.

Vincent twisted the cap open and took a long drink before sitting down on the bench beside him. The rest of the players were still on the court, cooling down, stretching, or talking among themselves after the intense practice match.

"So," Vincent said after a moment, glancing sideways at Shiloh. "Any problem you wanted to share?" he added.

Shiloh shook his head and took a sip from his drink.

"Nothing," he replied simply. Vincent hummed but didn't look fully convinced.

"Actually, I heard an interesting piece of news on the way here," Vincent continued, raising an eyebrow as he eyed his friend. Shiloh already had a feeling where this was going.

"Are you really in a relationship with that omega?" Vincent asked. Shiloh chuckled and shook his head.

"No, we're not in that kind of relationship," he answered calmly. "Cyan was just an omega I wanted to help. That's it," he added.

He leaned back slightly on the bench, resting his arms on his knees.

"People just tend to twist things to fit their own narrative," he added with a quiet sigh.

Vincent studied his face for a moment before nodding slowly, accepting the answer.

"Well," he said with a shrug. "You know how people are. One photo and suddenly everyone's a detective," he added.

Shiloh snorted lightly at that, taking another drink as the noise of both teams filling the gym echoed around them.

"How's your household?" Vincent asked casually as he leaned back on the bench.

"Same old," Shiloh replied with a small shrug. "They've expanded their business recently, and I heard your family's one of the investors," he added before taking another sip of his drink.

"Yeah," Vincent said with a grin. "Doing business with your family has always benefited us," he added.

The two of them sat there for a moment, watching their teammates finish cooling down on the court.

"Wanna hang out later?" Vincent suddenly asked, glancing at him. Shiloh raised an eyebrow.

"You're not going back with the rest of your team?" he asked. Vincent chuckled softly.

"Well, it's been a long time since I last saw you and actually hung out with you," he said.

"Besides, we used to do that all the time before we ended up in different schools," he added.

Shiloh leaned back slightly, considering it. It had indeed been a while since they last spent time together outside of basketball or quick greetings during matches.

Vincent nudged his shoulder lightly.

"Come on," he added with a grin. "Don't tell me the great Captain Shiloh Cross is suddenly too busy for an old friend," he added. Shiloh laughed.

"Of course not. Let's go later," Shiloh said. Vincent immediately grinned and tapped Shiloh on the shoulder.

"That's what I'm talking about," he said.

After their short break, both teams decided to play one more practice match before ending the day. This time, the atmosphere on the court was more relaxed, though both sides still played with competitive energy.

Shiloh performed much better compared to the earlier game, moving confidently across the court and coordinating well with his teammates. The friendly rivalry between the two teams made the match enjoyable for everyone watching.

When the final whistle blew, the players gathered at the center of the court to shake hands.

The Newton Jaguars thanked Coach Torres for giving them the opportunity to play and learn from the match.

"Thank you for the game, Coach," Vincent said respectfully. Coach Torres nodded.

"You boys played well. Keep training hard."

The Stathmore Spartans also thanked the visiting team before both sides began packing up their things.

Just as Vincent had said earlier, he didn't leave with the rest of his team. While the Jaguars boarded their bus, Vincent stayed behind, leaning against the wall near the gym entrance while waiting for Shiloh.

Inside the gym, Coach Torres finished giving a few final reminders to the Spartans before dismissing them.

"Good work today. Get some rest," he said before walking away.

The players began dispersing one by one, chatting among themselves as they left the gym.

Shiloh slung his bag over his shoulder and walked toward the entrance where Vincent was waiting.

"Let's go?" Shiloh asked

.

"Sure, let's go," Vincent replied.

The two of them walked to the parking lot, and Shiloh unlocked his car before sliding into the driver's seat. Vincent took the passenger seat.

Shiloh started the engine and drove them toward Groove.

It was still early in the evening, and the place probably wouldn't be crowded yet—but neither of them cared. They just wanted to hang out and catch up after not seeing each other for a long time.

"Man, there are so many things that are new here," Vincent said as he took a sip of his beer, glancing around the bar.

Groove had changed quite a bit since the last time he had been there. The lighting was more modern, the music louder, and the crowd livelier than he remembered.

"Yeah, and it's good," Shiloh replied, leaning back slightly on his seat while holding his drink. Vincent nodded in agreement before suddenly remembering something.

"Archer's still here, right? Your rival," Vincent said.

The moment the name left his mouth, Shiloh's expression turned grim.

"Yeah," Shiloh replied flatly. "They won the championship last time," he added.

Shiloh took a small sip of his drink before adding with clear irritation, "He's still an asshole."

Vincent chuckled at that.

"Some things never change, huh?" Then Vincent's eyes suddenly shifted toward the entrance.

"Well," he said slowly, raising his brow, "that asshole's coming here," he added.

Shiloh frowned slightly and turned his head toward the door.

Sure enough, Archer had just walked in with Dmitri beside him. The two groups immediately noticed each other.

For a brief moment, Shiloh and Archer locked eyes across the room. The noise of the bar seemed to fade into the background as the tension between them quietly resurfaced. But it was Shiloh who broke the moment first. He turned his gaze away and took another drink as if he didn't care.