I Hate Blind Dates: I Hate Prom, #3

By J. Leigh James

Can one blind date lead to true love?

 

Robin only wants to play basketball and hang out with her best friend Ryan. Her obnoxious cousin Carla, however, has other plans. Namely, forcing Robin to attend prom at Carla's high school.

 

Ryan is always by Robin's side, and his best friend is counting on him to help her deal with Carla. But when Ryan's brother gets kicked out of school, his entire world turns upside-down.

 

Prom is fastly approaching, and Robin and Ryan's feelings for each other are tested.

 

Can these best friends find a way to maintain their relationship, or will they realize they are on the verge of becoming so much more?

• Language: English
• Publisher: J. Leigh James
• Release date: Nov 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781961656970

J. Leigh James

J. Leigh James lives in Texas with her amazing husband, "bad apple" daughter, and neurotic cat. She began writing in middle school when a beloved story had an unsatisfying ending. After rewriting the ending to the story, she became addicted to creating love stories with happily-ever-after endings. She loves connecting with her readers, so check out her website and sign up for her newsletter.

Book preview

I Hate Blind Dates

J. Leigh James

Copyright © 2023 by J. Leigh James, Jennifer Glover

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Epilogue

Also By

About Author

One

Robin

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Coach Sally blew her whistle to signal the end of practice, and I joined my teammates in the huddle. Despite her friendly name, she was a hard-core basketball coach, and I cringed because I knew she wasn’t happy with today’s practice.

I didn’t blame her. I wasn’t either. Had this been a game, we would have lost. No matter who our opponent was.

Coach berated us for all the mistakes we’d made. She barked out instructions for what to focus on during our next practice. Despite her efforts over the last couple of months, the team wasn’t shaping up. Our best scorers had graduated high school the previous year, and we were struggling. As one of the taller players on our basketball team, I was a guard. I specialized in blocking moves and assisting when the other girls’ shots missed.

I shouldn’t have been the highest scorer on the team, and I was. That was a big issue. The girls around me grumbled about how hard they were trying, and it frustrated me. If they were trying as hard as they said they were, we had no hope of winning any matches this season.

I grabbed my gym bag and slung it over my shoulder. I felt completely frustrated and defeated. I was hoping to have a good team for my last year in high school. But now I wondered if I was wasting my time.

Wow, that bad? Ryan Baker said to me as I climbed into his Jeep.

Worse. I didn’t need to elaborate. Ryan, my lifelong best friend, had already heard countless hours of my complaints about the fate of this team’s season.

What if they watched a real team play? You think it would help them see how it’s supposed to be done?

I considered his idea. I don’t know. But at this point, it couldn’t hurt.

As he drove out of the community center parking lot and headed towards home, he tuned in to my favorite radio station. Hopefully, the sugar gum poppy sounds would help lift my spirits.

You could always ask your cousin Carla about going to one of their basketball games. The boys’ team is exceptionally good this year.

I groaned. The last thing I needed was quality time with Carla. She was a popular cheerleader at Morgan High School, and she was constantly looking down her nose at me because I was homeschooled. She felt her life was superior in every way. And she didn’t have a problem sharing her thoughts.

I didn’t mind being homeschooled. My parents paid for this expensive curriculum hosted by real teachers via live stream lessons. I liked the flexibility of having my classes wherever I wanted to take them, including from my bed if I overslept.

But Carla didn’t see any of the advantages. She was always saying something like oh poor Robin she’s never eaten in a school cafeteria, oh poor Robin, she’s so sheltered. How sad Robin must be to miss out on everything. Or 100 other million things that she believed about my life that might not be true.

I knew it would make my mom happy if I spent more time with Carla. When we were born months apart, my mother had had this grand vision of us becoming best friends. But that didn’t happen. We had different interests and had very different lives.

When I didn’t respond to him, Ryan said, You could sacrifice one night for the good of the team.

I pushed my damp hair back off my forehead. You know my weaknesses, Ryan. It’s not fair.

It will be fine, he said. I’ll go with you.

I gave him a big dramatic sigh. Okay, you win. I’ll do it. I’ll ask who on the team wants to go, and then I’ll call Carla and tell her my plan. But you better be there, or you’re in trouble.

I’m always here for you.

And he was. Just like I was there for him. It also helped that he was my next-door neighbor.

Ryan pulled into his driveway and turned off the car. I’m sorry about the team.

I nodded. I guess there’s always college basketball.

He gave me a sympathetic smile. I’d already been accepted to a small, private college not far from our town. They had a basketball team, but it had no funding and wasn’t competitive. It would be fun to play the game, but I loved competition as much as I loved actually playing. So, that was a downer.

It will be okay, he said. I promise.

I gave him a reluctant grin. He was always promising things he had no way to deliver. If you say so.

I do, he patted me on the shoulder. Now get into your house and get those calls made. You have a team to turn around.

Thanks, I sarcastically said and shook my head. Then I left his car and trotted over to my house. First, I’d take a shower and have supper. Maybe then I’d contact everyone and get these plans rolling.

Which meant contacting Carla. I dreaded that the most. Even more than facing a losing season.

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Ryan

Y ou’ve been kicked out again? My dad’s voice spilled from the living room.

It sounded like my brother Matt got in trouble at school. Again. I didn’t know what his deal was. He had been a pretty good kid until he started high school, and got in with the wrong crowd. Since then, he’d been suspended for fighting, threatening a teacher, and suspected drug use.

I seriously hoped he wasn’t on drugs. No one had any proof that he was, but his erratic behavior suggested it.

My parents and brother were sitting in the living room, so I quietly walked past them to the stairs. I didn’t want to be pulled into this conversation, but luck wasn’t on my side.

Ryan, my dad said. We need to have a family meeting.

The whole idea of a family meeting seemed to make perfect sense in the past. And the first ones we had weren’t bad. But lately they had been gang-up sessions on Matt.

I had almost made it to my room. I dropped my bag by my door and trudged back down the stairs. As soon as I sat in a chair facing my family, my brother grinned at me.

Guess what, big bro. You are transferring.

What?

Matt! my mother said, why do you have to make a bad situation worse?

Everyone should join in the fun. Aren’t you having fun, mother?

My mom’s face contorted in anger. Just wait until you see the fun we have in store for you.

I can’t wait, he said. But first, you should give Ryan his surprise.

What is going on? I asked when no one in my family immediately responded to my brother’s taunt.

Matt beamed at me while my parents looked at each