Page 7 of Endgame

“Water?”

“Sure, thanks.” Lila tried to ignore the strange ways that her nerves fired when her fingers brushed his. She definitely needed to get out more. They both stretched out on the chairs and opened their waters, taking a few pulls in silence.

One of the byproducts of Lila’s shyness was that she tended to overcorrect when she felt uncomfortable, meaning she’d become inanely chatty, something she was desperately trying to avoid around King. But as the silence stretched into space and wrapped around them, she felt the familiar itchiness that came right before a bunch of embarrassing word vomit.

Just as she was ready to break with something pathetic like, So you like to play soccer, huh? King popped the awkwardness bubble.

“You a Yankees fan, Lila?” His gaze flitted from her hat down the length of her jersey, and Lila felt every heady second of his undivided attention.

“Mostly just an Aaron Judge fan,” Lila joked. “My high school ex played baseball and liked the team, and it just so happened that I liked the jersey and the hat and the aforementioned Aaron Judge, so I decided not to throw them out once things were over. Which came in handy for an impromptu-ish party such as this.”

“Well, you look good, so I think you made the right decision.”

Lila was glad that the light was dim enough that King wouldn’t notice the pinkening of her cheeks. “Thanks.”

She let herself take a moment to scan over King’s plain white T-shirt and navy joggers. “I take it the people who throw the party are absolved from following costume rules? Except I do recall that Knight was wearing a jersey.”

“Knight’s all about this kind of thing…”

“And, let me guess… You’re not?”

“Not always. But hey, we match, so that’s gotta count for something.”

“I guess you’re right. Though, I will admit, I was very much looking forward to your dance moves.”

“Like I said, La, you couldn’t handle the moves. Not even a little bit.”

“La, huh?”

“It suits you.”

“Most people shorten my name to Li; this is the first time I’ve gotten a La. I don’t hate it.”

“That’s good, I guess, because that’s what I’m calling you from now on.” He leaned in to examine the delicate yellow gold necklace she was wearing. “Is that a crown?” He motioned to the tiny charm that hovered over the center of her sternum.

Lila fingered the small three-pointed crown charm subconsciously. “Yeah. It was a high school graduation gift from my favorite grandma. She said it was to help me feel powerful as I went out on my own for the first time. I rarely take it off.”

“I like it,” King said with a sexy half smile that made Lila feel all sorts of things. “My name is King, after all. Crowns kind of come with the territory.” He winked, and she had to suppress a gasp. Because who knew a wink could be anything other than cheesy?

The longer the two continued to talk, the more they had to say. Lila lost track of time and was finally snapped out of her conversation by the vibrations of her phone. It was Wren, saying that she was tapped out on wing woman-ing for the night. Lila was shocked to see that over an hour had passed since she’d approached King.

“My ride is ready to go, so…” Despite the ease of their conversation, Lila all of a sudden felt awkward again as she stood. King got to his feet too.

“I’ll walk you out,” he said. He seemed to hesitate, just for a minute, before he spoke again. “So I was wondering if I could get your number? Maybe we could hang again sometime next week, if you’re game.”

Lila nodded and gave him her number, trying her hardest to play it cool. Unlike with Knight, who she could appreciate was stupidly attractive but who only gave her friendship-type vibes, King created an emotional war of feelings that tore through her body like a gunshot.

They walked side by side up to the front of the house, where Wren was waiting with a grinning Knight.

“Later, La,” King said before turning to go into the house.

“Later,” Lila managed to eke out to his retreating form.

Wren and Knight shared some sort of a look that they probably assumed Lila wouldn’t notice, and then Lila and Wren said their goodbyes to Mr. Charisma himself.

Once they were locked in the safety of the car, Wren turned to her friend. “Okay, Li, spill it right now. Where did you go? And what happened with the inscrutable soccer star?”

Lila shifted in her seat and explained what happened, how Knight had practically pushed her into King’s lap. How they ended up talking and laughing together. How he asked for her number.

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