Page 57 of Strike Zone

Oh, you mean this one?

WREN

Take that out of your mouth right now. That’s mine.

WYATT

I licked it. It’s mine now.

WREN

Now who has the stupid rules?

WYATT

It’s the golden rule.

WREN

That is not the golden rule.

WYATT

Hart asked me again about going to Ray’s to celebrate when midterms are over.

WREN

A full sentence in a text? Are you turning a new leaf?

WYATT

Absolutely not.

Are you going?

It could be fun.

14

WYATT

I have exactly fifteen minutes to get across campus before Wren leaves for her study session at the library. I managed to slip out of the locker room before Koa or Hart could question my plans for the night.

At the moment, I’m not sure what they are. Even as I stand in front of Wren’s door, I don’t know why I decided to come over here. I’m simply desperate to see her.

Once again, I’m struck by her voice filtering through the room. I’ve yet to catch her singing in front of me, but I’ve heard her occasionally in moments like this when she doesn’t know I’m listening.

It hits me even harder than it did the first time. Now I know the woman behind the voice. It isn’t just the melody or the lyrics anymore. It’s her making me feel something. It’s Wren.

I knock a few times. The singing stops abruptly. I wonder if she knows the walls are paper thin and everyone can hear her. She has to. She’s complained multiple times about the girl who lives next door having sex—she claims it’s one of the reasons she’s been studying more and more with me at my place.

Grinning at the peephole, I wait for the door to crack open.

“Hi,” Wren greets me. “What are you doing here? Charlie isn’t home.”

“Okay. Are you going to let me in?” The door is only opened wide enough to see a partial silhouette of Wren’s body. She’s wearing shorts and a loose blouse in the same fabric. A material that most likely has to be dry cleaned.

“I guess. I was about to head out the door.” She says this as if I didn’t already know her entire schedule.

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