Page 75 of Out of Bounds

Something was up with Ryan. Which usually wouldn’t be my problem, but he couldn’t walk his toned, clenched glutes fast enough in the mall to outpace any of his fans.

"Ryan!" I hissed, trying to get his attention again.

We’d been spotted and targetedagain. Two teenagers lit up the moment they saw us and sprinted over, ducking and dodging to cross our path.

"Dude, we’ve got to duck into a shoe store. They’re going to corner us. Get your assmoving!"

The football player glanced down. "What?"

"Oh hell’s bells, here they are—"

"Hey! Hello!" The first teenager hurried so fast she almost flew into a clothing rack.

That wasn’t new. We’d already dealt with a mom and little kid who slid through the food court on the way to us, a group of high school boys who trailed behind us in the parking lot, and the prepubescent boy who smacked into a column when he spotted Ryan. I’d been assured it was my new normal.

Yippee.

The teenage girl squealed with delight. "No, don’t tell me. You’re not—"

How many people had approached us?

It was actually pretty impressive, considering we’d only spent ten minutes in the mall. Cleo said I’d get used to it, but she’d also said the graphic design department would get used to me, and I’d seen how well that turned out.

I tried to smile and ended up with the pained expression of someone who’d backed into a minivan. "Yep. Probably."

"You’re Ryan Cross, right?" The second teenager gushed at him. "Look at thosearms. Can I touch them?Pleasetell me that’s you."

My smile tightened. "He’s not a zoo animal."

"And you’re the girl from the—!"

"From the photo, yes. That’s my name, Girl-From-The-Photo. All hyphenated."

Ryan looked between me and the girls. It was like someone flipped on the switch. "She’s my girlfriend, actually, and we’re shopping. We’d appreciate some privacy. Thank you for the support. It means a lot."

What?

I didn’t have time to process anything before Ryan placed his hand on my back. All my lower muscles seized up as he guided me down the hallway, past the pretzel stand, past the barely lit skate shop, past the quirky knickknack store that smelled like mothballs.

We stopped at the last corner and I could finally ask my question. "What was that?"

Ryan remained silent.

"Shouldn’t you be nicer to teenagers?" I pressed. "Isn’t that one of your main demographics?"

An older guy down the hallway dropped his slushie when he spotted Ryan and grabbed two of his friends beside him.

I grimaced. "Well, that, and forty-year-old dads."

Again, Ryan didn’t respond.

I tried something brand new. "Want to know what my favorite part about the design department is?"

With a grunt, he indicated he was listening, but his eyes scanned above my head.

"We catch lizards outside. It’s a lot easier than you think."

He nodded.

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