Page 86 of The Shake Off

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

I shrugged, pushing it away as I always did. “Don’t be. It’s what I was used to, but you better believe they also sent me to a ton of child therapists so they could also convince their divorce lawyers that they were the best parent. That was fun.”

“Are you close with them now?” asked Lux, snatching up the ladle from the pot of utensils.

The batter hit the hot griddle with a loud hiss, and the smell of cinnamon, sugar, and chocolate filled the air, making my stomach rumble again.

I shook my head. “Not really.”

“Where do they live?”

“They’re both still in Miami,” I replied, really not wanting to get further into a conversation about my parents, which thankfully Ace sensed, and changed the subject.

“Hey, Weston, Payton’s starting a new job this week.”

He flipped one of the pancakes over and turned to me. “Oh yeah, what is it?”

“I’m a book editor. I’m moving from children’s books to adult fiction.”

Lux’s eyes lit up. “That’s cool. Do you get to read them before they hit the shelves?”

I nodded. “Yeah, as long as Simpson and Mather publish them. If you like reading, let me know what you want and I’ll give them to Ace for you.”

“If you can’t tell, Weston here is the reader of our group.”

“Hey,” I reached over and patted Ace’s cheek, “don’t put yourself down. You read. I sawCosmo, remember?”

The two of them snorted loudly and grinned at each other. I sat back in the stool as Ace got up, poured out glasses of fresh orange juice for the three of us, removed plates from the cabinet, then grabbed maple syrup before sitting down again. It was utterly domestic and wholesome, and I didn’t want to think about why it was making my chest ache.

Lux placed a thick stack of pancakes in front of us, pushing it toward me with a grin, “Ladies first.”

I forked one off the top. “Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you for getting Watson into readingCosmo. We’ve struck gold with that.”

I coughed into my orange juice, looking up to find them smirking at me. “I’ll let you know if the ladies of New York award me a service medal or something.”

Lux chuckled. “No… I mean yes, that, but our game’s improved since we’ve been reading it. All four of us.”

“Come on, not you too.” I rolled my eyes heavily and forked in a mouthful with a groan. Holy shit, these pancakes were good. “You’re not serious?”

He scooped a handful of raspberries onto his pancakes then drowned the entire stack in maple syrup. “Deadly. I caught every ball last week.”

“Isn’t that what you’re paid for?” I asked, which I thought was a reasonable question based on all the sports articles I’d read recently. Journalistic, definitely.

“Yes, I’m paid to catch the ball, but not just catch the ball. I play center field.”

I waited for Lux to expand on that last point, but he didn’t.

“She doesn’t really know much about baseball,” mumbled Ace through a mouthful.

My head snapped around to him. “Hey, I’m learning.”

“I know, Babycakes.” He patted my knee, to which I scowled, and he returned it with a grin. “Center field has the most ground to cover. They’re usually furthest away from the plate, they have to be agile, have strong throwing arms, and excellent aim. Our boy Lux has it all.”

“Oh.” I raised a fork loaded with pancakes. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” he smirked. “I haven’t missed a ball, I’ve been quicker, and every one I’ve thrown back to base has been caught.”

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