Page 117 of The Baller

“Because you’re meeting my parents?”

“Yeah, but at some point in time I’m going to need to ask your dad’s permission to marry you, so it would be much better all-around if this first meeting went well.”

I frowned. I definitely think I’d heard what he’d said, but the way he was paying more attention to the two shirts he was holding out in front of him made me question my hearing abilities, and the possibility we were having two completely different conversations.

“Did you say you want to marry me?” I managed to squeak out.

Lux stilled, stiller than I’d ever seen him, took a deep breath, and put back the shirts. Before I could blink again, he’d crossed the room and wrapped his arms around me. I breathed in the familiar, heady scent of oak and woods, smoky and intoxicating; the scent of him. The scent I now associated with love, with calm, and with home.

“I do. At some point, when we’re ready, and you’ve graduated. But yeah, you’re my future, Radley. I love you, and I can’t ever imagine not loving you.”

My reaction wasn’t unlike one I’d had before; a big fat ball of tears clogging my throat, eyes open so wide they were almost painfully stinging, and a profound burning in my chest. But this time, there wasn’t the undertone of panic, there was no cortisol flooding my bloodstream. Instead, a glowing warmth replaced the usual cold sweat.

No fear.

It did turn out I was holding my breath, however.

“Radley!”

Air hit my lungs as I forced it in, dislodging the ball of tears so I could swallow it back down.

“Yeah?”

“Did you just hold your breath?”

“I think so,” I nodded.

“Why?”

“Um…” I sucked in the corner of my lip, trying to figure out that answer myself. “Because I could feel tears in my throat and I didn’t want them.”

“So you held your breath?”

“I didn’t mean to, I just…” I blinked hard, clearing my blurry, watery vision so I could look at the most perfect man I’d ever met, one who loved me unconditionally, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. “I think my body was reacting. It’s become so used to fight or flight, and this time it wouldn’t allow any panic to set in. I didn’t want the moment to end; I wanted to keep it forever.” The smile I gave him originated from the very center of my core, and turned into laughter, though Lux still looked mildly concerned. “The only thing I know… I’ve never felt this happy in my entire life, and I can’t imagine not loving you either.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

His mouth dropped to mine, his perfect soft lips molding to my lips until I opened up and let him in. I would never have enough of kissing this man, or the way his tongue brushed against mine, sending tiny shockwaves to every cell in my body, until I vibrated at a frequency only he could hear. I would never have enough of the way his long fingers always speared through my hair, pulling me into him likehewould never have enough.

It was hard to believe that someone I’d only known about in the abstract four months ago was now so integral to my life, I couldn’t imagine it without him – or how quickly things can change when you let them.

He pulled away with a soft hum.

“Okay, I feel less jittery now.” He smacked one last kiss to my lips. “You get dressed; we have some time to kill before dinner. We’ll wrap up and you can give me a tour of D.C.”

“Hmm,” I mumbled to myself, swinging my legs off the bed and testing them first to see if they’d hold up. After that kiss, a walking tour of D.C. was the last thing I wanted to do.

It wasn’t one of those two-minute, high pressure, freshening up situations, but I still managed to shower, get dressed, and be walking through the hotel lobby, my hand in Lux’s, twenty minutes later. Outside, the sky was beautiful and crystal clear, but Arctic-cold. Every few seconds, a blast of freezing air hit us from guests walking through the entrance. It had me pulling my thick beanie lower, and the neck of my long puffer coat higher. One benefit of this weather was being so wrapped up in clothes it was almost impossible to see the person underneath.

“Shit,” muttered Lux, patting down his pants and jacket. “I think I left my phone in the room.” He glanced over to Ethan and Jake, and back to me. “Are you okay waiting here? I’ll run and get it – or do you want to come with me?”

“No, you go. I’ll be fine here,” I replied, giving him my most reassuring smile. “I’ll see you in a couple of minutes. Go.”

He smacked a kiss to my lips and sprinted back to the elevators. I stepped to the side of the huge lobby entrance with its thick striped marble flooring, and tables brimming with fresh winter flowers, positioning myself so I was partially hidden by one of the dozen Christmas trees twinkling near the main doors.

“Radley, Ava, and Meg are outside, where do you want to walk to?” asked Jake.

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