Page 85 of The Baller

Once I found her, I couldn’t figure out how I hadn’t seen her immediately. It had only been a couple of hours since she’d left my place, but I seem to have already forgotten how beautiful she was. She was without a doubt, by far and away, the most beautiful of anyone in the immediate vicinity. Of anyone…ever.

Her hair was twisted into a top knot, haphazardly pushed up without any thought to all the strands which had escaped, and blew softly as she moved. And all I could think about was the way I gripped it in my fist while she rode my dick for the third time last night. Or maybe it was this morning. I tried to stop my brain from reminding me about the way her eyelids fluttered and rolled as she came, clamping down on my cock with her deliciously tight pussy, or the way I stayed awake for as long as I could to watch her sleep after she passed out in my arms.

I tried, but failed on all accounts, and the semi in my pants was testament to that.

How was I ever going to go about my days moving forward, knowing all I now knew?

I prayed for a couple more seconds before she spotted me, or before Ethan told her where I was. I wanted to watch her for a little longer, laughing with a girl I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t Millie, because she was laughing on her other side. I wanted to watch her; this girl was miles away from the frightened Radley I’d guided out of the restaurant four days ago.

The one still in my orange highlighter hoodie with the sleeves rolled over four times under her jacket, looking so cute and carefree I wanted to put her in my pocket.

And then she spotted me, and the smile spreading across her face scorched my chest; a scorching that felt a lot like a brand with her name on it.

“Hey,” she breathed out when she reached me. “What are you doing here?”

I bit down on my smile. “I brought you something.” I peered over her as Millie joined us. “Actually, I brought you both something.”

I held up the second bag of brownies, which Millie snatched, stuck her nose into, and sniffed deeply. “I heard about these.”

“Hey, Jake already tested them for you. They’re safe,” I laughed, giving myself a high five when Millie’s mouth twitched in amusement, before I really turned on the charm. “And I heard brownies were your favorite, so I baked these fresh this morning, especially for you, as Radley’s best friend.”

Just like Jake, she raised an eyebrow, but offered nothing more than a curt “Thank you”. Tough crowd, but I’d played Fenway Park on Opening Day, and won. Millie was a walk in the park on a perfect summer day.

Radley grinned at her, before turning to me. “What did you bring me?”

Chuckling, I reached into the inside pocket of my winter coat, and pulled out a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string the color of my hoodie. She’d barely taken it from me before she ripped the paper open, to reveal a dark green notebook.

“Lux,” she gasped. “It’s lovely. Thank you.”

I tugged her a little to the side, away from prying ears. Even though I knew she’d tell Millie the second they walked off together, I wanted this moment alone. Just us two.

“You said there was so much you wanted to do, but didn’t feel brave enough.” I tapped the notebook as she held my gaze. “I want you to write down everything in here, no matter how big or small, and I’ll help you do it.”

Her eyes widened so much I couldn’t tell if it was the cold or the notebook which had them spilling over. “Lux, this is… I can’t even… thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I tucked one of the longer strands behind her ear. “How are you feeling?”

A blush spread across her face; one I could read as easily as any book. It might have been over a year since Radley had sex for the first and only time, but she made up for it all night and again this morning.

It wasn’t just her. I was hell-bent on eradicating any memory she’d had ofanyguy, period. From here on in, it would be me, and me alone.

“A little bit sore, but amazing,” she giggled, “though I nearly fell asleep just now.”

“Get a nap in later.”

“I wish,” she groaned longingly, and that didn’t help the semi situation. “I have a full day of classes.”

“What’s your next one?”

“Victorian poets, but we’re getting coffee first.”

“You go,” I grinned. “I’m not getting between you and caffeine.”

I held her gaze, like the IRL version of who hangs up first. I had nowhere better to be, but I also didn’t want to make her late, and moved half an inch.

“Hey, don’t you want to kiss me?”

I stepped right back into the spot I just vacated. “I’ll always want to kiss you, Goldilocks, but someone might see.”

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