Page 41 of The Baller

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He nodded to the opposite sidewalk. “The store is halfway down this street on the left. There’s an orange awning, and Meg is waiting by the door. You have your panic button?”

I nodded with a grateful smile, and glanced around. While the street I was currently standing on was busy for a Tuesday afternoon, the one I was about to walk down was almost deserted. We were north of the university, and the usual bustle of students was missing, but I still hadn’t seen anywherethisquiet since I’d been in New York.

Not that I’d been many places.

I peered down the street; it was so narrow I wasn’t even certain Jakecouldhave driven down here. There certainly weren’t any other cars, and at the very end, I spotted a cyclist turning out of sight. I stood for a second, observing. It was almost from another time; like the city had been rushing past it so quickly, it had been completely overlooked. A line split down the middle of the road; one half still cobbled, one half paved, as though the asphalt had run out and no one could be bothered to finish the job. Tall, ornate streetlights separated the blossom trees, whose currently empty branches were brushing together across the road, forming a delicate arch for us to walk underneath.

It was tiny, unassuming, and all together perfect.

“Radley? You okay?”

I blinked up at Ethan. “Yes. Yes, I’m good.”

I was halfway down the street when I spotted the orange awning, with Meg waiting underneath.

“Hey, Radley. You can go in, no one’s in here yet. Ava’s bythe back door, and the place is secure.”

“Lux Weston’s not here?”

She shook her head.

I forced four breaths and rode the waves. He wasn’t standing me up, this wasn’t some kind of elaborate prank. He was bringing me hot chocolate.

Out of habit, I spun around, immediately searching for someone with a camera, giving myself the mother of all eyerolls a second later. Who cares about a picture of me on my own outside a random book store? I turned back to the store, although, looking at it, it wasn’t sure itwasa bookstore. The windows were blacked out, leaving an orange door and an orange awning.

“He’s on his way. Jake just radioed to say he can see him walking by the cross section.”

Immense relief washed over me, and I gave myself another eyeroll.

Get hold of yourself, Radley.

I turned to Meg. “Should I wait here? Or go in?”

“Whatever you want to do. I’ll be over there with Ethan.” She nodded to where he was standing on the other side of the street. “It’s empty inside. I think you’re gonna like this one, though.”

I was about to ask her whether she was talking about the bookstore or Lux when I saw him.

He was approximately fifty yards away. Even from this distance, he was hard to miss. As narrow as this little street was, nothing could disguise the size of him; the breadth of his chest, the length of each stride as they powered up the sidewalk.

That was exactly it.

Powered.

He was powerful, and I’d seen evidence of that. Not many people took on Jake and lived to tell the tale. The mop of dark waves bouncing to the rhythm of his steps did nothing to confound that either; the waves, or the broad smile. They only enhanced it. As he got closer, I could see the smile he was wearing was for me. He was smilingatme.

A low ache rolled deep in my core; one that had been present since the day we’d met.

But as I took in the rest of him… “Oh my God!”

Meg was mid-step to joining Ethan and spun around, hand at her hip. “What? Are you okay?”

“No!” I whisper wailed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Please tell me he’s not wearing a peach sweater.”

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