Page 84 of The Baller

He was about to take it when we both realized we were being stared at. Or I was. Nah, maybe he was too. He was a good-looking guy. I turned to find two girls standing a little to the left.

“Friends of yours?” I asked, glancing at Jake.

One second thought, he didn’t seem like a ‘friends’ sort of guy.

“Nope.”

“Hey,” tittered one of the girls. “Are you Lux Weston?”

Jake didn’t even try to disguise his groan, and if it was possible, this eyeroll was even deeper.

“I am,” I replied, though I used Jake’s technique of smiling without it reaching my eyes, because this wasn’t the time or place for me to meet any fans. If I wasn’t with the boys, I could usually get away with going unnoticed, but something told me that standing next to Special Agent America wasn’t helping.

I also didn’t know how I felt about a group of girls coming up to me while Radley was so close by. Even though there was absolutely nothing untoward – or toward for that matter – the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. In fact, since the first day I’d spotted Radley, it hadn’t even crossed my mind that there would ever been anyone else who’d capture my interest like she had.

The boys and I had been on vacation, we’d been out in bars, we’d been out in public, and I couldn’t recall seeing any girl during that entire time. Not one. Not only that, it wasn’t just me; there hadn’t been any action in the apartment either. Ace was with Payton, Parker was too hung up on Scout, Tanner was… well, Tanner.

Maybe the season of experimenting with every edition of Cosmo we could get our hands on had finally caught up with us.

Huh. Although there were definitely a few things I’d like to try with Radley.

“Weston.”

My eyes flicked to Jake, who was pointedly glaring at the girl still at my side. It wasn’t one of those if-looks-could-kill glares he’d perfected, but she should probably take a step back.

“Can I get a photo?”

This time, I gave her my best smile. No, my second best. Radley would get mybestbest from now on. “Sorry, not today. But great to meet you.”

The saccharine beam dropped off the girl’s face, and she took one glance at Jake before thinking better of whatever she’d been thinking. Turning on her heel, she grabbed her friend and marched them both down the path.

“Does that not get tiring?”

“The girls? Or the fans?”

“Either. Both.”

I shrugged. “I have all the time in the world for genuine fans, they’re why I get to play. Girls… yeah.”

“Yeah.” He pulled the brownie from the bag and bit into it. “These are pretty good. Thank you, Baller.”

“Lux,” I corrected.

“I’ll stick with Baller.” I watched him demolish it in three bites, screw the paper bag into a tiny ball, and toss it in the nearby trash can.

“You like baseball?”

This time I got a side-eye. “I’m a Dodger. Still pissed you guys took Jupiter Reeves.”

Interesting.

I held my hands up. “Hey, you should take that up with Shepherd. He didn’t come willingly from what I heard, if that helps.”

I didn’t get an answer; instead, Jake was talking into his sleeve. “Copy. Clear out here. Baller has arrived, if you want to tell her he’s waiting with me.”

Thirty seconds later, the doors to the English building opened and out poured hundreds of students. Some jogged straight down the path, some looked like they had all the time in the world, though in hindsight they were probably stoned. Most of them chattered away in groups as they walked off, but it took me ten seconds of scouring through the hoards before I spotted Radley.

I also had a new appreciation for the Special Agents.

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