Page 108 of Bookworm

Hearing this, Shin turned his eyes to me and Mi-Cha. "Oh hey, ladies. What have you two been doing while we were lugging in dirt, nearly breaking our backs for minimum wage?"

Stryker rolled his eyes, but I just grinned.

"We've been getting to know each other," I said then pointed to his arms. "Is that how you got all those muscles?"

Shin's smile returned brighter than ever. "Actually, I've been working out since the age of three, Lottie. Mostly in the dojo.Thanks for noticing."

"Apparently lifting dirt is good exercise," I stage whispered to Meech, who laughed, but when I looked to her, she seemed flustered, not really looking at the guys, avoiding eye contact. It made me wonder if maybe she liked one of them.

Shin's chest puffed out at the compliment, but then Bo walked by and poked him in the stomach, causing his best friend to grunt.

"Still need to work on that core," Bo grumbled.

"And his high round kick," Meech added.

Shin scoffed at that."I've got the best kicks at The Academy.It's a well-known fact."

"If you say so," she said.

"I do.My legs are lethal."

Shin looked so serious I had to bite back a laugh.

"Meech," Bo said, nodding tothe window. "That'slooking good."

Good? Such an understatement.

But Bo didn't give out compliments easily.

Brow scrunched I looked from him to Meech and wondered… Was Mi-Cha the girl? Could she be the one whose attention he wanted so badly?

"Don't you think so, Shin?" he said.

The other guy looked up and tilted his head. "It's nice, but Meech always does awesome work."

"True," Bo said.

"Thanks guys," she said in her quiet voice.

As she blushed, again, I got the feeling that maybe there was a crush.

Confirmation came when Meech missed a rung on the ladder, but before she could fall more than an inch, Bo was there, wrapping an arm around her waist and steadying her.It was all so graceful, so unlike what'd gone down in the library between him and me.

"You okay?" he asked as Meech turned fire engine red.

"Yeah," she said, taking the final steps down to the ground, "I'm fine."

"Clumsy as always, Mi-Cha," Shin teased, and she threw him a tiny glare. "Gotta be more careful. Bo might not always be there to catch you."

"You'd probably just watch me fall," she snapped.

Shin shrugged. "I probably would.Might laugh a little too."

"Maybe," she murmured, "you should work on your reflexes."

As I watched, she chucked her paintbrush at him. Shin, not expectingthis, didn't duck. The projectile bouncedharmlessly off his skin, leaving a purple line against his cheek. The shocked expression on his face was priceless. I gave Meech a high-five as she left the room, and Bo nodded at her.

Shin threw up his hands. "What did I say?"

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