Page 112 of The Strike Zone

“What?” She shrugged, her face a mask of innocence. “You have.”

“Yeah, but I’m still trying to play it cool.” He turned and winked at me.

I swallowed my mouthful and washed it down with a sip of juice. “I think that ship sailed a long time ago.”

“No way,” Parker replied, his long fingers digging into my side, making me squeal with a little laughter, but mostly embarrassment. “I know you still think I’m cool.”

“You’re all right.” I shrugged.

Radley picked up her coffee cup, trying and failing to hide a wide smirk. “I think you’ll fit in here just fine, Scout. And I’m glad you’re here, we need more girls.”

“Thank you.” My eyes flicked over to Parker, who was watching me with an expression that I felt deep in my chest. Without saying another word, he turned around to join in with whatever conversation Lux and Tanner were having—from the sounds of it, still bacon as a viable topping.

I glanced at Radley. “Does Lux do all the cooking here?”

She picked up the orange juice and poured herself a glass. “Yup. He enjoys it—plus, the boys would probably live on cereal if he didn’t.”

“I’m impressed,” I replied, staring at the growing pancake stack, even though it seemed the boys were eating as fast as he was making them.

“Yeah, he’s great. I don’t know if Parker told you, but he also gives the boys cooking lessons.”

“That’s awesome. Is that why there’s so much food? They’ve been helping?”

“Oh, no, that’s normally how much they make when everyone’s here. It’ll all get eaten.” Radley giggled, leaning across the counter to fork up a fat strawberry from a bowl of fruit and swipe it through the maple syrup. “So, what exactly do you do at the Lions? Parker’s not gone into that much detail.”

Sitting back, I eased a hand over my stomach, congratulating myself for pulling on sweatpants and forgoing jeans, because there’s no way I wouldn’t be unbuttoning right now. “I’m part of the social media team, I mostly run TikTok, but we all work together on the overall strategy for how the social channels present.”

“That’s cool. I try not to go on social media because…you know, there’s always someone saying something nasty about my mom, or I’ll see some video someone’s taken of me walking down the street, or coming out of class, or eating. It creeps me out.”

“I can’t imagine what that’s like.” I nodded, because it was bad enough just having Pablo and Alice gossiping at work. The thought of having every move monitored and uploaded to socials gave me hives.

But Radley shrugged it off. “You get used to it, Lux has been so amazing at building my confidence enough to ignore it.”

“Your coffee, Davison.”

I glanced down at the steaming mug placed in front of me. The one with the whip and sprinkles. It looked exactly like the coffee I ordered from the shop. I sniffed it. Itsmelledexactly like the coffee I ordered from the shop. And it was making my mouth water exactly like the one from the shop.

My gaze darted to Parker, wearing an incredibly smug expression. “You made my coffee?”

“I did.”

“Myexactcoffee?”

He nodded, his smile widening with each bob of his head. “I don’t know if it tastes the same, but I followed your instructions.”

I picked it up and took a sip. It was exactlymycoffee, but even if it hadn’t been I’d have told him it was the best I’d ever tasted, because seriously,this guy.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

He leaned over and dropped a kiss on my head. “You’re welcome. We’re a full-service breakfast apartment here.”

“I’ll have to remember that.”

“But you only get smiley face pancakes on date days.”

“I’ll remember that too,” I replied, hiding my grin behind my coffee. “And do you plan to fill me in on what else is happening on our date today and what I need to wear for it?”

He moved closer, close enough for his lips to brush my cheek. “Lots of things, all of which involve staying in and wearing exactly what you’re wearing right now.” His head dropped; to anyone else it would look like he was resting on my shoulder, but in reality, he was bringing his lips closer to my ear. “Except for regularly scheduled breaks where I’ll be getting you naked.”

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