Page 25 of The Strike Zone

“…Yeah, Goldilocks. Call me later…yeah, love you, babe…work hard…you bet…speak to you later.”

“Is Radley coming to the game tonight?” I asked as he placed his phone down on the counter, connecting it to charge while simultaneously removing one of the three apples Ace had picked up.

“Dude, stop ruining the fruit. If you want to get better at juggling, use a ball.” He rolled his eyes when Ace huffed, and turned back to me. “No, she has a test tomorrow. She’s studying.”

“Radley’s studying?” asked Tanner, returning with a can of deodorant in his hand, which he proceeded to spray over himself like it was air freshener.

Given he was the nearest to Tanner, Ace took the brunt of the spray and simultaneously began choking while wafting his hand through the air.

“Dude, what the fuck?” choked Ace, frantically wiping his tongue with the hem of his shirt. “Couldn’t you have done that in the bathroom where you found it?”

“Sorry,” replied Tanner, though his focus was on Lux. “Dude, what’s Radley’s test?’

“Um, women poets.”

“Women poets and what?” pressed Tanner.

Lux shrugged. “Nothing. That’s it. They have five questions and three hours to answer.”

“Snooze.” Ace held his hand to me for a high five, which I hit hard in agreement. “Sounds boring as fuck.”

“Does Millie have the same one?”

I glanced back to Ace at the sound of a loud thud, to find him face down on the countertop and banging his forehead as it became clear why Tanner was asking so many questions about Radley’s class. Not because he had any interest in women poets, or whatever, but because the only thing he legitimately cared about outside of baseball was Millie Robinson, Radley’s BFF.

Lux nodded with an eye roll. “Probably, they’re in the same classes.”

Tanner snatched up his phone from the counter.

“What are you doing?”

“Texting Millie good luck.”

“She’s gonna block you one day,” Ace muttered with a shake of his head as he poured a massive bowl of Froot Loops.

“Nope.” Tanner shook his head. “I make sure I keep it on the right side.”

“What does that mean?” I scoffed, flicking on the coffee machine.

Tanner slid onto the stool next to Ace, his thumbs never slowing on the taps across the screen. When he was done, he placed the phone down with a broad smile. “I text her good morning, and good night. Plus, an occasional GIF during the day.”

The three of us stared at him. Lux’s eyebrows disappeared under his ball cap.

It was a combination of being not at all surprised at this behavior, while also beingverysurprised he hadn’t given up on Millie yet. Tanner wasn’t known for his staying power, but we were going on seven months despite Millie not showing the slightest bit of interest.

More than that, she’d not given him one sliver of hope that he was getting somewhere, like some girls did.

Some girls liked the attention even when they professed otherwise. NotMillie.

I got the impression Millie could quite happily live her life and not think about Tanner Simpson once. Maybe that was why Tanner was so determined to get her to notice him. It was still a mystery how he’d managed to get her number in the first place.

I glanced over to Lux. “Did you know about this?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Radley’s not mentioned it.”

“Tan, how often does she reply?”

“Dunno.” He shrugged, and his mouth curled down. “Not a lot. But she hearted a GIF I sent of a puppy sneezing the other day. She’d never done that before, so between the heart and the wave she gave me on Opening Day, I think I’m getting somewhere.”

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