Page 59 of Baseball and Shifters

“You can’t buy me stuff and say it’s from someone else.” I roll my eyes.

“Sure I can. D gave me money this morning and told me to get you something pretty. Pretty sure this counts.”

“Mmhmm. And the other dresses?” I arch a brow as I cross my arms.

“Why won’t you let me spoil you, Firefly? It’s just clothes. They’re more for me anyway. I’m the one that gets to see you wearing them. Trust me, that’s worth any price tag.”

“I agree. And I speak for my idiot brother too,” Lucas chimes in.

They both look so earnest and remembering how Lucas glowed when I wore the dress he picked out for me today has me deflating. I may not be used to anyone caring enough about me to “spoil” me, but I can’t deny it makes them happy to do so. Who am I to refuse something that puts that look on their faces?

“Fine. You can buy the dresses,” I relent.

Bas chuckles. “Oh, they’re already bought, Firefly.” He kisses me on the tip of my nose, and grabs my hand, pulling me away from the booth. “You gotta get used to being spoiled. I know I’m not the only one that wants to do it. If Derrick was here, you’d be leaving with a lot more than just a few dresses.”

As we weave our way through the last of the vendors I remember I need to go and grab the gifts I ordered earlier. Stopping in my tracks, I glance back towards the booths trying to envision a mental map back to the booths I ordered from.

“I need to go back and get the stuff I ordered.” I tell the guys. “Can I meet you two back at the car?”

“No biggie, Moonbeam, we can go with you.” Lucas offers.

“NO!” I blurt out, a little too loudly, making a couple of heads turn our way.

Lucas freezes, shocked by my outburst. “Uhh… why?” His brows furrow and his head tilts to one side like a confused puppy.

“Umm… ummm…” My mind goes completely blank as I grapple trying to come up with literally any excuse.

Bas sees me floundering and steps in to save me. “Obviously because you should take our mate and her new dresses to the car while I run and grab her items.”

Lucas blinks at Bas, then turns back to me, his confusion deepening. “Wait... what?”

“Yes! Exactly!” I nod my head much to quickly latching onto Bas’s excuse like a lifeline. “Bas knows where the booth is so it will be quicker for him to just run and grab it and I’m so tired of walking I’d really love to just go sit in the car.”

“You just said you’d meet us at the car…” Lucas’s eyes narrow, his suspicion growing.

“Yeah, well…” I stall, my mind racing. “That was before I realized how close we actually are to the car. And I missed you, Lucas. Don’t you want to spend some alone time with me?”

I see the moment my lies fail as a smile stretches across his face. “Ohhh… I see what’s happening here. You’re hiding something.”

“Nuh-uh!” I lie way too quickly.

“Oh, you totally are,” he chuckles, crossing his arms with a smug grin. “Alright, Moonbeam, you keep your secrets. Let’s go to the car.”

The drive back to campus is peaceful, soft music fills the cab and the comforting thrum of my bonds with Bas and Lucas fill my chest. My fingers tangle with Lucas’s as he drives while Bas sits in the back. Occasionally he meets my eyes in the rearview mirror and shoots me another knowing smirk. He’s clearly still amused by my earlier antics.

We pull into the parking lot and the three of us step out of the car, gathering our bags. Turning to Bas I pass him the bag containing Liam’s gift.

“Can you please give this to Liam for me tonight?” I ask, my voice quieter than I intend.

“You can come, you know. It’s a party for one of your mates, attended exclusively by your other mates. You have a right to be there.” Bas implores me, not for the first time, to crash Liam’s birthday celebration.

“Like I said, it’s not fair to Liam for me to take his people from him when he is just trying to figure things out. You guys gave me space when I needed it and I can do the same for him.”

“If you insist,” he mutters, clearly not happy that I won’t be spending the night with them again.

“I’ll miss you too,” I murmur, wrapping my arms around his waist and looking up into his eyes. “Why don’t you hold on to my dresses? Give me a reason to come over tomorrow,” I tease.

“Seeing your mates isn’t reason enough?” He glares at me playfully.

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