27. Radley

TWENTY-SEVEN

RADLEY

"Where are we going?"

Lux's hand squeezed my thigh where it had been resting since we got in the car. "Stop being so impatient. We'll be there in two minutes. You can wait two minutes."

I sat up straighter, searching for anywhere I recognized, but there wasn't much beyond the traffic; so much traffic. It was worse than normal due to Times Square being closed for the ball drop, but as I was usually in the back of an agent's car, and had spent very little time driving around New York anyway, I was finding it hard to tell.

I glanced back down at my sneakers – my new Air Jordans – and traced my fingers along the pale blue swoosh.

On account of all the holiday drama, we'd forgotten to exchange our gifts, but when I woke up this morning, I found a box sittin g on the pillow next to me, containing the cutest pair of sneakers. They matched the ones Lux was currently wearing, save for his name stitched into the tongue on mine, on account of "how much you love my tongue," he'd said, before showing me exactly why I loved his tongue.

I found my name stitched into his.

Did we now match way more than we should? Yes.

Was it totally cheesy? Yes.

Did I care? Absolutely not.

My gift to him? It's surprisingly – or not – hard to buy for boys, especially ones who seem to have everything, or can buy whatever they want. For weeks I'd been scouring the internet for inspiration, until one day in mid-December when I was typing up an essay for Professor Hawkes on modern romance, and how Shakespeare introduced his characters. Lux was lying in bed next to me, reading, and I was writing about Viola and Orsino, Romeo and Juliet, when it dawned on me that Lux and I had a story too.

So this morning after I'd opened the best sneakers I'd ever seen in my life, and Lux had demonstrated his skill set, I handed over my gift; a tan, leatherbound notebook wrapped up in brown paper and tied with a red velvet ribbon. Our story so far – from the day we'd met in Brown's – had taken up the first forty pages.

I'd like to say I kept my shit together, but the second I saw his eyes flood and that first tear drop, mine did too… until we realized we were sitting in bed crying about being in love, and how totally lame we'd look if anyone caught us.

An hour and a plate of pancakes later, here we were.

Lux's hand squeezed my thigh again, and I looked up to see his chin tipping toward a narrow road on the right. I took in the strangely half cobbled street, the ornate streetlights, and bare tre es, and the orange awning…

"Hey, we're at Asher's, right?" I spun around again. The couple of times we'd been here before, we'd entered from the other end of the street.

Lux pulled up outside and cut the engine. "We sure are."

Jake and the guys stopped behind us and jumped out. Lux lowered the window.

"Asher's expecting you. We'll wait here."

Jake nodded, Ethan knocked on the door, and they disappeared inside while Meg and Ava waited. I glanced over at Lux, typing away on his phone and barely paying attention. I used to find their searches so cringy, always so worried with what people would think. Now, I barely noticed.

Asher was waiting inside when we walked in, still the same thick shock of hair and his fist wrapped around the cane. He could have been standing there since we'd left the last time for how little he'd changed, with only a silver eyebrow lifting as he spotted us.

"Lux, my boy! You've brought her back," he greeted, his pale brown eyes sparkling through his otherwise wizened expression.

"I told you I would," Lux replied as he bent down and hugged him.

"And how've you been, Miss Andrews? How is the Bard treating you?"

"Very well," I grinned. "I got an A for my last essay. The subject was Shakespeare and revenge."

"I look forward to reading it. You can bring it back next week."

My brows creased, and my eyes flicked between the two of them. "Next week? What's next week? "

"You didn't tell her?" Asher scolded, before looking at me again. "Are you sure you want to stick with this one? My grandson is available, and he's not quite as forgetful."

Threading my fingers through Lux's, I laughed. "I think I'm set, but I'll let you know if I ever decide otherwise."

I found myself pulled into his chest, his arms wrapping around me and a hand slapped over my mouth, making me laugh harder.

"Hey! I'm not going anywhere."

"Doesn't hurt to have options," I teased.

"And I didn't forget, Asher, it was a surprise."

I stopped moving against him and looked up. "A surprise? What's happening?"

He stepped back an inch, one big hand resting on my shoulders. "You can totally say no, or if your coursework gets too much, but I wanted to give you the option…"

"The option of what?"

"One of the points on your list is for work experience…"

"Yeah?" My brows knitted while I tried to figure out where this was going, especially as they were both staring at me, until… "Here? Work experience here?"

"I could do with the help," croaked Asher, like he'd suddenly aged fifty years and realized how frail he was. Lux's eyes almost rolled out of his head.

"Are you serious? I can come and work here?"

Lux nodded. "If you'd like to. As long as you're not working on my game days, then you can come and help out whenever suits you," he winked. "Asher will have plenty to keep you busy."

My mouth dropped. Working in a rare bookstore surrounded by original works of art – it had been my dream, but just tha t – a dream, one I never thought I'd ever get to fulfill.

"Wow, yes, please. I would love to come and work here!" I beamed, bending to kiss Asher's cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Asher replied, his face much pinker than it had been, which didn't go unnoticed by Lux.

"Just remember, she's my girlfriend."

"How could I ever forget?" he drawled. "Radley, come over next weekend and bring your essay with you."

"I will."

"Good. Now, I have to get back to work." He tapped his cane against Lux's chest, and added, "Though don't feel like you have to go."

Lux was still grinning down at me as Asher shuffled back through the door behind him. "You wanna stay for a bit longer and look around?"

I shook my head. "I can look whenever I want now. Millie's probably wondering where we are."

Lux eased his sleeve up to check his watch. "Yeah, come on. Let's go and celebrate the final day of this year before we get to spend our first full year together."

"The first year of forever."

His lips pressed against mine as he opened the door. "You got that right, Goldilocks."

" M illie, remember, don't go trying to make out with me at midnight, okay? My boy, Parker, and I have made a pact."

Millie lifted the champagne glass to her lips. "I'll try to contain myself.

"I'm just saying, we're ten minutes out. You'll be alone at midnight; your natural impulse will be to kiss me, but I'm telling you I can't, because I made a pact with Parker."

Her dark brown eyes pinned his baby blues. "I can assure you, there will be no impulses."

"Okay." Tanner shrugged, like he knew better, and headed back inside to the party.

I chuckled into Lux's arm which was wrapped around me, and even though it was close to freezing, the patio heaters lining the terrace had me almost sweating, but the alternative was actually sweating inside.

When Lux said we were going to their friend's apartment, I hadn't realized his friend was a teammate, and the apartment was actually a penthouse in the West Village, high enough to see the Statue of Liberty in the distance. I also thought it would be a relatively small gathering of friends, but there had to be close to one hundred and fifty people here, including our group of eight, because Holiday had decided to join us at the last minute.

Most of them were inside – hence the steamed-up windows and sweat – and where a very rowdy game of beer pong was being played in the games room around the side. A DJ had been set up in the kitchen, along with a very comprehensive bar and fully catered snacks, including everything from fried chicken to popcorn, all being handed around by festively dressed wait staff.

The second we walked through the door, Lux had taken me around to meet every one of his teammates before pulling me outside to a very comfy seating area which included beanbags and blankets, and some industrial sized heaters. We hadn't moved since.

Millie put her glass down and leaned back into the cushions, wearing a look I knew very well. Trouble.

"That boy is so goddamn arrogant," she said slowly, her voice tinged with amusement, twisting to watch him disappear into the crowded room.

I quirked an eyebrow. "What are you up to?"

"Me? Nothing. Nothing at all."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Anyway, I don't want to stay here watching you two make out." She pushed out of her chair and shrugged off the thick blanket she'd been wrapped in. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have ‘nothing' to get up to."

"Come back at midnight!" I called after her, only to be ignored.

"I think Tanner might have met his match," whispered Lux as we watched Millie walk – no, stride – purposefully toward the bar.

As she cut across the room, a ripple of heads turned as she passed. From the front, all you could see was Millie; dark waves bouncing with each step, a slash of red lipstick against her porcelain skin, and long legs stretching out. Her short black dress was entirely unassuming – mid thigh, long sleeves, high neck – but everyone whose gaze stayed trained on her as she walked by was treated to a different view. Cut to rest just above her ass, revealing a toned back I'd spent the afternoon fake tanning, and little else.

It was unsurprising when several guys followed her, including one I recognized as the new Jets quarterback. He'd been traded from the Eagles last season; Ben and Henry sulked for a week about it.

My eyeline of Millie was disrupted by a lone figure walking toward us.

"Ugh, God, I hate New Year's Eve." Holiday dropped down into the seat Millie had vacated and pulled the blanket around her. "You either end up getting ridiculously drunk and embarrassing yourself, or you end up in bed with someone you shouldn't and embarrass yourself anyway. The only plus side is the Holiday jokes stop tomorrow."

I threw the corner of my blanket over her legs. "Stay with us. You can be as drunk and embarrassing as you want, we won't tell."

"Thank you." A glimmer of laughter appeared in her eyes, and she looked around. "Where is everyone? I thought we were all sticking together for midnight, it was why I came out here."

"Radley and I have been here the whole time," replied Lux. "Millie's inside somewhere, Ace and Payton disappeared an hour ago, and the boys are here."

She twisted around to find her brother and Parker walking toward us, one holding a tray of shot glasses, the other a tray of filled champagne glasses, plus two extra bottles. Both were placed on the table.

"This is what I call service," Holiday said as she picked up a glass and sipped.

The boys took a seat, just as Ace and Payton reappeared, looking slightly less put together than they had an hour ago.

"Hey, the gang's all here!" cried Ace, sinking into one of the squashy chairs and pulling Payton into his lap.

But Tanner sat forward, his brows creased. "Wait, where's Millie gone?"

Lux pointed in the general direction of the crowded room. It didn't take long for Tanner to spot her in the far corner next to an exposed brick wall, or the guy she was talking to. It took even less for his eyes to narrow and darken as his jaw clenched. His drink was slammed on the table.

"Oh, hell no!" he hollered as he leaped up. "If she's not kissing me, she sure as hell isn't kissing him either."

Parker picked up a shot and knocked it back. "I think the New Year fireworks are about to start early."

I shook my head, and a grin twisted my mouth. "Someone needs to explain to him that a) Millie will always do whatever she wants, and b) that he told her they weren't kissing."

"Before any of that happens, someone should remind my brother that they're not even dating," Holiday drawled.

Lux turned to me, his mouth forced into a hard line. "Okay, Goldilocks, I'm offering you a one-time, easy-out, break-up pass, no questions asked, because unfortunately, he…" his head jerked in the direction Tanner had run, "is one of my best friends, and while I can't ditch him, there's no reason why we both should suffer."

I stroked a finger against his warm cheek, and a smile tugged the corner of my lips. "I hate to say it, but friends or not, you're stuck with me. Plus, I kind of like having Tanner around. He keeps things interesting."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He smacked a kiss to my lips. "Then he stays."

"SIXTY SECONDS!" cried a voice from somewhere inside the room, causing a bustle of movement as everyone shuffled around searching for someone to make out with.

Parker tossed a package of poppers at Holiday; Payton picked up one of the glitter hats from the table and slipped it on. Ace tested out the blower with a glitter streamer attached, and blew it in Parker's face.

Lux reached up and adjusted my headband, straightening the little gold bobbles bouncing on springs. "Are you ready?"

"THIRTY SECONDS."

I nodded. "I've been ready since you stopped me from falling off the stool in Brown's."

"FIVE, FOUR, THREE…"

"I love you so much," Lux whispered, an inch away from my lips, his hot breath warming my face.

"ONE."

"Get ready for forever," I whispered back.