staring at the sidewalk. I guess being super strong didn’t always translate into having super stamina.
Hearing my approach, she looked up and smiled. “Boy’s got stamina, huh?”
I nodded. “You could say that.”
She brushed back a few strands of sweaty hair from her face, which somehow made her look artfully mussed, whereas I probably looked like a wet mop. “The things we do for hot guys, huh?”
I shrugged. “I need to get into shape. Obviously.” I motioned to my sweaty clothes.
“Lainey told me that you had a thing for Luke.”
Nice. How kind of Lainey to blab about my pathetic crush to this woman who probably had men flocking to her by the droves, and who now had Luke in particular wrapped around her little finger. “Had. As in, past tense. We’re just friends,” I said.
She studied me. “I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”
In the way? I wondered if nothing had happened between them yet. That seemed unlikely. “Trust me, Selena, there’s nothing for you to get in the way of.”
There was a bit of regret in my voice, and she must have noticed. She said, “That was the best thing about my last team, The Fives: It was all women, so there were no strained relationships or competitions over guys.”
I snorted. “I’m no competition to you.”
“Please, Miss Smarter than the Whole Planet, I’d love to have just an eighth of your brains. Ask Lainey. She had to tutor me all through school. I was a total brick—which isn’t just a remark about my powers.”
“Like guys care if a woman is smart or not,” I grumbled.
She frowned. “What kind of guys have you been dating, girl? Do you know how many times I’ve been made to feel like the pretty, dumb girl who should just stand in the back of the room and shut up because I don’t completely understand what a black hole is or know the exact trajectory of the sun? Both of which I’m sure you could explain in your sleep.”
I tried to allow myself to feel a bit better.
“Look, Mindy, I asked Luke if I could tag along with you guys this morning,” she said, standing straight.
“You did?”
“Yeah, I asked him to ask you last night, to make it sound like his idea. It’s not what you’re thinking, that I wanted to horn in on your time with your friend. I really wanted to get to know you a bit better.”
“Me? Why?”
“You all seem to be a tight-knit group, and that’s nice. I’d like to be a part of it. Lainey’s my friend from way back, and she knows I didn’t exactly have a large number of friends in school. Something about me just puts people off.”
“Maybe because you’re perfect?” The words slipped out before I could do anything to stop them.
Selena looked startled. “Perfect? Me?” She let out a sharp laugh. “Please. Everyone expects me to be, but I’m not. Much to my dad’s chagrin.” Then, as if she’d said too much, she shook her head. “Never mind, no one wants to hear my parent issues, especially when I’m too old to still be holding on to them.”
“That might be the one thing we have in common, other than Lainey,” I argued, mentally adding: and Luke.
“Oh? You too?”
I nodded. “Scientists hailed by everyone, including the government, for their contributions to humanity. But they didn’t really know what to do with a supersmart kid.”
“My mother’s a former model turned district attorney. Dad’s a geneticist. I was cared for by the nanny.”
“I had tutors, so they could drag me everywhere they went.”
“I went to boarding schools, and they would only come and get me for Christmases and summers, though I either stayed with the nanny or was shipped off to some camp.”
“I was never allowed to play with toys that weren’t educational, or to read kids’ books because they were ‘beneath my intellect,’ whatever that means.”
Selena laughed, clearly enjoying this game of one-upmanship, too. “I was never allowed to eat junk food because my mother wanted me to
Hearing my approach, she looked up and smiled. “Boy’s got stamina, huh?”
I nodded. “You could say that.”
She brushed back a few strands of sweaty hair from her face, which somehow made her look artfully mussed, whereas I probably looked like a wet mop. “The things we do for hot guys, huh?”
I shrugged. “I need to get into shape. Obviously.” I motioned to my sweaty clothes.
“Lainey told me that you had a thing for Luke.”
Nice. How kind of Lainey to blab about my pathetic crush to this woman who probably had men flocking to her by the droves, and who now had Luke in particular wrapped around her little finger. “Had. As in, past tense. We’re just friends,” I said.
She studied me. “I don’t want to get in the way of anything.”
In the way? I wondered if nothing had happened between them yet. That seemed unlikely. “Trust me, Selena, there’s nothing for you to get in the way of.”
There was a bit of regret in my voice, and she must have noticed. She said, “That was the best thing about my last team, The Fives: It was all women, so there were no strained relationships or competitions over guys.”
I snorted. “I’m no competition to you.”
“Please, Miss Smarter than the Whole Planet, I’d love to have just an eighth of your brains. Ask Lainey. She had to tutor me all through school. I was a total brick—which isn’t just a remark about my powers.”
“Like guys care if a woman is smart or not,” I grumbled.
She frowned. “What kind of guys have you been dating, girl? Do you know how many times I’ve been made to feel like the pretty, dumb girl who should just stand in the back of the room and shut up because I don’t completely understand what a black hole is or know the exact trajectory of the sun? Both of which I’m sure you could explain in your sleep.”
I tried to allow myself to feel a bit better.
“Look, Mindy, I asked Luke if I could tag along with you guys this morning,” she said, standing straight.
“You did?”
“Yeah, I asked him to ask you last night, to make it sound like his idea. It’s not what you’re thinking, that I wanted to horn in on your time with your friend. I really wanted to get to know you a bit better.”
“Me? Why?”
“You all seem to be a tight-knit group, and that’s nice. I’d like to be a part of it. Lainey’s my friend from way back, and she knows I didn’t exactly have a large number of friends in school. Something about me just puts people off.”
“Maybe because you’re perfect?” The words slipped out before I could do anything to stop them.
Selena looked startled. “Perfect? Me?” She let out a sharp laugh. “Please. Everyone expects me to be, but I’m not. Much to my dad’s chagrin.” Then, as if she’d said too much, she shook her head. “Never mind, no one wants to hear my parent issues, especially when I’m too old to still be holding on to them.”
“That might be the one thing we have in common, other than Lainey,” I argued, mentally adding: and Luke.
“Oh? You too?”
I nodded. “Scientists hailed by everyone, including the government, for their contributions to humanity. But they didn’t really know what to do with a supersmart kid.”
“My mother’s a former model turned district attorney. Dad’s a geneticist. I was cared for by the nanny.”
“I had tutors, so they could drag me everywhere they went.”
“I went to boarding schools, and they would only come and get me for Christmases and summers, though I either stayed with the nanny or was shipped off to some camp.”
“I was never allowed to play with toys that weren’t educational, or to read kids’ books because they were ‘beneath my intellect,’ whatever that means.”
Selena laughed, clearly enjoying this game of one-upmanship, too. “I was never allowed to eat junk food because my mother wanted me to
Similar Books
