They The Pretty Stars (Court High 1)

“Sorry about that,” she said, hands on her hips. She smiled. “Wanna toss it back?”

Terrible at that, I did nothing, but Paige happily obliged. Any kind of sports was her thing, and after getting to her feet, Paige whipped the thing right at the girl. Perfect form, it went straight to her, the girl catching it before glancing over her sunglasses.

“Thanks,” she said, doing a poor job in her attempt not to ogle my sister. Her glance lingered for definitely more than a few seconds before turning and heading back to her friends. She tossed the Frisbee back to them, but even after she did, she gave Paige more than a few peers over her shoulder.

Paige seemed to be completely oblivious to it as she returned to our wet towel, and when she popped our book back up, I pushed her. “Hey, that girl was totally eye-fucking you.”

“Was she?” she asked, gazing over her shoulder. Like the girl knew, she waved at Paige, but Paige lifted her chin in that direction only briefly before going back to our book.

My eyes widened in shock. “Um, who are you and where is my sister?”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” I started, pulling the book away. “Since when have you ever objected to an opportunity for a casual hook-up?” My sister had a track record, one she definitely took advantage of when visiting me considering all the eye candy around LA.

She shrugged, dismissive about what I said, and my jaw nearly dropped open.

“What’s with you?” I asked, eyeing her. “You’ve been weird all summer, not wanting to go out.” We’d been to exactly two parties since she’d come, something I didn’t tend to do these days but made exceptions for Paige when she rolled through. She loved them, but hadn’t wanted to go out so much this summer.

Paige turned on her back, her smile coy, and seeing something was up, I attempted to tickle the information out of her.

She squealed, grabbing my hands. “Okay, okay. I’ll tell you.”

I stopped, ready for information, and with her smile, I knew I was about to get it.

“I met someone, okay?”

“Are you serious? The infamous Paige Lindquist settling down?”

She rolled her eyes. “We’re just talking. It’s new.”

“How new?”

“Since last fall or something.”

“Last fall!”

She pushed me. “Stop making a big deal about it. Anyway, it’s nothing and probably won’t even work out. We’re just having fun, hanging out.”

It sounded like it was more than just having fun, and I knew my sister. If she saw someone for longer than a month, it meant something, and I noticed how different she’d been all summer. She’d seemed lighter, happier.

I brought my arms around her. “Tell me more about her.”

“I don’t know if I want to,” she said, turning within my arms. “Like I said, it probably won’t work out. You know how I am.”

I did. My sister was a runner, an avoider like me. When things got tough, she didn’t tend to stick around, where I used a boy and, before that, food to get away from my feelings after our mom died. I got a handle on those things, though, and if I could change…

“Promise me you’ll open your heart to this?” I asked her. “You never know what can happen unless you do.”

Laughing, she threw an arm over my waist. She squeezed. “When did you become the big sister?”

“Today, when my sister decided to fall in love.” I eyed her, and when she didn’t say anything, my lips parted. “Paige, have you…”

She pressed a finger to my lips, and as she laid her head on my chest, I think she gave me my answer. My sister had fallen for someone.

My sister may even be in love.

Thirteen