Page 71 of Hidden

"We have the same gap," Lileah says to Trixie. "We could…"

"Yes," Trixie signs immediately, and the only reason I know she said yes is because she nodded her head at the same time.

"Done." Lileah turns back to Maya. "We're joining your table."

"You're already at our table," Juno points out.

Everyone is now talking to each other. The guys are talking about their own thing. Us girls are talking about the guys on campus. Miles leans forward, his arm brushing mine, then turns to Lileah.

“I’ll find out who you’re talking to and ruin him before he can even think about kissing you.” They both lock eyes for a while.

Mason says, “We could break his legs, that’ll be fun.”

“Will you both stop it, I’m not talking to anyone.” Lileah turns back to us, and there’s a tension between Lileah and her brothers. I’d guess Juno will break the tension first, but it’s Maya.

"You should all come to regionals." She looks around the table. "We never get much of a crowd. It's always just parents and the occasional professor who feels guilty."

"When is it?" Lileah asks.

"Seven days. Next Saturday." Juno says.

Lileah doesn't hesitate. "I'm coming."

"You don't have to…" I start.

"I want to," she says. "I love watching people who are actually good at something. It's genuinely one of my favorite things."

Trixie nods.

The table settles back into its hum of conversation for a moment. I pick up my coffee and lean back in my chair.

Miles does the same, then he says, "What event are you most nervous about?" It’s so low only I can hear him.

I look at him. He's staring at me, and God, I can look at his face all day. I see my reflection in his glasses, but I look at his eyes. They’re beautiful. I glance down at his lips but quickly answer his question.

"Beam," I say. "The floor I trust. The beam I'm still working on."

"Why the beam?"

"There’s less room for error. Every tenth of a degree matters and you can feel it when something's off, but by then it's already too late to correct."

He nods once, and I’m not sure if it’s because he has no idea what to say, or because he’s said enough.

"You'll land it," he says.

I look at him for a moment. I can hear conversations around us, Lileah is laughing at something Mason said, and Declan and Trixie in their own quiet world.

"Are you coming?" I ask. The words are out before I've decided to say them. "To regionals, I mean." I can’t believe I asked him. Why would he want to be there? He’s definitely going to say no.

He looks at me.

"I'm not doing anything that weekend," he says.

It’s not exactly a yes, but it’s not a no either.

Something in my chest jumps with joy, but I try to hold my excitement and look back at my coffee.

"Okay," I say, as if it doesn't matter.