The Whisper Seekers

Attention

I'm stoked when Derek offers for everyone to come hang out at his house after school. At first, Liam says he's busy, but after a couple of text messages to someone, he changes his mind and decides to come.

I'm absolutely elated when Harper says she has a meeting with an admissions advisor from Ole Miss, so she can't join us. That means a few hours of hanging out without her obsessing over Liam.

We all pull into the driveway at the same time, and Lily parks next to me. She slides her sunglasses up onto her head and says, "Weird without Weston."

"She certainly brings the noise," I mutter and Lily smirks. We both tend to slyly vent about Harper when we are together, and I am aware that she can also drive Lily nuts.

"Think I can get Adam to pop over?" Lily asks as she links her arm through mine. We travel together over the driveway and watch as Liam trots over with Aaron and Mike.

"I dunno, does he have soccer practice?" I ask and she shrugs. She slides her phone out of her back pocket just as Derek waves us toward the backyard. We all move together in a loose, chatty cluster around the side of the house. The late afternoon sun casts a warm, golden glow across the lawn as we step into the Atwaters' sprawling backyard.

The familiar scent of freshly cut grass mingles with the chlorine drifting off the shimmering pool. Off to the left, the tall outline of a batting cage stands like a monument to Brandon Atwater's glory days. Derek's brother was a local baseball legend, and the setup still looks professional-grade. The metal frame glints in the light, and the netting rustles slightly in the breeze.

Next to the pool, Derek's lacrosse sticks are scattered haphazardly across the grass

"Didn't you say you played lacrosse?" Mike asks Liam as they pick up the metal sticks. Liam spins his in his hand as he nods.

"Where are the balls, Atwater?" Mike asks and Derek so helpfully shouts, "Somewhere in the grass." Mike rolls his eyes, but they trot off to go hunt for the rubber balls hidden somewhere in the massive space.

Derek waltzes over the batting cages while looking at me.

"Want me to show you how it's done?" He asks this every time we're back here and I always say no. It's just a reason to feel me up before I have to dodge the pitching machine.

"I'm gonna hang with Lily in the shade," I reply with a grin and tug her toward the patio table nestled between the trimmed lawn and the towering batting cages. The wrought-iron chairs creak slightly as we sit, the table warm beneath our arms from soaking up the afternoon sun. Lily barely notices. She's glued to her phone as her thumbs dance across the screen.

"Any luck with Adam?" I ask and she shakes her head.

"He has practice..." she mumbles, her voice tinged with disappointment as she stares down at her phone, the screen dimming before she locks it with a sigh.

"Looks like it's just us," I say, nudging her playfully, but she just gives me a defeated grin.

We shift in our chairs to get a better view of Liam and Mike tossing the lacrosse ball back and forth near the edge of the lawn. I wish I could say I wasn't staring, but I am. Liam moves gracefully, light on his feet with a natural rhythm that makes it hard to look away. The way he flicks his lacrosse stick, with effortless precision, has me in a trance.

"I know you're with Derek, but...you can appreciate that over there, right?" Lily quietly asks me as she stares off toward Liam. I give her a subtle grin, and she giggles.

"Are you going to go against Harper for him?" I ask, suddenly nervous that I am going to have to watch her fawn all over Liam too.

She shrugs, "Honestly, he's super freaking hot...but...I dunno, I actually really like Adam. We Facetimed until one last night. I tried to bring up homecoming, but no bites yet." I sigh in relief, thrilled that she's into someone else.