Free The Long Game by J. L. Fynn Page A

to get rid of him.
Jones’ drug issues were dragging them down, and really, he didn’t
want to be part of the group any more than they wanted him. Also,
Mick Taylor replaced Jones. Ronnie Wood replaced Taylor.” Both men
glowered at her, and she shrugged. “I’m kind of a fan.”
    The two music fans slunk away to continue
their argument in peace, and the small crowd dispersed.
    Kay, still attached to my arm, pushed her way
through. “Hey, Spence. Look who I found.”
    Spencer tried—and failed—to hide her
surprise. “Oh, hey. Shane, right?”
    I nodded, still getting used to the extra
consonant at the end of my name.
    “What are you doing here?”
    “Jeez, way to be rude,” Kay chastised,
bumping her shoulder into Spencer’s. “He found your phone and
wanted to return it.”
    I took my cue and produced the cell phone
once again. I held it out to her, and she scooped it out of my
hand, her fingers brushing against my palm as she did. “I think it
fell out of your bag when we bumped into each other,” I lied. “I
looked for you in the library, but that place is huge and I had an
appointment with my advisor, so I figured I’d just bring it
here.”
    Spencer tilted her head, considering what I’d
told her. “How’d you know I live here?”
    I’d anticipated the question and had my
answer ready. “The picture on the lock screen.” I pointed to the
phone. “You’re wearing an OIA sweatshirt.”
    “Gorgeous and clever. You’re like the total
package, Shane,” Kay said. She wriggled her eyebrows at
Spencer.
    “Thanks for returning it,” Spencer said,
purposefully ignoring Kay.
    “No problem.”
    “All right!” Kay clapped her hands together,
either oblivious to or undeterred by Spencer’s resistance to her
matchmaking efforts. “I guess I should go find Gary before he gets
too drunk to remember what I look like. I’ll see you guys later.”
She turned on her heels and disappeared before anyone had the
chance to protest.
    Left alone with Spencer, I shoved my hands
into the pockets of my shorts and looked around. “So, you guys know
Lúnasa is supposed to be celebrated at the beginning of August, not
the end, right?”
    Spencer eyed me with curiosity. “You know
about Lúnasa?”
    “Sure,” I said, but then feeling like I
needed some sort of explanation, I added, “My family’s Irish.”
    “You might be the only person here who’s ever
heard of it, and that’s including most of the OIAs. These parties
always have a theme based on Irish festivals, but mostly it’s just
an excuse to get drunk and dance. We don’t make too much of an
effort to be culturally accurate. Sorry.”
    “No, I get it,” I said. “Lúnasa celebrates
the transition from summer to fall. Makes sense for the beginning
of a new school year.”
    “Sure,” she said. “Let’s go with that.”
    I grinned. “So have you been a member of the
sorority since you started here?”
    “Since my first semester, yeah,” she said,
though she was looking at something over my shoulder when she
spoke.
    “You look really great tonight,” I said. I
wasn’t sure if I’d complimented her to win the battle for her
attention or because I just couldn’t keep myself from saying
it.
    Either way, the result was the same.
Spencer’s full attention returned to me. “Thanks,” she said, her
cheeks pink.
    “That’s a great dress.”
    She glanced down at herself. “It’s okay. I
always wait until the last minute to pick something. Fashion isn’t
really my thing.”
    “You’d never know it to look at you.” I swept
an admiring glance from her face to her feet.
    Spencer fidgeted with her neckline. “So
listen, thanks for bringing my phone back, but I really should
mingle a little.”
    She moved to walk around me, but I caught her
arm before she could go far. Spencer tensed so quickly I worried
one of her tendons might snap. I pulled my hand back. “Think you
might want to dance later?”
    She didn’t look at me, but the corner