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“I know that, Sacha. I mean Alexi.”
“There are things guys shouldn’t know.” He frowned at the box, but smiled when Hope walked into the game room. Odd, because he never smiled at Hope. His gaze landed on the box. Mia got it. In the Greek myth, Pandora shut the box after all the evils had escaped and only hope remained.
Alexi gave her a quick private grin.
***
That evening, Mia sat in her window seat, trying to read. She usually could lose herself in a book, but she kept thinking about food costs, laundry, and room costs. When she had moved in with Hope, there’d been about $500 in her account. She’d spent sixty on movies and stuff with her friends, plus she’d dropped three hundred at the mall on Alexi’s clothes. She smiled at the memory. Money well spent. He looked great in those clothes. Not quite American, but not so foreign either. That left less than two hundred dollars. She assessed her plush room and thought about the limo. Even if she gave the rest of her money to Niko, it wouldn’t be enough. She’d still be living off him. She’d have to ask Hope if their parents left any other money.
Tap, tap, tap.
Mia looked from the door to the clock, 7:30 p.m. Well, at least he wouldn’t want to go for a jog. Would he? “What?”
Alexi opened the door. “Your light’s on.”
“Yeah, it’s only seven-thirty.”
“Let’s watch a movie.”
“You know what has to happen.”
Alexi looked left, then right. “Fine.”
“Cool.” Mia joined him on the couch and dimmed the lights with the remote. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants appeared on the plasma. Mia smiled over at Alexi. He sat still and didn’t talk during the movie. Excellent, she hated to watch movies with fidgety talkers.
They watched the character Lena visit her grandparents in Greece and meet Kostos. Greece was beautiful, blue water and ancient curved paths. Mia checked out his expression. She hoped this didn’t make him homesick. The character Tibby remained at home and fell for a guy who played video games all day. Bridget, the lively one, seduced her soccer coach then went through a terrible depression. Carmen visited her dad and threw major tantrums when she learned about her new stepfamily.
When it ended, she turned to him. “Who’d you like best? Bridget?”
“No, she was easy and whiny.”
Harsh. “Tibby?”
“She falls for a guy who plays video games constantly. How’s he going to take care of her?”
“She probably can take care of herself. We’ll probably agree on Carmen. She went a little crazy about the stepfamily, right?”
“No. Carmen is the only one who showed sense. Those people were too perfect, and the stepkids always will come first. Carmen was right to be wary.”
It was weird to see the same show and come away with two completely different takes on it. Weird and fascinating. “How about Lena? She fell for the Greek guy.”
“No, she’s an artist. Artists are bad.”
No, they aren’t.
“Though, yes, it was smart of her to fall for the Greek guy.”
***
Mia paired her fitted purple cheer skirt with a long-sleeved purple crop top with the high school’s initials, THS, emblazoned across the white background. The skirt’s hem was white with a gold stripe border and a thin purple stripe in the center. Not bad. Her hair was tied into a ponytail with a big gold bow, and her glitter makeup was in place. She displayed school spirit from head to toe.
Alexi waited for her in the game room. She breathed in; he smelled like her favorite cologne. Would he notice she was wearing her new powdery perfume?
His eyes widened and moved from the short fitted skirt to the midriff-baring top. After a moment of silence, he said, “Absolutely not.”
Mia looked behind her. “What?”
“Where are the rest of your clothes?” Alexi asked, no smile on his face. His gaze lowered to her legs. The V-shaped notch in the hem of her skirt made one of its sides shorter than the other.
