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“Here,” Landon holds out a plastic bag and I open it, confused. It has a football jersey inside.
I glance up at him with one raised brow. “And?”
“That’s Jared’s jersey.”
“Won’t he need it?”
“It’s hisawayjersey. The team has two different sets. It’s a thing that they can allow someone to wear their other jersey during the game. Jared asked us to bring it to you, if you want to wear it.”
Warmth spreads through my chest. Something tells me this has meaning, more than I really understand.
It also shows me Jared cares more about me than he lets on, despite how little he’s spoken since we met.
“Okay,” I shrug. “I don’t have any school-branded gear anyway, and if I’m going to cheer, I suppose I ought to represent.”
Landon beams at me and Milo’s customary half-smile returns.
“I’ll be right back. You two stay here.” I leave them to argue over Netflix and retreat to my bedroom, slipping into the closet to change. After some thought, I pull on jeans and a super-thin, long-sleeved white cotton shirt, then hang the enormous white and blue jersey over the top. I’m absolutely drowning in it, but if this is the ‘thing’ everyone does, I can’t imagine it would fit another girl better. After a quick stop in the bathroom to run a brush through my hair and swipe on some mascara, I present myself to the waiting boys.
“Am I doing this right?” I lift my arms to showcase the oversized jersey, which hangs pretty close to my knees.
Landon snorts a laugh, and Milo stands from the couch to approach me.
“Here, let me try something.” He pulls the two edges of the shirt together and knots them at my waist.
My heart beats faster at his proximity, watching his deft fingers tug at my clothing.
“Now you can tuck the back up into your waistband and just let it blouse in the back. At least, that’s how the girls were wearing them last fall. But we can always adjust if we see a better option,” he adds with a wink.
I do as instructed, and model the new styling for his critical gaze.
“Yep, much better,” Milo nods. “What do you think, Landon?”
The other boy grins. “Definitely better. You ready to go?”
“Yeah, let me just grab a… purse or something.” I dart back into my closet and dig out a small crossbody bag that’s little more than a phone holder with an attached wallet and skinny strap. I transfer my LA driver’s license, student ID, and some cash into the purse, and once my phone is situated, I’m ready to go.
“Hey, how much cash do you guys think I’ll need to get in and buy food and stuff?” I ask as I walk back into my suite.
The guys turn to me with horrified expressions. “You don’t need any. We’ve got it covered.”
Heat rises to my cheeks. “Oh, it’s okay. Roxanne gave me some money and told me I get a weekly allowance for these types of things. Well, ‘entertainment’ is what she said, but I’m assuming that’s the category this falls under.”
In fact, I’m kind of proud to have money that I didn’t steal, despite feeling slightly weird at the concept of ‘allowance’. Just being handed money for existing, to use on whatever I want, is still a bizarre concept for me. Roxanne already told me not to use it on clothes or anything for school. She’d buy me whatever I want or need. This is just… ‘fun’ money. Another strange concept I’m trying to adapt to.
“Your money’s no good tonight.” Milo crosses his arms over his chest with conviction. “We invited you, so we’re treating. End of story.”
“So if I ask you guys to do something, then I pay?” I’m still struggling with these societal norms. On the street, if someone gives you something, they expect something in return.
“Sure,” Landon winks and wraps an arm around my shoulders. He’s wearing a blue and white ‘Smoky Falls Wolves’ t-shirt with jeans, and we match pretty well.
Milo is wearing a black v-neck shirt and dark wash jeans, cuffed, with loafers.
I tip my head at him curiously. “Don’t you need to change? You don’t look very ‘school spirit’ like the rest of us.”
Milo barks a laugh. “No, Lex, I’m not really the school spirit type. I go to support Jared, but I don’t wear the school colors. No one doubts which team I’m representing.”
Before I can ask another question, Landon steers me toward the door with a gentle push. “Come on, I want to get good seats, and I’m hungry.”
