Out of Character (True Colors 2)

Chapter Nineteen

Jasper

Milo wasn’t the only one with kissing on his brain. As my friends and I took a break from filming so that Professor Tuttle could go find a missing deck in his office with Jasmine’s help, my thoughts kept drifting back to Milo’s unexpected but very welcome new interest. The kisses hello had been sweet, especially knowing he was risking James or Luther seeing. I had no clue what we were doing other than that I liked it and wasn’t about to put a stop to it, not yet.

“So. Your friend. The one with a burning desire for the Royal Frog Court cards. He’s…different.” Conrad looked up from shuffling cards. He seemed older than the last time I’d seen him—nicer clothes, good haircut, all those real-world employment perks.

“Hey, we welcome jocks here too.” In a good mood from a rare win against Conrad, Kellan laughed. He tinkered with the cameras for the next segment.

“He’s not a jock.” My emphatic denial surprised me, so I softened my tone a little. “Exactly.”

“You like him.” Conrad raised an eyebrow, apparently all- knowing about matters of the heart now.

“I don’t dislike him.” I glanced back at the kitchen, hoping he wasn’t in earshot of this little exchange.

“Well, as long as he’s got nothing in common with that jock guy from high school who was such a jerk.”

Heck. Of course, Conrad would remember that story from one night when he’d needed a place to crash. We’d had one of those sleep-deprived oversharing conversations where I probably should have kept my mouth shut rather than sharing all my Milo angst.

“Um…”

“Oh, Jasper. Really?” Frowning, now Conrad was the one to glance at the kitchen. “I know you’re big on seeing the good—”

“People change.” I was back to being defensive about something I wasn’t entirely sure about myself. I wanted to believe in Milo, but a mountain of past evidence told me to be wary. And there was a difference between believing and trusting, a distinction my overclocked brain kept obsessing about. “They do. I’ve seen people change.”

“Not as often as we’d like.” Conrad sighed like he was oh so ancient now. “And it’s your life. But I feel like I should have words with this guy anyway.”

“You’re going to give a scary don’t-mess-with-our-friend lecture?” Alden sounded both impressed and dubious.

“If he doesn’t, maybe I should,” Kellan mused. “I mean if you and Jock Neptune are—”

“No one is giving anyone else a lecture.” I glared at Conrad, not really mad as much as frustrated. This was why I’d brought Milo in the first place. Being the single friend sucked. But my shoulders also sagged. I was setting myself up for a big disappointment if Milo wasn’t as changed as I’d begun to hope.

“Okay, okay. Besides, he seems cool so far.” As always, Kellan was quick to change directions. “The kids at the hospital love him. And look at him helping Professor Herrera, who usually doesn’t let anyone help in the kitchen.”

My gaze returned to the kitchen where Milo was grating a large block of cheese and laughing at something Professor Herrera said. Milo seemed totally at ease, perhaps even more so than I would be in there. I was always a little intimidated by Professor Herrera, who never had a hair out of place and who counted actual Broadway stars among his friends. My heart did this weird gallop watching Milo, remembering him talking about learning to cook and seeing him actually go for it, even if only to be helpful.

“And we found it!” Professor Tuttle came back in, followed by Jasmine and with two new decks for us to examine and talk about.

“Let’s get the filming wrapped,” Jasmine said as she moved to fiddle with the cameras, undoing Kellan’s adjustments. The two of them had taken over a lot of the editing from me, and their little squabbles over minute differences were fun when they weren’t making me feel even more conspicuously single. “I’ve smelled what they’re doing in the kitchen. I want to enjoy it sometime before midnight.”

“We will.” Professor Tuttle settled into his spot in front of the camera, but he was careful to finish up right as Professor Herrera came to tell us that the food was going to get cold. He helped Professor Tuttle up and already had a plate waiting for him at the kitchen table. The two of them were legit relationship goals, not unlike my parents. I wanted someone to take care of like that, someone to—

“Snagged you the last Mountain Dew.” Looking adorable in one of Professor Herrera’s aprons, Milo handed me a can. “And here’s a plate.”

“Sorry if the filming took too long.” I put my soda at the table and joined the line for food.

“It didn’t. And now I know a bunch of new tricks.” Milo’s smile was so bashful and genuine that he was damn lucky that I didn’t kiss him right there, especially when Kellan wrapped Jasmine up in a hug, lifting her off the ground. And Conrad was having some sort of conversation with his eyes with Alden, one that made Alden blush. Bah. At least I got to soak in Milo’s cuteness instead of drowning in the sea of the happily coupled.