Out of Character (True Colors 2)

Thinking of the gravedigger part of the clue, I crouched low to the floor, looking under the cases. “Perfect starting point. Look for a little hidden cache that will have our next clue.”

“Like a falcon?” Coming to a stop in front of a case with a large black bird in it, Milo joined me in stooping low. The displays were creepy, and I wanted to find our clue fast.

“There.” I ran my hand along a decorative arrow on the front of the case, and right below it, on the underside of the case, I found a tiny box that held a code to type into the app.

“Oh, hell, this clue is all math.” Peering over my shoulder at my phone, Milo frowned.

“I have you.” Finally, a chance to look smart. “It’s a recursive function. Professor Tuttle teaches a whole honors seminar on them. And he’s well known as an Odyssey player all over campus, thanks to the vlog. I bet the clue has something to do with him. Maybe we should walk toward the math building while I try to figure out the problem part.”

“You do that.” Milo’s awed expression made me warm all over. I liked impressing him, probably more than I should have, both in bed and out, liked having skills he needed. Being the person to rescue him made me bound ahead toward the elevator until I remembered his leg and returned to his side.

“We make a good team.” I switched my phone to my scientific calculator app as we exited the building.

“We really do. I can’t believe we found that clue.”

“We’ll find the next one too,” I promised as we huffed our way across the frigid campus. God, I hoped I wasn’t about to let him down. I wanted Milo to have the cards, but more than that, I wanted Milo to have a reason to stay changed. Because I’d seen a glimmer of who he could be—the artist, the wannabe cook, the sensitive person who kissed me like his life depended on it—and I wanted that person to stick around. And somehow the cards seemed to be key. Now we both needed that clue. And fast.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Milo

Jasper made math sexy. I liked how his tongue snaked out when he thought hard about something, liked how his long fingers flew over the screen of his phone, liked how he bounced on his feet as if his whole body were powering that beautiful brain of his. Heck, I even liked how he said big words like recursive function like they were nothing at all. The math building was like him—impressive and shiny with a wide, welcoming layout. It was a far cry from the ancient and stuffy science hall, and I enjoyed wandering around as Jasper wrestled with the math problem in the building’s large atrium. After taking in various sculptures, I moved on to the line of bulletin boards near the hallway with faculty offices where Jasper stood.

“Maybe I could get down with math if it means scoring sweet deals like these.” I gestured at the collection of homemade ads for everything from used laptops to bikes to rooms for rent. I stilled my fingers over a colorful piece of paper advertising a cheap room close to campus. “Join us!” it proclaimed, but it was the little rainbow in the corner that held my attention. It had a row of tags along the bottom with a name and phone number. The rent was slightly more than I paid James and Luther, but maybe…

Jasper glanced up from his phone. “Oh, that? It’s not just a math major thing. There are flyers all over campus for people renting rooms to students.”

“Students.” I moved my hand away. Not for me, and I should have known better than to unleash my hopes, even a little. “Not like a college dropout working at the online packing facility.”

“Wait.” Stepping closer, Jasper put a hand on my arm. “You’re thinking of moving?”

“Nah. It was just a thought. Probably not possible.” I tried to keep my voice even, but somehow my resignation came out more. I couldn’t seem to hide my deepest wishes and the worst of my truths from Jasper. “Most places want a credit check and have that have-you-ever-been-arrested question. Stupid of me to think—”

“No, no, it’s a good thought.” Jasper’s tone was too bright, words coming too fast. However, his enthusiasm was cute, not fake. “And yeah, these sorts of deals tend to want students. But…” His tongue darted out again, as if he was back to doing hard math. “An aspiring art student with a steady part-time job at the packing place might work as well as a math major.”

Oh. I exhaled hard because I’d never thought about being a student again. I’d assumed I’d lost my shot at college, hadn’t dared let myself dream of anything else. Frankly, I hadn’t thought I deserved it, but the light in Jasper’s eyes and his voice made me want to dream again, made those hopes surge.