Letterman Jacket

31 / thirteen days before

"Demanding," I teased, clicking my tongue. "Are you sure you're in a position to make demands?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Tell me you don't want the same and I won't bring it up again. Scout's honor."

I bit my lip. "You know I do."

"No, I don't know," he corrected, looking up at me, "which is why you need to tell me. I was afraid you'd want me to leave."

"Do you want to leave?"

"Princess."

"Sorry." I grinned. "It's just...you make me nervous. Of course I don't want you to leave. You need to eat breakfast with us—I'm pretty sure you made an awesome impression on my mother."

Nico blinked. "Wait. I make you nervous?"

"I—was that all you heard?"

"I mean," he said, clearing his throat, "breakfast doesn't sound awful."

Laughing, I pushed his shoulder gently and stepped away from his hold. "You're such a mess."

"Shut up." A pause. And then, "Does your mom really like me?"

"You can see for yourself. Go wash up and come downstairs with me."

Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted.

My smile faded. "What?" I asked, confused.

Nico shook his head. There was astonishment in the greenest of his eyes. "It's nothing," he answered quietly. "You can go ahead, I'll only take a few minutes."

"Oh, okay." Frowning, I narrowed my gaze. "You're not planning to make an escape, are you?"

Passing me, Nico laughed and grabbed his bag. "Wouldn't even dream of it, babe."

I watched him disappear inside the bathroom before I skipped downstairs. Theo was seated on one of the island stools when I stepped inside the kitchen, and it smelled like bacon, eggs, and maple syrup.

Theo sent me a look. "Hey."

"Hi." I opened the fridge and took out an unopened carton of chocolate milk. "What time did you get home?"

"Around two," he said, expression a little wary as he watched me. "You?"

I poured the milk into a glass. "Nearing midnight, I think."

Theo tapped his fingers against the mug set in front of him. "Are you still mad?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you're going to apologize. I'm in a good mood, Theo, let's not ruin it."

My brother exhaled heavily. "Look. I shouldn't have said what I said. Doesn't change what others think about you. I'm just worried."

I leaned against the wall. "Not the apology I was looking for. Try again."

Theo clenched his jaw. "Romero's car is outside."

"And?"

He arched an eyebrow. "And, dear sister, I want to know why. Is he upstairs?"

I held the glass close to my lips after taking a long sip. "I want the right apology first."

My brother stared at me long enough to burn holes across my skull, but I held his gaze with the same intimidation buried in them. Finally, with a sigh, he said, "Okay. Fine. I'm sorry, Thea. I shouldn't have said what I said at all. Period."

I tilted my head. "Do you mean it?"

His tone softened when he responded, "I do."

"Okay." I turned my back on him and placed the milk on the counter. While taking out plates and utensils, I told him, "Nico's upstairs, yes, and he's here because I want him to be here."

Theo didn't even waste a second to ask. "He likes you?"

"Think it's obvious it's mutual," I mumbled, heading over to the dining room to set the table. My brother followed closely behind me. "And Mom adores him."

Theo took the seat opposite from mine and stabbed a pancake with his fork. "Remember when I said there was a part of Faust that scared me? A part of him that could hurt you?"

I nodded. It was a month ago, when my brother opened up to me about Anya, the day after the pep rally. It seemed so far away now.

"You told me last night that he cheated on you," Theo said slowly, eyes carefully watching my expression. "Was it with Anya?"

I looked away. That was enough of an answer for Theo.

The door to my father's office burst open. "Good morning, my darlings!"

Mom strode inside the dining room with her face glowing. My brother and I greeted her back with less enthusiasm as she rounded the table and poured herself a glass of orange juice. Her eyes found mine. "What happened last night, Thea? Did you have fun?"

I nodded and took my seat. "Yeah. It was fun."

"And...?"

"And, um." I cleared my throat. "Nico's joining us for breakfast."

My mother actually clapped her hands in glee. "Of course, honey. We certainly have a lot to go around, and Nico is such a sweetheart. What a catch, Thea!"

The tips of my ears flushed red. "Thanks, Mom."

And then Nico's quiet voice emerged from the staircase. "Thank you, Mrs. Simmons."

Mom let out a delighted squeal as she reached out to hug him. "How nice of you to join us, Nico. I'll go get you a cup of coffee. Come sit next to Thea."

He smiled back politely and did as told. "Hi," he murmured once our gazes met.

"Hi," I whispered.

Theo cleared his throat and tipped his chin up in greeting. "Romero."

"Theo," he said back in a relaxed tone, throwing one arm over the back of my chair. "I hope you and Thea have made up."

My brother's face stayed neutral. "We have. Thanks for your concern. Have a pancake."

My mouth twitched in amusement.

"Thanks, man," Nico answered as he reached out for a piece of the battered cake. He placed one on my plate first before serving himself. My heart skipped a beat.

Mom came back with a hot mug and placed it in front of Nico. She spread her hands. "Dig in, everyone!"

Breakfast was a lively event, and I had never seen Nico smile and laugh so much. He got along so well with my mother. With Theo, the tension between them was still palpable, but they tried to fall into awkward conversation with each other and remained as civil as they possibly can. Still, the whole scene gave me tingles all over.

I was drinking from my glass of milk and listening to my mother talk when I felt Nico's palm on my bare knee.

I had to contain myself from shooting up in surprise from the sudden contact. Tense, I set the glass back down on the table and plastered a smile on my face as I pretended to continue listening.

Nico seemed engrossed in the conversation. His face was carefully composed, but his fingers were brushing against my thigh in slow, lazy circles. The motion sent shivers down my spine.

Swallowing hard, I tried to concentrate on my mother's voice as she asked, "What will you kids be up to today?"

Theo shrugged and said, "I'm going out to get the car washed."

"We'll probably just hang out here," I responded, remembering that Nico and I still had a lot to talk about. He squeezed my knee under the table. "How about you, Mom?"

"Remember that case I was telling you before?" Wrinkles appeared on her forehead. At the mention of work, I suddenly noticed how deep the bags underneath my mother's eyes were. "I finally met the client a few days ago and there's a lot to sort out. I'm not sure where to start! I'm thinking of ways on how to tell the family that it'll probably take me a while to find some leads...I don't know if I can even win this one."

Nico's body grew tense and rigid suddenly—but my focus was on my mother. With no other words of comfort to offer, I assured her, "You'll win it, Mom. You always do."