“Did you find a Prince Neptune?” April asked as I took a portion of the piping-hot enchiladas. Her voice was even more eager than her texts, which was saying something. Neptune was unquestionably April’s favorite character so finding a cosplayer for him, even if it were Milo, made me happy. Honestly, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to make April smile. Considering everything she had to put up with, procuring a prince was the least I could do.
“Yup.”
“My hero.” She said it jokingly, but that right there was a big part of why I liked doing things for her so much. In my friend group, I wasn’t the resident genius or the best Odyssey player or the hottest person. I made an excellent sidekick. A bonus friend, there to make even numbers or crack a joke at the right moment. With April, though, every so often I got to play hero. I might be an afterthought for others, but with her I could be Super Big Brother.
“Thanks.”
“Who is it? Someone from the college?” She leaned forward. April lived for college gossip, especially since she’d transitioned to online high school after catching several bad infections from bugs going around the school. She hated being the only Quigley kid who wouldn’t graduate from our neighborhood school. She’d been down, and that was another reason why I was relieved to have found a Neptune, even if I was still less than thrilled with the who.
“No. It’s…” Oh hell. She was going to recognize him right away, and Mom would as well, if she brought April. I took a bite of too-hot food, trying to buy time, and immediately regretted it as I scorched my tongue. And my stupid brain immediately leaped to a vision of Milo from the day before, his pink tongue worrying his full lips. Damn it. Why couldn’t he be a little less hot?
Of course, if he weren’t so appealing, he wouldn’t be so perfect as Neptune. But that perfection was going to come at a cost to my sanity. For the hundredth time, I second-guessed what the heck I was doing. I’d texted with him for a good hour the night before, answering questions about Neptune lore that Milo could have discovered perfectly well on his own, only stopping when Kellan and Jasmine came to collect me for food. And really, I should have been grateful for the interruption. I wasn’t supposed to find any part of this…arrangement fun.
“Who is it?” Mom prodded, concern evident in her eyes. She wasn’t the biggest fan of some of the game-store crowd, and she was probably already visualizing someone entirely unsuitable to have around April.
Heck. No choice but to share the truth, or at least a version of it. “Milo. Funniest thing, but he came into the store, and we got to talking and he…volunteered.”
“Milo Lionetti?” Mom frowned, which wasn’t the reaction I’d expected.
“Heard he got himself into some trouble a while back.” Dad’s expression was even more grim.
“He sure is cute trouble,” April added, which got her pointed looks from all three of us.
“I haven’t seen him since the funeral.” Shaking her head, Mom cut her food into neat pieces. “Poor Cathy. That boy has put her through the ringer on top of everything else she’s had to endure. And she’s not the only one. Jasper, do you really want to get involved with him again?”
“We’re not involved.” My fork clattered against my plate. Business. This was business. A transaction. A Neptune for Kellan and April and the kids at the hospital. Some help for Milo, but even that was more for Bruno, who hadn’t deserved his dumbass brother losing his cards. Involved was not even remotely on the table.
Across from me, April smirked like she knew better. And then my phone buzzed in my pocket and I immediately wondered if it was Milo. Damn it. Even friendship would be beyond stupid. He’d proved enough times that he wasn’t to be trusted.
“Good.” Dad nodded firmly before returning his attention to his food. I got why they were both firmly anti-Milo. I’d moped for months when our friendship had ended, and they’d had to hear more than one tale of woe in the following years about Milo’s new crowd and their idea of jokes involving the smart kids.
Involved. Back then, I hadn’t allowed myself to hope for Milo being anything other than my best friend, especially once that friendship had been lost. I had been only starting to find other people cute back then, and while my heart might have had some private wishes, I tried hard to ignore any…reactions to his nearness. Unlike now, when my body most definitely had noted Milo was all grown up.
“You’re months from graduation.” My mom must have picked up my train of thought. Milo wasn’t the only one who was an adult now. I too had the real world waiting.
“Yup. Don’t need any distractions,” I agreed. I had a possibility of a job in NYC after graduation, and maybe that was part of why I’d been so desperate to find a Prince Neptune. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about leaving April and Kellan and everyone else here. Felt weird to be down to mere months. But at least I could make sure they were good months, and maybe eventually I’d sort myself out.
April’s laugh cut through my tumbling thoughts. “I’d take a distraction about now. Especially if it looked like—”
“You’re only fifteen. Maybe you spending time with Jasper’s crowd isn’t a good idea,” Mom grumbled, which only made April groan.
“It’ll be fine,” I said before an argument could break out. “He’ll probably only be Neptune the one time anyway.”
Buzz. My pocket vibrated again. Heck. Maybe not even the one time if he was messaging to bail. Mom had a strict no-phones-at-the-table rule, so it wasn’t until after I helped clear and wash the dishes that I got a chance to look at my messages. I leaned against the washer in the mudroom as I scrolled my phone.
Several from Kellan, of course. He wanted to show me his latest design for upgrades to his mage outfit. Unlike some of us, Kellan cosplayed as multiple characters depending on his mood and the event. And each costume needed approval from the rest of us. I added my thumbs-up and scrolled on. Arthur wanted to confirm my work schedule for the weekend, but none of those messages made my pulse thrum like seeing Milo’s name.
Hey. Did you find the costume?
You’re hoping I didn’t. Don’t lie. I laughed as I typed. Yup. Checked the sandals. Size twelve. Think that will work?
His reply came while I was still packing up. Yeah. That’s my size too. And uh…I’ve been wondering what goes under the toga?
My answering chuckle was loud enough to make Mom glance my way from where she was putting away leftovers in the kitchen. Oops. No distractions. No involvement. Seriousness only. Except somehow my fingers didn’t get the message.
You worried it’s like a kilt? ROFL. And TBH, Ronnie and I weren’t tight like that. Never looked.
That wasn’t entirely true. I’d never hooked up with Ronnie, but I knew perfectly well that he wore something under the toga. I didn’t want to examine too closely why I was having fun with Milo. And of course my pulse leaped with the next response. Okay. I’m gonna bring some shorts or something, unless that’s against cosplay rules?