Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
“Get over it,” Jean told her.
The sound of the doorbell kept Ananya from having to argue her case further. Cat had finally dragged Cody closer to the living room, but now she wheeled around and made for the door. Their final two guests were the Trojans’ starting dealers. Jean had a half-second to be disappointed by their heights—Min Cai was a half-head shorter than Cat, and Xavier Morgan couldn’t be any taller than Laila—before he was distracted by the rest of the picture. They’d arrived holding hands and dressed in matching cream-and-teal outfits. Even their gold-rimmed sunglasses and teal sneakers were identical.
“Disgusting,” Cat said, with only affection in her voice. “Seriously. When you two finally start popping out babies to dress up I will cry buckets for them.”
“Missed you too,” Xavier said. “Where’s my hug?”
“Is it safe to hug you?” Cat asked, already latching on. “Doesn’t hurt?”
“I’m good,” Xavier promised.
Jean glanced over at Jeremy. “Is there a team rule against signing anyone over six feet?”
Jeremy only laughed, but Pat answered: “We’ve got a couple beanstalks on the line. Derek’s what, six-three?”
“Six-two on his file,” Jeremy said. “Don’t believe his lies.”
“I knew it,” Pat said, triumphant. To Jean he added, “That’s Thompson, not Allen. And Shane’s got at least two inches on him, if not three. I swear he’s wearing inserts, but I can never get my hands on his shoes to check.”
“Sebastian and Travis,” Jeremy added. “Maybe Jesus. I heard we’ve got at least two tall freshmen coming in, but of course I haven’t met them yet.”
Eight out of twenty-nine was tragic, especially when at least one of them was a goalkeeper, but it was too late to do anything about that. Jean let it slide with a disgruntled huff.
Pat wound an arm around Ananya’s shoulder as they went down the hall toward the last arrivals. Within seconds there were three different conversations going in the hallway, with Cat’s laughter occasionally breaking through the chaos. At Jean’s side Jeremy was smiling, wide and energized.
When he noticed Jean’s gaze on him, he admitted, “I missed having everyone in one place. If it gets to be a bit much, though—”
“I am used to being crowded,” Jean reminded him. “We were always together. This feels… normal.”
It did and didn’t; he’d seen the Ravens laughing and jeering together, but they’d never acted like this. Jean studied the Trojans’ faces, looking for the right word to name the mood, and the best he came up with was joyous. It wasn’t the synchrony he’d seen with the Foxes before leaving South Carolina, but it was buoyant and pervasive.
Jeremy turned that toothy grin on Jean. “Come on, then.”
Jean wasn’t sure nine bodies would fit in the crowded living room, but somehow they pulled it off. Cat took the floor in front of Laila’s papasan chair, whereas Min practically straddled Xavier on one of the couch cushions. Ananya and Cody had the other two cushions, with Pat on the floor in front of them. Jeremy and Jean sat across from the couch on the floor.
The Trojans tried drawing Jean into the conversation more than once, but he bullied his way out of it until they finally picked up on his disinterest. He was content to study his new teammates from the sidelines, tracking the way they interacted with each other and the hints of personalities he’d be dealing with for the next two years.
Xavier and Min managed to finish each other’s sentences a half-dozen times, which Cat reacted to very dramatically every time. Ananya spent the evening pressing Cody further into the corner of the couch, so slowly and smoothly Jean never actually saw her move. Pat kept one hand on Ananya’s ankle and another on Cody’s, and whenever he wasn’t speaking, he was tracing his thumbs in slow circles against their skin. Each time Jean saw it happen he felt a bit more tension sneak through his calm.
Cat got up to check on dinner, and Jean immediately stood to follow her. She tried to wave him off with a cheery, “You can stay, if you want!” but didn’t refuse him when he shook his head. Cat got all the way to the kitchen without saying anything else to him, then hooked an arm around his waist as soon as they were alone. “What’s going on, Jean? You’re starting to look a little tense. Getting a bit loud in there for you?”
It didn’t matter, and it wasn’t his business, but Jean had to ask. Watching Pat and Ananya invade Cody’s space when Cody wasn’t reaching out for them in return was making his skin crawl. Laila had implied it was reciprocated, but—
“Is Cody safe?” he asked.
Cat stared at him in surprise for a moment before her expression softened. Her quiet, “Oh,” was all the warning Jean needed that Jeremy had told her the truth behind the rumors surrounding his freshman year. He almost pulled out of her grip, but Cat tightened her arm around him. She pressed a light kiss to his shoulder and said, “Pat and Ananya are Jeremy’s friends first, but Cody’s always been mine. You can trust me when I say Cody’s interested—if they weren’t, I wouldn’t be heartless enough to tease them about it.