18
Iwas going to homecoming.
Even Vadika was shocked. Her exact words had been something along the lines of, “You’re kidding.”
Unfortunately, I was not. Ryan was the most delighted at my caving in to his peer pressure—and the kisses he’d trailed down my neck and between my chest, whispering his pleases and other encouraging words of how much I would love it.
Like him.
I blinked at myself. The thought had come unbidden.
Um,no. I was good for right now, thanks. Still, I couldn’t help the smile that was brought to my lips as he rambled on about his plans.
“You’ll see,” he said. “So will I. This is going to be my first homecoming not on the field, you know?”
I gave him a hesitant smile each time after he mentioned it. But I played along.
He talked about homecoming like it was his Samhain celebration. After a week of his constant chatter, I was almost starting to find his excitement infectious. That, or I was still immensely grateful after he did spend a good three hours untangling lights with me on my dorm room floor, covered with the other dozen candles and other decorations, while I leaned back in his lap, earning a rather strange glance from Natalie.
Nothing was going to ruin my parade I had been marching onward in ever since that day of selling spells on the greenway. I imagined the strings of sparkling white fluorescent lights hanging across the center of the campus’s low-hanging tree branches like a fairy tale.
Getting ready for Samhain was my thing. Now, it was Ryan’s day.
Homecoming.
I nearly snorted at myself as I stared in the mirror, getting ready while Ryan got a shower down the hall. Over the past week, he’d also begun to make himself at home in the house, and it felt as if he had always been meant to be there.
A loose purple dress fell below my knees, complementing my scuffed boots. I’d found the dress in one of our attic raids at Gertie’s. Homecoming wasn’t a dress occasion and yet—
“You look …” Ryan stood in the doorway, eyes wide and hair still slightly wet as he patted it dry with a towel patterned with irises and begonias. He looked me up and down. “Wow.”
“Wow?”
He bit his bottom lip. “I think I need to brush up on my adjectives.”
I shook my head, glancing at myself again. The dress was loose and easy, but I would need to find a sweater or something to cover my arms when the sun went down. “I’ll take wow.”
It felt right.
Everything right now felt right.
Slipping the jersey over the top of my dress, however, I paused.
All right. I barked a laugh. This felt a little wrong.
Pressing my lips together, I tried to hide my distaste behind my sudden elation. The question of when the boxy jersey had last been washed was also up for a debate I didn’t want to think about. I cinched the hem up and under around my waist, trying to find something to tie it with. A hair tie, a ribbon left over from the decorations we had found, anything.
As I turned around, in the mirror, I stared at the name on the back.
Gardner.
I let the extra foot of fabric fall from my hands once more for a second. Instead of grabbing the tie, I reached for my phone. Lifting my phone, I took a photo of my reflection. Ryan stood in the corner of the mirror with his hands on his hips, like a proud spectator. I sent it directly to Vadika. I waited with bated breath for her assurance that I didn’t look completely ridiculous.
Or that I absolutely did.
Either or.
After a few minutes however, she didn’t respond.
