Looking up at him, I forced myself to look happier. “You did, I’m ready to ace it, you?”
“Yeah, sure.” Wade rolled his eyes as he strummed his knuckles off the desk to a beat only he heard.
“I’d offer to help you, my friend, but we both know I needyoufor this class.”
“In that case, we’re both fucked.”
With the mood between us lighter, we turned our attention to the professor, who had finally started the lecture. As she started running through what the assignment would consist of, I did wonder idly who would mug or steal from Jett? He had been fine earlier. Wade nudged my leg with his to get me to pay attention, and it worked. It really had nothing to do with me if Jett had something taken from him.
Nothing at all.
* * *
Arriving home later that afternoon, I heard her voice before I’d even come up the steps to our apartment. Mia was practicing. I hated to disturb her when she was practicing, so I always tried to make as little noise as possible. Dumping my bag, I started getting stuff from the fridge so I could make dinner.
Mia never ate properly unless I cooked. She went through fad diets constantly, and before freshman year ended, she had given up solids and was on a liquid diet. Not the fun kind either.
I had done a store run recently, though, so hot chicken was on the menu tonight. Knowing she would complain about the carbs from the bread, I was making it with white rice instead. Still carbs, but Mia had a love-hate relationship with bread, andcurrently she was in hate mode.How anyone could choose to hate bread I didn’t understand, but there were some crazies out there.
Listening to her sing as I cooked relaxed me. Mia had the most beautiful voice and had been so happy when she got accepted into the music program to do a Bachelor of Arts in music with a side helping of computer science. I never questioned her minor. She was good at design and was eager to learn code, or something equally mind-numbing . . . mind-numbing tome, anyway.
Music was where she excelled. Her voice was her instrument, and she had a huge range. Mia was tall, but I swear her lungs were triple in capacity. Wade had begged her many times to be his singer in the band, but Mia always refused. Country rock was not for her. Even when he swore he would change the whole band’s genre and dynamic, Mia said no. He didn’t know that even though she could sing like an angel, Mia hated the limelight.
Which was kinda odd because she was insanely popular. In our high school choir, she had blended in and downplayed her voice until junior year, when she knew she needed the credit for her application here, so one day, she stepped forward and floored her fellow choristers with her voice.
As I poured canned tomatoes into a saucepan, I listened to her as she was currently singing gospel choir songs. Making the tomato sauce for dinner, I found myself humming along with her as I cooked, the tension from the last few days easing away.
When dinner was ready, I knocked on her door gently. “MeeMoo,” I called. “Supper’s ready.”
The door flung back, and she launched herself at me, arms wrapping around me as she squealed with happiness. “Did you hear me hit that C sharp?”
“Sure.”
“You work for a band and you live with a music major; how can you not even know what C sharp sounds like?”
“Was it the screechy part?” I teased, pulling her behind me as I went back to the kitchen. When she peered over my shoulder, I turned my head slightly to see her frown at her dinner. “Shut up and eat. I don’t care what you’re dieting for, you need to eat.”
“I do eat,” she protested as she picked up her bowl and fork and headed to the couch. “Thank you for steaming the rice,” she added as she sat down.
“Of course.” It was best to let the subject drop. We didn’t need to fight over this. Not again.
“Hey, did you hear about your favorite football player?” Mia asked as she took a forkful of food, her eyes rolling back as she groaned. “Oh my gosh, this is divine.”
“Jett?” I asked. “Wade said he got mugged?”
“Jett?” Mia stopped chewing. “Santo?” Her eyes widened. “When didhebecome your favorite?”
I squirmed in my seat, uncomfortable that my head went straight to Jett.“Who were you talking about?”
“Dante.DanteSpence — you know, your huge crush?” Mia ate more chicken, her eyes dancing with laughter. “But I’m ready to hear about how he was usurped by a Devil.”
I snorted at the terminology as I shoveled food into my mouth. “Devil’s right.”
Throwing her head back on the couch, she yelled, “Tell me!”
“It’s not important.” Waving my fork at her, I urged her to talk. “Tell me all about Dante.”
“He is apparently newly single.”
