Dean might act like I was the dramatic one, but he had his moments. I put my hands together in full begging mode. “I’ll cook dinner? Bake cookies? Hide in the closet?”
He rubbed his palms over his eyes, groaning like an eighty-year-old man. “The guys won’t like it.”
“You’re the quarterback. They listen to you,” I fired back. Worry didn’t look good on me. I never cried. I refused to, but my eyes prickled, and the feeling of losing control gripped me head to toe. I’d spiral. I had been since Eric dumped me two months ago. “I’ll pay, obviously. I’m an athlete, so I won’t mess around. And I can be a bro. I’m easy.” I hopped from one foot to the other, like the dance proved how laid-back I was.
“You, arenoteasy.” He glared at me. “You blow fuses, leave your shit everywhere, have way too many bottles of crap in the bathroom.” He stared off toward campus, scratching the back of his neck. “You’d have to share a bathroom with two guys.”
“I’ve shared one with you most of my life. Not a problem.” Inside, I screamed. My brother was gross. Most athletes were gross. But I’d weather the storm if I could live here. “Just a semester. Let me get through the season and then I’ll move.”
“Goddamn it, Lo. They will hate this.”
“Why? What would be so bad about having another roommate who happens to be your sister?”
“I don’t know. We play hard, party hard.”
“Great. I’ll buy beer for you.”
He pinched his nose so hard a red spot formed on either side. “Can I talk to them about it?”
I pulled on the end of my ponytail. “I mean, sure, but Mom’s calling me later to chat about when her and Dad are coming down for a game, and you know she’ll suggest the same solution when I tell her.”
Dean’s gaze sharpened.
I had him.
See, the thing about big Italian families was that our mother ruled the house. Her and my dad were relationship goals, but no one wanted to disappoint Celestina Fogliano Romano. Dean was a mama’s boy through and through, and if she asked him to do something, he’d do it.
Why didn’t I realize that sooner?
He gritted his teeth before nodding. “Fine.Fine.Let me talk to the guys.”
“You’re the best!” I jumped into him, throwing my arms around his shoulders. “Thank you, Dean. You won’t even know I’m here!”
“Get off me, you smell.” He shoved me away but not with real force. “I have a good thing going with the guys, the team, so please don’t blow this for me.”
“Of course. Duh!”
“No hooking up either, youoryour friends,” he said, his voice becoming stronger. “We can’t afford the distraction. Plus, you’re my sister, so, this is nonnegotiable.”
“Okay, first,ew footballers.And second, when have I ever interfered with football for you? I would never. I understand what I means to you.” My voice lowered, an odd, emotional ball in the back of my throat making an unwanted appearance. Dean had almost lost his football career because of an accident in high school. A dumb car crash where he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. It had rocked our whole family, and he’d come so far.
“I know, Lo.” He swallowed, his mouth forming half a smile. “You can hang just fine but none of your…girl nights here, okay? No team sleepovers.”
“Uh, you’re missing out. Face masks? Food? Movies? It’d actually do you well to relax a little and replenish your body’s nutrients instead of partying them away.” I shrugged. “But fine, I will listen to your demands.’
He snorted. “Give me the next week to talk to them about it.”
“But I can, for sure?”
“Probably. I need to ask them though. One semester. No bullshit.”
“You’re my favorite twin.” I grinned, opening my arms like I was gonna hug him again.
He held up a hand, shaking his head. “No more hugs. Leave my porch, and I’ll call you when you’re good to come over here.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’ll make sure to tell mom what asantoyou are.SantoDean.” I kissed my fingers and saluted the air. “I’ll start packing my bags!”
He rolled his eyes before returning to the house. My brother might be the face of the football team and a major player on and off the field, but he was a good guy. There hadn’t been a single time in my life I couldn’t count on him, and a wave of gratitude washed over me.
