Out of Character by Annabeth Albert

Chapter Thirty-Two

Milo

“Is every song in this thing about being lonely?” I looked up from the program we’d snagged from a stack in the lobby. The tech rehearsal audience was bigger than Kellan had advertised, but Jasper, April, and I had found seats off to the side away from a rowdy mix of undergraduates in the middle of the theater. Mrs. Q had been full of reminders to use hand sanitizer and have April home on time, and Jasper was all about taking his big brother duties seriously.

“I think there’s a deeper meaning than that.” Leaning over Jasper, April pointed at a paragraph that explained how they’d picked the various musical numbers for the revue. It was a mix of well-known hits and newer songs. “It’s iconic songs of personal power.”

“Way to quote the program.” Jasper laughed from in between us. “Speaking of alone… Any luck with your…new project?”

He gave me a pointed look. We hadn’t had much time to talk that day. I’d had to leave while he was still asleep to make the bus to work for the early shift I was scheduled for. I couldn’t afford to miss work, not right then. Then after work, Jasper had been in class, so I’d hung out in the Gracehaven library, scrolling through housing ads and trying not to get too discouraged by dead ends.

“Maybe,” I answered cagily, not wanting to involve April in my drama.

“Good.” Jasper had brought me soup from the dining hall after his class. He was so good at the caretaking thing, but nonetheless I hated how much I needed him. I wanted to solve my own problems, and he made it too easy to sink into his cozy nest of favors and nice gestures. Unsurprisingly, I hadn’t told him how fruitless my searching had been when we’d fetched April together. And now he was all questions. “What about—”

“It’s starting.” April shushed us, and I was grateful for the distraction.

The revue was a lot of fun with high-energy musical numbers that lifted even my bleak mood. Watching groups of people run around and sing and dance while navigating quick costume and scenery changes was more enjoyable than I’d anticipated. The revue took a number of songs out of the context of their respective plays and did fun twists on the staging of the numbers. Later, the frantic energy of the early numbers gave way to a somber performance of a medley of songs from Wicked recast as a lesbian coffee-shop romance.

“Oh, wow.” I didn’t realize I’d gasped aloud until Jasper squeezed my hand. Reflexively, I started to pull away, but then the music crested, and it hit me that I didn’t have to. I didn’t have to hide. Not ever again. Not if I didn’t want to. The worst had happened, and in a way, it was freeing. I gripped his hand back. Let people see. I was damn lucky to have someone like Jasper on my side. The soloist hit a high note and my soul soared along with the music. Seeing the two lead singers so fearless and defiant made me newly resolved to figure out my current situation.

“That was incredible,” I enthused after the performance as everyone took their final bows.

“I know.” Jasper had a tender look for me as he released my hand.

“Should we find Kellan?” April asked as we made our way to the lobby.

Jasper made a face at that. “Nah. I mean, I’m sure he’s all about the kudos but it’s going to be packed backstage, and Mom wouldn’t be happy with the germ potential.”

“Okay. Party pooper.” April pushed at his shoulder, but good-natured as ever, Jasper simply laughed and took it.

“Yup. Let’s get you home.”

“Can we at least take the long way home?” April asked as she pulled on her coat. “We could get drive-thru milkshakes at—”

“Quigley.” The sound of Jasper’s last name drowned out the end of April’s request, and it was the last voice I wanted to hear right then.

“George.” Jasper gave him a cool nod while I merely did my best to set his smug face on fire with my eyes, superhero style.

“Oh, and pretty boy.” George gave me a once-over that had my skin crawling. “Fancy seeing you at an institution of learning.”

A growl escaped my chest. “I have a name.”

“So you do.” His tone was dismissive and made my hands ball up. “What are you doing here? Wouldn’t have taken you for a patron of the arts.”

“I could say the same for you,” Jasper interjected with a laugh.

“I’m seeing the soloist of the third song. He’s got an audition next week for an off-Broadway show. He’s going places.”

“Not with you,” Jasper said firmly. My chest swelled with pride at how easily he put George in his place, and I resolved to ask Kellan to give the singer a warning that George was a piece of work.

“Cold, Quigley. Cold.” George sounded almost as impressed as I was. “Guess I can see why you’re suddenly interested in the Frog Court cards.”

Wait. What?My eyes narrowed, but Jasper spoke before I could.

“Like I said. None of your business.”

But it was mine, and I gave them both a hard stare. I was not going to contradict Jasper in front of George, but he was going to need to talk fast as soon as we were alone.

“I might be interested in that offer of yours.” George gave Jasper a considering look. “Might.”

I couldn’t stay silent any longer. “What offer?”

George’s arch look soured my stomach even before he spoke. “That’s between Quigley and me.”

No, it wasn’t, but before I could protest, a crowd of people came through.

“Message me, Quigley.” George gave us a little wave as he backed away. “I find I’m…intrigued.”

He wasn’t the only one, but we still had April with us, and no way was I interrogating Jasper around her. So I settled for beaming questions at the back of his head as we left the theater.

“Are either of you going to tell me why Milo’s car is at our place?” April asked as we made our way to the parking lot. “Or is that need-to-know information?”

“Yup.” I tried to keep my tone light.

Jasper must have picked up on my efforts, because he added, “If you don’t bug him about it or make a big deal to Mom, I’ll get you that milkshake.”

“Jasper. I’m not nine.” April did an impressive eye roll while waiting for Jasper to unlock the car. “But okay. Lucky for you I’m hungry.”

I wasn’t. But I wasn’t going to stop the two of them from picking up shakes from the fast-food place next to Lee’s Bakery that April liked.

“Stomach again?” Jasper whispered while April dictated her order.

“Yeah.” If I blamed my wallet, he’d offer to treat me, so I went with the easier excuse. Seeing George had killed whatever limited appetite I had, but I did need to save every dollar.

Finally, we delivered April and her drink safely back to the Quigleys’ where Jasper’s mom must have been waiting by the door, lights going on as soon as we pulled into the driveway. Jasper glanced at me as if he was debating going in, then shook his head before I could speak.

“Tell Mom I’ll call her soon. And that Milo says thank you for the parking space.”

“Yeah. I appreciate it,” I added.

“Okay. Don’t get into trouble with the rest of your night.” She winked at us as she exited the car. “Or rather, get into lots of trouble, but tell me all about it.”

Jasper and I groaned in unison. “April…”

“I’m going, I’m going.”

I waited until her door shut and Jasper was back on the road before I unleashed the question that had been burning a hole in my brain ever since George’s appearance.

“What did he mean?” I asked as Jasper turned toward campus. “Offer? When did you talk to him, anyway?”

He sighed like he’d been expecting this question. “Yesterday.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” Heck. I sounded like my mom, and it was not a comfortable comparison. Shifting in my seat, I looked out the window.

“You were a little busy yesterday.” That flimsy excuse got me whirling back around, and Jasper quickly added, “And I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

“Well, it is. I don’t trust him.”

“Oh, neither do I.” Once we arrived back at his dorm, Jasper did a parking maneuver that had me sending up a quick prayer.

“Then what were you doing making him offers?”

“Chill.” Turning the car off, Jasper twisted toward me. His command had the opposite effect, making all my muscles tense, but I waited for him to continue. “All I did was suggest a friendly game. My ticket to the launch party wagered against at least one of the cards. I’m going to argue for him including all of them—”

I held up a hand before he could go further down this absurd path. “No, you’re not.”

“I’m not?”

“I don’t want you playing him!”

“Because you don’t think I can win?” Jasper took on a pinched expression.

“Because he’ll cheat and you’ll lose that ticket, and your whole future is riding on your contacts at the game.”

“Well, maybe not my whole future…” Shrugging, he looked right at me, holding my gaze until I swore years passed between us.

My face heated. God. I wanted him. But he couldn’t pin a whole future on me. On us. “You know what I mean. You can’t lose your shot at that job.”

“I don’t know. Maybe staying local wouldn’t be the worst thing.” He still had that stubborn tilt to his chin to match his speculative tone, like I was anything other than an iffy bet at best.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You are not risking your future for me.”

“Who else would I do that for?”

My heart trembled even as my soul thrilled. But I couldn’t let myself wallow in his sweetness. “Be serious.”

“I am. You’re insistent that you need those cards. I want you to have the cards. Ergo, playing to get you the cards makes sense.”

“No, it doesn’t.” I didn’t need fancy Latin words to know I was right. Jasper was always so quick to want to solve things for me, and right then, the math simply wasn’t adding up for me.

“Are you jealous of George?” Jasper studied me more intently, parking-lot lights glinting off his eyes. “Because I can tell you that he’s a piece of slime with zero appeal to me.”

“Not helping. I don’t want you having to associate—”

Buzz.Jasper’s phone clattered around in the console. “I better check.”

“Fine.” I didn’t blame him for grabbing the excuse, but I didn’t have to like it.

“Good news!” He shook the phone like it might shower us with glitter confetti.

“It better not involve George.” I glowered.

“It doesn’t.” Jasper patted my knee. “Professor Tuttle put Arthur in contact with this retiree looking to offload their whole collection. There might even be some Frog Court cards in the lot.”

“Sounds good, but what’s the catch?” There was always a catch.

“The entire collection is unsorted. Just boxes of cards all mixed up. Arthur says if I stay late tomorrow and help sort, I can have dibs on an ultra rare if we find one.”

“I could help too.” Anything was better than Jasper playing George, even cataloging cards.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” He hadn’t lost any radiance from his smile even with our earlier argument. “See? Things are looking up!”

“Maybe.” I wasn’t going to count on anything right then.

“Still mad at me?” Jasper let his head fall onto my shoulder before giving me a puppy-dog smile that had me laughing despite myself.

“I can’t seem to stay mad at you,” I admitted, putting an arm around him. “I still think you should have told me.”

“And that’s a fair point. I’ll try to do better at keeping you in the loop.” His earnest tone went a long way to making more of my upset vanish, but the deeper unease at the idea of letting him play George lingered.

“Good.” I kissed the top of his head.

“Things will work out, Milo. You’ll see.”

I wished I believed him, wished I could channel even half of his endless optimism. But I couldn’t shake the feeling of doom that had plagued me the last few days. What I could do, however, was kiss him, my mouth finding his right there in the front seat of his car. He tasted sweet, like the chocolate shake, and his mouth was soft and giving as he melted into me. Moaning quietly, I tried to bottle up this moment when he believed so surely in me, in us, in our chances.

“Race you to your room?” I asked when we reluctantly pulled apart.

“You’re on.” He beamed at me, lips still shiny from the kiss. This was all probably still going to collapse, but I wasn’t going to waste time arguing with him now. There’d be time enough for that later.