Risk (Gentry Boys #2)(22)

After slipping on a knee length maroon dress, I paused in the bathroom to do something about my makeup. Stephanie was home for once. I could hear her in her bedroom, pacing and yelling about point spreads. It didn’t sound like a friendly conversation.

I turned sideways in the mirror and ran my hands down the fabric of the dress. Men had always looked at me. I knew why; I’d bloomed early and had kept right on going. For a while I used it when I needed to. I wasn’t proud of that. Perhaps that’s why these days I usually made an effort to go in the other direction and blend into the scenery. I wasn’t sure if I knew how to find the middle ground. But I did know how incredible it had felt when Creedence Gentry went crazy with passion and took me with him.

Before I left the apartment I knocked on Stephanie’s door.

“What?” she grumbled from the other side.

“Just wanted to make sure you were okay, that’s all.”

Stephanie opened the door a crack and leaned against the frame. Her hair was a light honey color, curly and wild, while her face had a porcelain doll sort of wholesomeness that was at odds with her surly conduct.

“You know what Truly? Everyone’s a cocksucker.”

“I’ll agree that the world has manufactured more than its fair share.” I paused. “Steph, are you in some kind of trouble?”

She smiled thinly. “No. I never get in trouble. You look nice. You should have a nice night.” Stephanie closed the door to signal she was done talking to me.

As I drove the several blocks to the Palm Desert Apartments I began to feel rather cheered by the idea of being out in the world. I needed more uncomplicated fun in my life.

Brayden opened the door to his apartment and smiled at me. He was a pleasant looking fellow with glasses and the same green eyes as his cousin. “Hi Truly. Come on in. I’m glad Say talked you into joining us for the game.” He noticed my dress. “School colors and all. Hey, do you want a piece of pizza? We’ve got some slices remaining over there on the table.”

“No thank you.” I shook my head and followed Brayden inside.

Saylor moved in, hugging me happily. “You look awesome. Is that another one of your handmade masterpieces?”

“Technically,” I muttered, somewhat embarrassed. I’d always had a taste for vintage fashions. The dress wasn’t as tight or flamboyant as the one I’d worn last week but it made me feel good to be out in it.

When I caught sight of Cord standing on a chair in the living room, changing the light bulb in the ceiling fan, I did a double take. For a second, he looked exactly like Creed. Then as he stepped down I realized their differences. Cord wasn’t quite as physically imposing and he wore a more open, friendly expression.

“Hey there,” he greeted me. Say went to him, squeezing his waist. He smiled down at her.

When Brayden’s girlfriend Millie emerged, she was a vision. She wore a basic cream-colored dress and her straight black hair was carefully draped over her left shoulder. When I saw Brayden stare at her in appreciation as Saylor nuzzled Cord’s neck in the background, I became acutely aware that I was the odd one out in a room of couples.

Brayden warned that we would be late for kickoff if we didn’t start to move so we packed together in his Camry and traveled the mile to campus. Everywhere the streets were choked with game-bound pedestrians dripping in Arizona State colors.

Even after Brayden parked the car we still had quite a distance to walk to get to the stadium. I was glad I’d worn flats. I walked between Saylor and Millie while Bray and Cord hung back a little.

“Hey,” Saylor called back to them, “you guys remember when we were in sixth grade and took a field trip up here to go to a game?”

“Hell yeah,” Cord answered. “It was always a treat to break out of Emblem for a little while.”

“Didn’t you get lost or something?” Brayden asked him. “I remember Mrs. Zamboni standing in the middle of the bus and getting purple in the face while she shrieked bloody murder about Gentrys.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” Cord laughed. “Chase ate about sixteen hot dogs and got sick. He blew chunks all over Creed’s shirt. I kept throwing paper towels at them in the bathroom and warning them to hurry but they were too busy shoving each other and carrying on. By the time we got out of there, the rest of you had already returned to the bus. Creed had stuck his whole shirt in the sink to get Chase’s puke off. Zamboni’s nostrils were flaring and she screamed ‘Creedence Gentry, are you dripping water everywhere?’ He just looked at her, totally deadpan, water pooling around his feet, and said, ‘No ma’am I’m not.’”

As soon as Cord uttered his brother’s name, I swiveled around. He noticed and our eyes met for a second before I turned around again. I wondered if Creed had said anything to him about me. But maybe to Creed everything we’d done was just all in a day’s work and not even worth mentioning.

Millie nudged my shoulder. “I’m glad you came along,” she said, tossing her head back in the direction of the guys. Saylor had joined them and they were all laughing over memories. Millie smiled. “Sometimes I feel a little left out in the crowd of ex-Emblemers.”

I smiled back. “I can understand that.”

Millie paused and studied me. “So where are you from, Truly? You have a distinctive southern lilt but I can’t place it.”