Stay

  “Stepmom smokes. She flicked a cigarette at me after I commented on her art. The piece was hideous.”

  Mia’s throat closed up and she couldn’t talk. Her hand stilled. What the hell? Someone did that to him? The mark was old, so he must have been little. A knot formed in her stomach and she didn’t know what to say.

  Alexi turned at her stillness and saw her face. He took her in his arms. “No, don’t, it was a long time ago.”

  She bit her lip and pressed a cold hand against her hot forehead. “Did you try to leave?”

  “That was the year after our mother passed. I was young. Niko was young. There was no other choice.” He shook his head. “I simply learned not to comment on my stepmother’s art.”

  Mia closed her eyes. “Did you tell Niko?”

  “He was just a kid, too. Stop. It doesn’t matter now. I’m not that kid anymore. I’m twice her size.” Alexi touched her cheek. “I like it better when you’re getting on to me. That’s how you say it, yes? Getting on to me?”

  Mia swallowed. She could do that. “Quinn said he sent me flowers.”

  Alexi looked away.

  “Did you throw them out?”

  He shrugged one shoulder.

  She couldn’t be mad at him. “I don’t need protection from roses.”

  ***

  Tonight was Mia’s turn to choose a movie, so she picked a comedy. Mia hit the play button and lively music accompanied the visual of a soccer ball on the screen. “I chose this one for Sacha, because it’s a romance. Since it’s about soccer, I thought it’d honor your entry onto the team.”

  “I’m Sacha,” Alexi growled at her, pulling her against him.

  Giggling, she dropped the remote and relaxed. The sun had flushed her skin, the swimming had worn her out, and his story made her want to escape reality. She was in full movie veg mode. When the movie ended, he clicked the TV off and she sat up. He used his arms to push off the couch. She liked having him here. His stepmom didn’t deserve to have him around.

  “Wait a sec.” Mia rose and walked behind him. Sliding her arms around his waist, she leaned against his back in a hug. Alexi stilled and clasped her arms across his stomach. Mia pulled one arm free and slid it around to the back of his T-shirt. She lifted it. Alexi stiffened but stayed in place. After kissing his scar lightly, she pulled his shirt back down. He didn’t look at her, but he didn’t move away. Mia hugged him again, then released him to go to her room. “Night.”

  Alexi brushed her hand with his as she walked by.

  Chapter 18

  Niko was trying to persuade Hope about something, but Hope just shook her head and looked away. Alexi was with them, but he ignored their interaction, more interested in his breakfast.

  Mia filled her own plate with toast and pineapple. “What’s going on?” The lightly browned toast needed jam. She spread the pumpkin butter over her slice.

  “Tell Niko I never wear jewelry,” Hope said.

  “Hope never wears jewelry. You’ll save a bundle marrying her instead of someone who likes shiny things.”

  Niko crossed his arms over his chest. “She needs an engagement ring. It’s a symbol.”

  “I’ll just get paint on it,” Hope said.

  “That’s true, too.” Mia took a crunching bite. Yum, they should have pumpkin-flavored stuff all year, not just in the fall.

  Alexi’s gaze rose from his plate and went to Hope. “Niko’s right. Women should wear engagement and wedding rings. It tells other men she’s taken.”

  Mia pursed her lips and refrained from commenting. Commitments were on the inside. Rings didn’t keep people faithful. Their choices kept them faithful.

  Niko nodded in agreement. “I’ll pick it out,” Niko insisted.

  Yeah. He would. If he thought for a second leaving that decision up to his admin was a good idea, he was crazy. Mia opened her mouth to tell him so.

  Niko caught her eye and shook his head.

  She chuckled.

  “Do you dislike jewelry, too?” Alexi eyed her closely.

  “Have you seen me with the glitter? The sparklier the better.” Their cheer signs blinded the other teams in the Texas sunshine. She wanted a sparkly rock one day. A big one.

  Alexi nodded.

  “If they could make pumpkin butter sparkle, now that would be a spectacular product.” She took another bite and watched him wince.

  ***

  That night, the excitement in the air was almost tangible. It was Friday night, game night. Thousands of fans filled the stands, talking in excited, eager voices; parents, students, locals. They chowed down on football food: hotdogs, popcorn, snow cones. The stadium lights illuminated the field so completely it seemed like noon instead of early evening.

  Alexi was with his team by the bench, swinging his helmet by his side. He stood taller than most of his teammates. Halftime had just ended, but she couldn’t get a read on him. The game was a slow mover. 0-6, visitors’ favor. They’d missed the extra point. Which reminded her that kickers could miss. That was a lot of pressure on Alexi. He could miss. He hadn’t been on the field yet, he’d be fine. He was great in practice.

  Was he enjoying tonight? Would he want to stay? That would make Niko happy, and he could use family here. And if Niko was happy, it would make Hope happy. She didn’t want to think about how strongly she felt on the subject.

  Hope had brought the camera and had it aimed at her. Mia put one hand on her hip and raised the other in the air, holding the gold pompom still so Hope could get a good shot.

  The Dragons’ defense held off the other team, and during the fourth quarter the Dragons found their footing. One long pass caught in the end zone, and they were on the board.

  They screamed, “Go Dragons!” The crowd screamed, “Go Dragons!”

  Alexi was going in. He’d kick for the extra point. Her heart pounded and she moved down the track so she was closer to the end zone.

  Mia screamed encouragement, and the crowd yelled with fierce Friday night enthusiasm. She rolled her pompoms in line with the other cheerleaders while the stadium started a low, rumbling cheer. “Goooooo…”

  Alexi took several steps back and to the left of the tee.

  “oooo…”

  Mia held her breath.

  He moved forward, planted his left foot, and connected.

  “Dragons!”

  With a thump, the football sailed into the air and through the goal posts. Her heart stopped and then pounded double-time, the thrilling rush of victory smothering fear. The audience surged to their feet, their cheers drowned out now by the yells.

  Lauren threw her arm over Mia’s shoulders, screaming, and they bounced together, pompoms in the air.

  Alexi jogged back.

  Several guys slapped him on the shoulder. “Good job, A.”

  That was new. Like he needed another nickname. Alexi removed the tight-fitting helmet as soon as he neared the sidelines and looked over at her. Sweat dampened his hair, but he looked invigorated.

  Mia edged closer. They were limited in their interactions due to coaching restrictions. Coach liked his guys watching the game when they weren’t in it, not interacting with the cheerleaders.

  They had to stay on the track and off the grass.

  “Well, not six points like I scored, but it’s something.” Quinn passed Alexi on his way out to the field.

  Alexi bounced his helmet against his leg without responding.

  If Quinn had gotten the team together sooner, their score would’ve been much higher. Ah, well, 7-6 in their favor. She wouldn’t complain if they won.

  No one would. Coach had even let Quinn keep the purple streaks in his hair. Even though it was against school dress code. He called it school spirit.

  The final whistle blew, ending the game with 7-6 as the final score. Alexi went through the good game gauntlet then jogged over to the sidelines. Mia ran and jumped into his arms. Catching her with his arms around her waist, he swung her around.

  “You
were so good,” Mia said. “I’m so proud of you.”

  ***

  After the game, they went out for victory TexMex. On the short drive to the restaurant, Mia leaned toward her sister and held out a palm. “May I see the camera?”

  Hope handed it to her. She’d taken several photos of their celebration. Classic Americana. Mia flipped the menu button to review the shots. Her thumb went still when she got to the celebratory game photo of her with Alexi. They looked close. Alexi’s expression…well, it was one of the reasons she liked him. He maintained his privacy and only let a select few people in. And, of those select few…she’d never seen him wear that intimate expression with any of them. She forwarded the photo to herself and then deleted it.

  At the restaurant, the team sat at a long wooden table in the middle of a room that had pink adobe walls and pictures of spunky donkeys and traveling men in sombreros. All the guys grabbed seats on one end and the cheerleaders on the other. Niko and Hope joined the parents sitting at the surrounding tables.

  Mia passed Alexi, torn between patting his shoulder in another show of congratulations and just giving him a smile.

  Alexi grabbed her arm. He waved at the waiter. “Another chair please.”

  She was supposed to sit with the girls. Joseph and Jake each grabbed two handfuls of chips from the red chip bowl, leaving only crumbs behind. She’d rather eat away from the food-shoveling linebackers, but she always wanted to sit by Alexi, especially when he tasted real TexMex for the first time. She sank into the chair beside him.

  Alexi eyed the mural on the back wall. A life-sized, busty señora draped in a poncho knelt before a cactus with a rosary clasped between her hands. “Are you going to try and sell me on the art?”

  “Not tonight.”

  Alexi poked at the chicken enchiladas with his fork and narrowed his eyes. He took a bite, and his eyes lit up.

  She knew he’d like it. Lifting a fork, he held it out for her. Growing up in Texas, she’d eaten enchiladas a ton of times, but couldn’t refuse him. She opened her mouth and let him feed her. Yum. Cheesy.

  “Good job, boys. You earned your feed tonight,” Coach Ameen said.

  The boys did a combination of cheers, grunting, and food shoveling that made her want to move. Coach just nodded in approval. He made the rounds with the parents and stopped by Niko and Hope’s table behind them. Mia listened with half an ear as she bit into a salty tortilla chip. “Are you A’s family?”

  “Mia and Alexi’s,” Niko said.

  “Yeah. Well, I don’t know A’s plans, but he has a future in this if he wants one. He’s the right size and has speed. If it were last year, or last summer, I’d be putting him into other positions. But if he wants, we can look into spring training camps to have him considered for college ball.”

  Mia could tell from Alexi’s stillness that he was listening, too.

  “Thanks,” Niko said. “We’ll discuss it with him.”

  Coach rocked to the toe of his thick-soled sneakers and then back down. “So, they’re stepbrother and sister, not blood, right?” Coach had doubt in his voice.

  Hope gasped. “They are not related at all, step or otherwise.”

  “Good, good.” Coach Ameen sounded relieved as he walked to the next table to greet the family sitting there.

  Hope crumpled a tortilla chip in her hand. “Do you want him to play football?”

  “Whatever he wants,” Niko said. “I want him here with us.”

  Mia looked sideways at Alexi, but couldn’t discern how he leaned on either topic. Say something, Alexi, tell us you want to stay. He said nothing, just carved into his food using his knife and fork, European-style, like Niko.

  Willow and Maddie waved, indicating they were headed to the ladies’ room. Mia went with them. She washed her hands under the dimpled brass faucet, and then re-did her plum lipstick.

  Willow was at the sink beside her. She pumped out a double dollop of pink soap. The kind that all public restrooms had. Was the soap in mens rooms blue or was pink universal? “Your ‘brother’ did great tonight.” Willow made the compliment a dig.

  “He’s not my brother.” Mia kept her tones measured so she wouldn’t sound defensive.

  “I know.” Willow snickered, and the plum lipstick, which was as close to the school color as they were using on their lips, twisted. “You just live together.”

  Whatever. Mia zipped her purse and headed out.

  “Does he even want to play or did you push him into it? The way you pushed Lauren to switch to Honors Chem with you?”

  Lauren was handling Honors Chem with very little complaining. So what if Mia had pushed her into it? She looked out for her friends. Why was this Willow’s business? “Don’t worry about it.” Mia leaned into the dark wooden door and the square-molded panels dug into her back.

  “All the cheerleaders are expected to sit together, Mia. I don’t want to see this again.”

  Captain Willow was out in full force tonight. Mia left without responding. That was the best way to deal with Willow’s moods.

  ***

  Mia wore a cami top with PJ shorts. It was more covering than her swimsuit, so she figured why change? She knocked on Alexi’s door.

  “Come in.” Alexi was on his bed with his TV on. He clicked it off when he saw it was her. He shifted over, making room for her, and patted the mattress.

  She climbed up and sat cross-legged in front of him. “I feel bad.” Her hair swung forward, and she swung it over one shoulder. She couldn’t make her mouth curl up for anything. Guilt was one of the suckiest emotions out there.

  Alexi frowned. “What kind of bad?”

  The kind that was more guilt and confession than anything else. Mia touched the tip of her finger to his hand. “You were amazing at the game. I had so much fun watching you, but I didn’t mean to push you into it. Willow said something about me making you play, like a pushy parent. You give up so much to make other people happy. I should have remembered that and not pushed you.” Mia raised her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs.

  “How do you mean?”

  “You came to America so your dad would get a contract from your brother. You’re finishing your senior year here to make Niko happy. You’re only holding out on being painted by Hope, and I never even support you in that. Though honestly, I don’t want to. And now you’re on the football team, and I don’t think you planned to be.” She tried to convey sincere apology, her chin resting against her knees. She didn’t want to be someone who shoved other people into the mold she thought they should be in.

  “What have you seen me really do that I don’t want to do? Do I eat that horrible food?” Alexi rose straighter against his pillows.

  “No, but you keep buying it.” Her tone expressed her bewilderment, and her lips twisted. Every day he brought a lunch tray to their table.

  “Do I ride in your small car?”

  “I like the limo better, too.” Who wouldn’t?

  He rubbed his palms along the outside of her arms. “I don’t do things I don’t want to do.” Alexi felt warm and strong, comforting, and she could smell his skin. He wouldn’t wear cologne to bed, so it must be his shower gel. Mia breathed in, glad they had stopped at the kiosk that day. Thinking of the kiosk reminded her of her mistaken reasoning in comparing him to Kristnaldo. This made her think of their thinning lunch table crowd. He was right. He didn’t do things he didn’t want to do or talk to people he didn’t want to talk to. She sat back and met his eyes. “Oh.” Heat rose in her cheeks. How stupid. He didn’t join the football team because she wanted him to. He joined for his own reasons.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  She slid to the edge of the bed.

  The maid, Joellen, entered carrying a stack of cleaning. Joellen’s eyes widened when she saw Alexi and Mia together. “Sorry.” She turned away.

  Mia slipped off the bed. “It’s okay, I was just leaving. Night, Alexi, Night, Joellen.”

  ***

  Mia pushed Alex
i’s hand off the plastic lunch table seat before sliding into her spot beside him.

  “What if our rooms were off-limits to the servants unless we’re at school?”

  Mia popped open her lunch bag and dumped the contents on the table, flipping things over and lining them up. “What if they were?”

  “If I want a snack, I could ring for them. They could leave it on a table outside the rec room.”

  Or he could hike down to the kitchen and get it himself. He’d starve at her house. Mia rolled her eyes. “They could.” She pointed at Willow’s table. “Willow’s having a Halloween party. Want to go?” She jiggled the edge of his lunch tray. “We talked about this. You’re not supposed to buy school lunches anymore.”

  It was burger day. “They’re serving an American classic.” The meat had a gray tinge to it. Alexi shifted the top bun with caution. The orange square of cheese resting atop the patty didn’t seem to have any intention of melting. The edges of the orange square thinned out to a clear color, almost as if covered in plastic wrap. “I’ve never seen cheese like this.” He lifted the burger.

  Mia grabbed his wrist. Her fingers couldn’t wrap all the way around. “Don’t. There are some things you can’t come back from, some memories you don’t want.” Mia didn’t touch any part of the burger as she had advised him.

  “It doesn’t even have a smell. The whole cafeteria has a non-food smell today.” He set the burger carefully back on the tray and looked at her backpack expectantly.

  Mia withdrew the second lunch he’d known she packed. “The Halloween party?” Mia prompted him, holding the sack out of reach.

  Alexi nodded.

  Mia handed him the sack that he could have taken if he had wanted to. “Ham and cheese.”

  He arched his eyebrows.

  “Smoked ham. Gouda. Dijon mustard. Spinach.”

  “Thank you.” Alexi took things out of the bag with more care than she’d shown. “What will the Halloween party consist of?”

  Lauren slid into her spot at their table. “Costumes, candy, pumpkins…the usual.”