“Intense,” said Millie, her expression entirely coquettish.
“It was either that or the Angel-makers,” Luca added. His humor was so deadpan, sometimes I didn’t know if he was funny or just insane.
“Stop it.” Nic punched Luca in the arm with an audible thump, but his brother didn’t flinch. If I had received that hit I would have been on the ground screaming for my mother.
“Calmati! I think I’d better defuse this,” Hair Gel cut in, moving easily from one language to the next, just like Nic and Luca did. It was hard to tell which was their real accent — American or Italian. Hair Gel leaned over to shake our hands, holding Millie’s a little longer than mine and, I noticed, stroking his thumb over hers. Maybe Millie had finally met her flirting match. “I’m Dominico. You can call me Dom, though.”
Millie broke into the creepiest giggle I’ve ever heard. “I’m Millie. This is Sophie. Welcome to the neighborhood.”
Welcome to the neighborhood? I’d have to tease her about that later. Maybe she could stop by his house with a basket of muffins.
“Thank you. Do you work at the diner as well, Millie?” Dom lingered over her name like it was a beautiful flower. His charm offensive was almost as powerful as Nic’s, but his eyes were darker, his expression intense. I studied his scar as he moved away from me, beginning his own hushed conversation with Millie.
I felt Nic’s attention on me again. “Good luck today,” he offered earnestly.
“Thanks, you too.” There were other things I wanted to say to him, but with Luca and Ponytail watching us I could barely utter a word without feeling self-conscious.
“We don’t need luck,” Luca interrupted, prompting another exasperated thump from Nic.
“Luca,” Ponytail whined. His voice was abnormally high and not unlike Marge Simpson’s, and for a terrifying moment I thought I was going to laugh in his face. He frowned, and his eyebrows bled into one fuzzy caterpillar above coffee-colored eyes. “Can we just go register?”
“Yeah, let’s go, Gino. We shouldn’t be fraternizing with our competition anyway.” Luca elbowed Nic as he retreated. “Andiamo, Loverboy.”
“I should probably go get ready,” Nic offered apologetically. “Wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of our wonderful dictator.”
“Same here,” I said, but both of us still lingered. “Where’s the rest of your team anyway? Don’t you have a fifth player?”
He shook his head with more casualness than I was expecting. I was hoping he’d mention the fifth brother, at least give me a clue as to why he hadn’t come or even that he did, in fact, exist, and I hadn’t imagined a creepy ghost boy at the window that first night. “We’re a foursome.”
“So you’re at a disadvantage,” I noted. “That’s a risky move.”
Nic did something with his eyes that made the flecks of gold inside them glisten. I wasn’t sure if it was a secret superpower or the effect of the sun, but it was damn effective. And a little jarring, though I still couldn’t figure out why.
“You’re welcome to be our number five,” he whispered conspiratorially. “I promise I’ll keep Luca away from you.”
I bit my lip to keep my smile from bordering on disturbing. “I’m not sure Millie would ever forgive me if I jumped ship.”
“Ah, I see.” He feigned the look of a puppy that had just been kicked. “You’re too noble for that.”
“And surely you’re too honorable to steal me from her.”
“No, I’m not.”
I felt a blush rise in my cheeks. “Well, I’ll have to be honorable enough for both of us, then. Besides,” I added, trying to justify my refusal to myself, “we’re up in a minute, and we’ve already missed our strategy session. I don’t want to annoy the rest of my team any more than I already have.”
“Where are they?”
I gestured behind me at Alex and the rest of the yellow vests, who were in the middle of an intense set of jumping jacks.
Nic’s smile faded. “That blond guy?”
“That’s Millie’s brother and two of his friends. I think she bribed them into letting us on their team.”
Nic studied Alex and the others as they started to bend themselves into elaborate stretches. “I’m sure the bribe wasn’t necessary.”
“Soph.” Millie was back and tugging on my arm. “We gotta go. Our game is about to start.”
Dom had stepped away from her and I caught a glimpse of his scar again. Though he couldn’t have been much older than us, something about it aged him, made him other than what he appeared. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. He caught me watching him and smirked, his expression suddenly wolfish.
I looked away, embarrassed.
“See you guys on the court!” Millie pulled me with her, wiggling her butt a lot more than she usually did as she walked.
When I waved at Nic he was still staring at Alex. He didn’t wave back.
*
We won our first game in time to watch the Crimson Falcons play Saved by the Balls on the opposite court. The Priestly brothers were fascinating to watch; even Alex, who had expressed a deliberate disinterest in them since their arrival, was glued to the game. Nic and Dom were the most obviously athletic, whipping up the court in flashes of red. They scored most of their baskets, only occasionally deferring to Gino, who seemed to be more adept at intimidating the other players than actually playing against them. Maybe it was the ponytail.