Page 78 of Summer Breakdown
Mali takes her phone out so fast. Jasmine knows she won’t post them anywhere without asking her. She really thinks she might have the best friends. “Getting a hug is much better than you getting my top,” Zach says.
“Marcel got yours, and I’ll share with him.”
“You did?” Zach asks, with a wide smile, and Marcel ducks down, but it’s too late. The blush is so evident.
“Yeah. And Ezra too.”
Ezra smiles. A true, wide, stupidly hot smile. “Two for two. Score.”
Jasmine smiles, and by the time the interaction has finished, Frankie is sitting next to her. Casually, like she’s pretending she’s been here the entire time.
“Hi.”
Jasmine hums. “Hi.”
“I have your tops in my office,” she says. “I washed them, but now I can only find five.”
“You did?” Jasmine asks, turning to look at her. Frankie taps her foot lightly.
“I know you don’t like factory on clothes, I thought you might want to wear them today, and they only came in last night.”
“Did you stay in the office late?”
Frankie shrugs. “No big deal.”
Jasmine’s chest blooms. Frankie didn’t need to do that. Lani won’t get sick, but Jasmine would have done it anyway.
“That’s really kind,” Jasmine replies. “Next time, you can call me. I’d stay with you.”
“You would?” Frankie asks.
“Well, I have two children, so I’d convince you to come over, but I would make you tea.”
Frankie laughs a little. “You should invite me, even though I lost one of the tops somehow.”
“We just got five,” she replies, and Frankie frowns, muttering to herself and counting on her fingers.
“Did you only get one?”
“Mm-hmm,” Jasmine replies. “Just yours.”
Frankie blushes, like Jasmine thought she would, and it makes her entire day better.
“I wanted to come and say hi,” Frankie says, “and I really was going to hug you. I thought about it the entire way from my office. And maybe all this morning too, but everyone is staring.”
Jasmine smiles, looking at her. “Why?”
Frankie sighs, crossing her arms over her chest and then letting them dangle instead. “They’re the worst. I don’t leave the office before a game.”
“Mali said,” Jasmine replies, uncrossing and then crossing her legs again in the hope it gets her closer to Frankie. It does. “Why not?”
Frankie shrugs. “Everyone has a game-day tradition, and I don’t, so I usually float around like a loser. My tradition became ‘don’t speak to me’ so no one knew I didn’t have one.”
“Oh, my girl,” Jasmine says, her voice low, because she’s right. Everyone is staring. Well, Ezra is looking at Cam, and Cam is running her thumb over his pec for the tenthtime. Mali and Zach are talking to Lani. Kai and Marcel are play-fighting. Everyone else is staring. Jasmine doesn’t really care about everyone else.
Frankie laughs lightly. “You’re supposed to tell me I’m not a loser. That I’m super cool and hilarious.”
“Tell me the last time I laughed,” Jasmine replies, and Frankie throws her head back with laughter. She’s ethereal. It’s like she’s part of a world that’s just out of reach, but Jasmine’s always liked reaching for the stars.
