Free Signs Point to Yes by Sandy Hall Page B

him.
    â€œI hate myself sometimes,” she said.
    â€œDo over?” Teo offered.
    â€œDo over.” Jane held up her hand, and this time Teo fist-bumped her palm.
    â€œThanks for that,” she said.
    He winked dramatically and then went to rummage in the fridge.
    â€œShe took a lot of food for me,” Teo said, surveying the plate that was piled high with various salads and three different kinds of meat.
    â€œI think she might be trying to fatten you up.”
    He patted his abs. “Probably.”
    After about an hour of eating the block-party leftovers and more than their fair share of pie, Jane and Teo decided it was probably time to rejoin their neighbors.
    â€œAre you going to the fireworks?” Teo asked as they exited his house.
    â€œHonestly? I’m tired of basically everyone. I think I’ve had enough togetherness for one day. I had been planning to go inside and watch the Macy’s fireworks on TV.”
    â€œAre you tired of me, too?” Teo asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Jane from the corner of his eye.
    â€œWell, no. You don’t count.”
    â€œThen what if we watched them from your roof? I bet we’d have a sweet view from up there.”
    Jane glanced at her roof and then back at Teo.
    â€œSeriously?”
    â€œSure. I don’t really feel like going down with my family, but I don’t really feel like sitting around by myself, either.”
    â€œEspecially with your shadow Ravi out of the country,” Jane said, a teasing lilt to her voice.
    â€œExactly,” Teo said, playing along.
    When their parents left for the fireworks, Teo begged off by saying he was tired, and Jane said she would keep him company. It was that easy.
    â€œNow we have to get onto the roof without killing ourselves, and we’re golden,” Jane said as they walked up her front steps.
    â€œJane, even if you fell, there’s no way you would die. You might break your legs, but you would survive.”
    â€œNot helping,” Jane said.
    â€œYour house is exactly the same,” Teo said as they entered her front door.
    â€œMy parents painted. And put in new carpeting.”
    Teo shrugged. “It looks nice. I like it more than what my mom and Buck did to our house,” he muttered as they walked up the stairs. Jane mentally took stock of how her bedroom looked at that moment and hoped that she’d at least made her bed that morning.
    â€œI think your house looks awesome. Like something from a magazine.”
    â€œYeah, but is that really a good thing? It has no character. It’s cookie cutter.”
    Jane giggled. “I think you’ve been watching too many episodes of House Hunters .”
    â€œMaybe I have,” he said with a grin.
    She peeked into her room before letting Teo in and let out a sigh of relief when she realized it wasn’t a total disaster.
    â€œHow are things with Buck?” Jane asked as they climbed out her bedroom window and then settled on the roof with their backs against a dormer.
    â€œWhat do you mean?” Teo asked, tensing up a little.
    â€œI don’t know. It’s weird because you guys seem to get along, but sometimes he’s like…” Jane paused, searching for the right word. “Just trying way too hard. Like a brand new teacher who’s just got out of college and wants to talk about how he was a big football hero a couple years ago.”
    Teo threw his head back and laughed. “Wow. You totally nailed it. He’s really weird around me, right?”
    â€œOh, totally. I think he really wants to be bros with you.”
    â€œGross. I don’t want to be bros with Buck.”
    â€œBut think about it. Like, when he tries to talk to you about baseball or lifting weights. Or the other morning when he tried to bond with you over the supermodel on the Today show.”
    â€œYou’re so right. I never put it into those words before, but that’s totally