“I’m another key character.” Jasper’s long-suffering expression said I couldn’t possibly understand the intricacies of this cosplay stuff. Whatever. I was known for being a good sport. Like, I let myself get talked into a costume every Halloween. Some even had masks, which I wasn’t a fan of. At least this wasn’t likely to involve fake blood, which my notoriously weak stomach hated.

“Gotcha. So which one are you?”

“I’m the Frog Wizard. The kids love it.” Jasper’s little smile was far too appealing and far too short-lived. “And at the risk of feeding your already massive ego, no one would buy me as the prince. You’ll be perfect.”

“My ego is not that big!” I felt honor bound to protest. Also, I sure hadn’t felt like all that in months and months. Being needed for something, even something silly like this, was…different. Maybe even nice.

“Yes, it is. Your opinion of yourself has always been more than healthy.” Jasper had the audacity to roll his eyes at me. I didn’t see what self-esteem had to do with being a prince unless…

“You saying the prince is a hot dude?” I mulled this over in my head. Yeah, maybe I wasn’t bad looking, but I never knew what to do when people pointed that out. Pretty boy. I had to shove George’s voice the hell out of my head, making myself focus only on Jasper. “Like, he works out?”

I wasn’t that much taller than Jasper, but I was more built. And Jasper wasn’t bad looking for a skinny guy. If you were into red hair and freckles and… Yeah. Not going there. I didn’t see how muscles made the prince, but maybe the guy was simply that ripped. I resolved to do a few more arm curls before Wednesday.

“Yeah. The prince pumps iron.” Another dismissive eye roll from Jasper as he picked up his backpack. “You can Google him. I’ll have your toga Wednesday. See you then.”

“Wait. Toga?” He hadn’t mentioned a toga. I’d been picturing some sort of velvet robe, not a sheet.

“You backing out?” Jasper raised an eyebrow, all but calling me a chicken.

“No!” Maybe. God, I really hoped not. I still needed his help in the worst way. “How much skin are we talking about?”

“It’s kids, Milo. Chill. All your essential bits are covered. You might be a little cold, but you’re not risking an indecent-exposure citation.”

“Good.” Last thing I needed was another citation of any kind, but I sure as hell wasn’t telling Jasper that. “I can deal. See you Wednesday.”

“See you.” Something about Jasper’s tone told me he was expecting me to bail on him. But I wouldn’t. Bring on the toga. Whatever it took to replace Bruno’s cards.