“Keelan’s coming, right?” Sounds like a dumb question, but I’m nervous and he makes me feel better. We’re about to go climb a freaking water tower!
“Duh.” Her phone dings. “They’re here. Let’s go.” She unlocks her window, easily pushes it and the screen up, and then we’re climbing out. Jess lives practically next to the tennis courts. Cam’s truck is parked at the courts, so we have to jog over there to meet them.
I grin when I see the brothers leaning against the truck on the passenger side. One of these days, I need to let Octavia know how gentlemanly her boys are. She would be proud. The lights from the courts are bright enough that we can clearly see them and their grins. It looks like Keelan is in a better mood than before.
Jess wraps her arms around Cam’s neck and he leans down to kiss her while Keelan and I simply stand in front of one another.
“Hey,” he says, his grin widening.
“Hey.”
He opens the back door and punches Cam’s shoulder for him to open the passenger door for Jess. No telling how long we would’ve been here had we waited for them to finish. I climb into the truck. My skin breaks out in goosebumps when Keelan touches the back of my thigh before I can sit.
“Scoot to the middle, Hales.”
I do and he climbs in next to me. Once we’re all in and buckled, Cameron backs up and we’re on our way. The cab of the truck is dark. It’s heightening my nerves. Why am I more nervous around Keelan when other people are around? It doesn’t make sense! I gulp just as Keelan reaches over to take my hand, interlocking our fingers and leaving our hands in my lap.
“How was girls’ night?” he asks, his voice low.
“Fun. We painted our nails, listened to music, ate popcorn, and talked. Are you doing okay?”
He nods, squeezing my hand. As with most places in town, it doesn’t take long to reach our destination. However, we’ve parked down the street from the water tower because it’s in the little section deemed as town. With a deep breath, we get out and quietly move between buildings. Keelan holds my hand the entire time.
Which is how he jerks to a stop when I freeze in my tracks.
“The water tower is behind the police station!” I whisper vehemently when he turns toward me. They can’t seriously think I’m going to climb up that thing now. We’re practically begging to be caught.
“Hales, no one is there and there aren’t any cameras in the back. We’ve done this before. We’re fine.” He tugs on my hand. Cameron and Jess are already climbing up the ladder.
“Fine, but if we get—”
“We won’t,” he promises.
This is insane. Regardless, I follow Keelan. I am almost certain that boy can convince me to do anything. We’ve raced. We’ve snuck out. I’ve taken him into my bedroom when no one was home. To top it all off, I’m doing an illegal act right behind the dang police station!
“You first,” Keelan says, stepping behind me and releasing my hand as we stand in front of the ladder. It doesn’t go all the way to the ground. In fact, it’s above my head. If I lift my arms, I can wrap my fingers around the first rung. Keelan grips my waist. “I’ll help. Ready?”
“No, but go ahead.”
He chuckles, kisses my temple, and then lifts me, so I can grab a rung high enough up. He helps hold my weight so I can go higher until I can place my feet on the ladder as well. Keelan must be strong enough to pull himself up so his feet reach the lowest rung.
“Hurry up!” Jess yells down.
Goodness, she’s going to get us caught! As quickly as I can, I climb the ladder with Keelan right behind me. A gulp of fresh air fills me with relief when I make it to the top. Jess high-fives me.
“Fantastic view, right?” she sarcastically comments with a roll of her eyes.
“Yeah,” I whisper in awe. Maybe it doesn’t look like much to her, but I think it’s beautiful. There’s only one streetlight below us, and the forest is across from the station. That isn’t what steals my breath. The full moon easily illuminates the tall trees, allowing me to see the highest branches as they sway with the gentle breeze. Between that and the many stars twinkling in the sky, I’m positive this is the best decision I’ve made all year.
“Like it?” Keelan whispers.
I glance back to see him standing right behind me. “Yeah.”
Jess sits, her legs dangling over the edge of the platform and her forearms resting on one of the bars of the railing. I do the same about two feet away. Then, the boys sit down behind us. Resisting the shiver at the feel of Keelan’s legs on either side of mine, his chest pressed against my back, and his chin resting on my shoulder is nearly impossible to do, but somehow I manage.
“How many times have y’all been up here?” I ask.
“A ton,” Cameron answers.
“We were even up here one time when a cop stopped by the station,” Jess adds.
“What?” I whip my head toward her.
Keelan’s chest shakes as he laughs. “I think he forgot something, and he came back to get it. It was like three in the morning. I had started climbing down, so I had to stop and be still. He never even noticed us.”
I turn my head to look at him. “What happened to making sure I don’t get grounded? My mom will kill me if we get caught.”
“Good thing we don’t plan on getting caught,” he teases.
Rolling my eyes, I look out over the land again. It would so be worth my mom killing me over this. We’re quiet for a while. My lungs stop working when Keelan slips one finger underneath my shirt at my hip and just draws circles over and over in the same spot. If he keeps this up, I’m going to melt and slide right off the ledge.
Thirty minutes pass before Cameron stands, beckoning Jess to come with him.
“Y’all have fun. We’re going to the truck,” he says.
I don’t get a chance to speak before they are climbing down. Keelan shakes his head. “I’m surprised he lasted this long before dragging her down there to make out. Whenever you’re ready, let me know. I can promise it’ll be up to us to decide when to leave or we won’t until daylight.”
Watching them climb down, I say, “Cameron surprises me.”
“How?”
“Jess said he likes to gossip, and he obviously doesn’t mind showing how much he wants to be with her.”
“Cam has been crazy about Jess since the day he met her. She didn’t pay him much any attention until high school though. He’s the way he is because we learned to cherish the people we have in our lives, and trust me, Jess knows exactly what she means to him.”
They’ve reached the bottom and it almost looks as if Cam is dragging Jess.
“Do you think it’s because of y’all were in foster care? Does he remember his birth parents?”
“No, and we don’t know anything about them. Cam was dropped off at a hospital when he was about four months old. He doesn’t know his real name or the exact day of his birthday.”
“Wow,” I whisper. I can’t imagine what their lives must have been like before Octavia and John adopted him.
“I think it bothers him a lot. Babies are usually easier to find homes and families for than the older kids, but he wasn’t adopted until he was six. The system was all he knew until Mom and Dad adopted us. I ain’t gonna to lie. I wish it were his mom coming into our lives instead of mine. He’s always been curious about them, so I know he’d be more eager than I have been.”
“Yeah, well, they aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be,” I mutter, thinking of my dad.
“Doesn’t matter. Cam loves our lives as much as I do, but he wants answers.”
“Do you think he’ll ever get them?”
I feel his shoulder shrug. “I don’t know.”
We fall into silence, but only briefly before I ask another question. “What made y’all climb up here in the first place?”
“Cameron was trying to impress Jess. It worked.”
I laugh. “What are you going to do to impress m
e?”
“I’ve already impressed you. I took you to Mrs. Elsie’s, took you racing, and have been awesome in general.” He moves my hair to one shoulder and kisses my now bare neck. “Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, except for one little detail.” I struggle to breathe when he presses yet another kiss on the sensitive skin.
“Which is?” he drawls.
“Three letters. U. V. A.”
Keelan bursts out laughing. “Fair enough.”
Eventually, we stand to make our way down the ladder to interrupt Jess’s and Cameron’s make out session.
“Are you happy we crashed girls’ night?” Keelan asks, and I nod. He grins, dipping his head to press his forehead against mine as my heart begins stammering in my chest, skipping beats like crazy. I’m hit with another wave of his cologne and goodness gracious, he smells like a piece of heaven. “Would you be impressed if I kissed you at the top of the water tower?”
“Maybe,” I answer noncommittally. I even shrug my shoulder. I already know I wouldn’t be impressed. Nope. Only that much more smitten.
Keelan presses his lips to mine, hard and long, before pulling away with a raised brow. I shake my head to let him know I’m not impressed, but my playful smile gives me away. Keelan grips my hips. He takes one step closer to stand flush against my body. He kisses me again. This time, we part our mouths and he does this tortuously delicious slow dance between our tongues.
I thought that our kisses so far couldn’t get any better, but that obviously isn’t true. He could probably perform magical healing powers with a mouth like his. He could kiss me stupid. Heck, his mere presence does that. Hello, I’m on a water tower behind the police station. Keelan makes me insane. I want to fall apart in bliss from his touch. I want do things like running my hands over his body to feel the muscles I know are there. I want to sigh happily because he’s just that good. For the first time ever, I want a little more. My body is on fire with heat, tingles, and an overwhelming urge to do something about it.
Thankfully and regretfully, he pulls away at the exact moment my hands are about to start tentatively exploring his chest.
“Well?”
“Mhm,” I hum.
He cracks that beautiful smile at me, and then leads me to the ladder.
I have to say, girls’ night turned out pretty great.
Mom’s car isn’t in the driveway and Walter is vacuuming the living room when I walk into the house. He turns off the machine and smiles.
“How was the sleepover?”
“Good. I’m going to put my things away.”
I escape to my room, fall onto my bed, and pick up my latest read. It’s around noon, and Keelan isn’t coming to pick me up until around four. An hour passes before I crave something to munch on. Mom still isn’t home; she probably ran to the nearby legit town to grocery shop, and Walter seems to be hungry as well, because he’s standing in front of the fridge, staring at the contents.
“Anything good in there?”
He glances over his shoulder at the sound of my voice. I go to stand next to him. “Nope. I was thinking about those burgers from Elsie’s. Do you want to go with me?” he asks, closing the door to the fridge.
A burger from Elsie’s does sound good. I hesitate only for a moment. I’m supposed to be giving him a chance. “Sure. Let me get my phone.”
I quickly go to my room, slip on a pair of flip-flops, grab my phone, and then meet Walter by the front door. On the drive, I notice the tree limbs and leaves are flopping around like a rag doll from the insane winds. When we arrive at a busy Elsie’s, my hair stings my face as it flies around. Walter opens the door for me and I thank him for it.
“Looks like we’ll have to take the counter,” he says.
All the booths are taken. I follow him to two empty seats. Mrs. Elsie is busy with a large table, so we get another waitress. She’s young and looks familiar. Maybe she goes to my school. After we’ve placed our orders, Walter angles toward me a bit.
“How’s school? Do you still like it?”
“Yeah, and my teachers all seem to be nice, too. Well, my math teacher, Mrs. Phillips, is kind of boring, but she explains the material well most of the time.”
“That’s good. What’s on your agenda this weekend? I think your mom is hoping we can all go out to dinner tomorrow.”
The waitress drops off our drinks. “Oh, well, I’m seeing Keelan this afternoon, and I was invited to a birthday party tomorrow. Do you think Mom will still let me go? I already told him I would go.”
“She might.” He takes a sip of his water. “What are you and Keelan going to do?”
“He’s going to teach me how to drive a stick shift.”
“Really? That’s great. I’ve always thought it’s important for everyone to know how to drive a stick, just in case. You never know when you might need to know how. Was that Mustang his or his parents’?” he asks.
“It’s his. His dad gave it to him when he turned sixteen.”
Walter gives a low whistle. “I wish my dad had given me a car like that when I was a kid.” He pauses as the waitress drops off our burgers. “So, is he your boyfriend?”
Thankfully, I’ve bought myself some time because I just took a bite. I shrug. “We’ve been hanging out some, yeah. He’s a good guy.”
“Do you like him?”
“Walter,” I groan, making him laugh.
“Okay, okay. I won’t ask again. What about this party tomorrow? Another guy invited you?”
“Yeah. Seth is a friend from one of my classes. He’s cool, too. He’s having a pool party, which should be fun.”
Walter’s phone rings. “One second, it’s your mom.” He slides his finger across the screen. “Hey, shug.” There’s a pause. “I’m at Elsie’s with Haley.” He laughs. “Yeah, your Haley. Do you want to meet us here?” He listens to what she says. “No, we just now got our burgers,” he lies. “You’ll be fine. C’mon. Okay. See you in a few.”
“Walter, you have like two bites left,” I point out. I, on the other hand, still have half of mine to go.
He looks down at his plate. “I’ll tell her I was starving and couldn’t wait. Eat slower for me, will ya?”
I laugh and nod, deciding to focus more on my neglected fries.
“Can I bring up something before your mom gets here without making you angry?”
“Sure.” Maybe. It has to be about my dad. He’s the main reason I get mad nowadays.
“Now, you don’t have to, of course, but when you were talking to Rita about your dad texting you, you said you didn’t feel right about talking to her about it. I get that. It’s why I want to let you know you can talk to me. It would probably be weird, I know, but it’s better than no one, and I wouldn’t tell Rita unless you let me know it’s okay. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”
I dip my fry into ketchup, mulling over what he said. I guess it’s nice of him to make the offer, but I don’t know if I would be comfortable talking to him about it either. Who would be the best of the worse? Walter or Mom? “Thanks,” I tell him with a small smile.
“Your mom can handle it, by the way.”
“I know, but I still feel bad about how things have been lately.”
He doesn’t get a chance to reply before we hear Mom’s voice.
“Oh, if it isn’t two of my favorite people.” She kisses Walter and then takes the empty seat next to me. She frowns when she sees Walter’s plate.
“I was starving,” he answers before she can ask.
The waitress comes by and Mom orders a burger as well. She goes on and on about her cart rage at the grocery store, how little kids were running rampant, and how she is tempted never to go grocery shopping on a Saturday again. Her trip was worth it though because before the disaster trip, she found a cute new blouse that was “absolutely perfect.” Conversation isn’t so bad, but I worry about not being about to go to Seth’s party when she brings up her plans for us.
“Haley, I was thinkin
g we could go into town for dinner tomorrow.” There’s a hopeful look on her face, as if she’s slightly worried I’ll throw a tantrum and refuse to go.
“I was invited to a birthday party, and I’d really like to go to that.”
“Whose party?”
“His name is Seth. A lot of my friends will be there,” I add. “It’s at his house, so his parents will be there too.” Having his parents in attendance has to give me some leeway. There’s no reason for her to say no, except she wants this dinner.
“Okay. We’ll just do lunch then,” she replies decisively.
I’m not sure if I was hoping to get out of it or not, but it doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.
“What are you doing today?” she adds.
“Keelan,” Walter sings his name, “is teaching her how to drive a stick shift.”
Again, I groan. “Stop it, Walter. I told you we’re just friends.”
He laughs and Mom seems perplexed by our behavior. I’m kind of perplexed myself. Walter has surprised me. He seems pretty easy to get along with, like a generally nice guy. I definitely feel like he’s in my corner because he keeps pointing out how he’s here for me. My obvious next step is to get my relationship with Mom back to normal.
It’s hard though.
We were never really that close. I was closer to Dad than her. Mom was always the one who would discipline me while Dad would sometimes try to get me out of her punishment. Mom always had to know every little detail when I left the house, which is why I’m surprised she hasn’t asked a bazillion questions about Seth’s party. Maybe Walter is making her more laid back somehow. Either way, it felt like Mom was always the parent. Dad was my best friend.
“I think he’s cute,” Mom says, bringing me back to the conversation.
“Keelan?” She nods. “Oh, yeah. He’s cute,” I agree, although cute seems inadequate.
“What’s his family like?” And there’s the start of her questions.
Instead of getting annoyed, I take a deep breath and start talking about my new favorite subject: Keelan and his family.
Bending Under Pressure Page 10
