“Yup. Born and raised. I moved here the summer before freshman year.”
“I bet California was a huge change.”
“You have no idea. I’m used to it now and I love being so close to the beach, but I miss the wide-open space. And the barbecue. God, I miss the barbecue.”
“Why did you move?”
“My dad took a new job out here. He wanted to live someplace different. Plus, we have family ’round here.”
“But you didn’t want to go?” she asked. She was pretty sure she knew the answer.
He gave a short bark of laughter. “No, I sure as hell didn’t. I wanted to stay, but after Gramps passed, the farm went to my dad. He didn’t want to pay for the upkeep so he sold. Gramps promised it would be passed down to me. It was my inheritance. My dad had no right to sell.” Anger infused his words. “He said the taxes were too expensive. But you know what? He didn’t even try to come up with the money.”
“I’m sorry,” Keeley said, not knowing what else to say.
“I didn’t mean to go off like that. I —”
“It’s okay. I’d be upset, too.” Was this why’d he called her?
“Yeah.” The one word said it all. “Ma wanted to stay, too, but once Dad gets an idea in his head, he won’t budge.”
“Your mom is hilarious.”
He groaned. “You don’t have to live with her. I love her. It’s just that she’s a little …”
“Over the top?” She suppressed the urge to yawn and hopped on the sink’s counter, resting her back against the medicine cabinet.
“She still makes me school lunches. She even has a rotation of lunch boxes. You know, those square metal ones with the handles? Yeah, she uses those. Puts little notes inside with a juice box and a PB&J in the shape of a dinosaur. Won’t stop doing it. So I eat the sandwich on my way home from school so she doesn’t find out the box never leaves my car.”
It was sweet he didn’t throw the sandwich away. “So do you plan on going back to Texas?”
“I’m hoping after college I can move back permanently. But you never know. Life’s weird like that.”
Her eyelids were getting heavy, and a jaw-popping yawn escaped. “I better go.”
Her yawn set off his own. “Yeah, me too.”
She slid off the counter and said good night. Before she could hang up, he called out, “Hey, Keeley?”
“Yeah?”
His voice suddenly became rough. “I ... uh … thanks.”
“Did it help?”
“Yeah.”
A rush of satisfaction warmed her. Then she said a first for them. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She could almost hear the smile in his voice. “Tomorrow.”
Keeley was sweating as she drove to Java Hut. She turned up the air-conditioning but nothing helped. God, she thought, I’m a wreck. She wiped her palms on the steering wheel and ordered herself to calm down. After parking the car, she grabbed a tissue from her purse and dabbed her face and underarms. She could just drop the phone off at the front counter. Have an employee give the phone to Talon and keep hers until she could pick it up some other day. Except that would be pathetic, she told herself. Gathering what little courage she had, Keeley took a deep breath and went inside.
She fiddled with the ends of her shoulder-length hair, pulling and twisting as she scouted the area, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t here. Needing something to do, she walked up to the counter. “A small iced coffee, please.” She handed the employee her card and waited while he rung her up.
“They’ll call your name when it’s ready,” he said.
Keeley grabbed an open seat. She checked the phone, but no text. She didn’t want to seem like a loser, so she played a car racing game on his phone. It was pretty good. She’d have to tell Zach about it. Then, there it was:
I’m here.
A tall, blond boy was coming through the door. Even from a distance, Keeley could tell he was an athlete. He turned around, like he was looking for someone. He had high cheekbones, a strong jaw line and full lips. Almost perfect, except for a slight bend in his nose, like it had been broken.
“Keeley! Your order is up!” a voice cried out from behind the counter.
At the sound of her name, Talon snapped his head around. His eyes tracked her to the counter, where she picked up her drink. Feeling self-conscious, she lingered, taking an inordinate amount of time to add a straw, pretending she didn’t see him.
“Hello, baby doll.”
She’d recognize that voice anywhere. Deep tones with a slight drawl. Bracing herself, she turned around. His eyes were absolutely stunning. A vivid, cobalt blue that shimmered in the light.
He broke out in a grin. “You’re not what I expected.”
A customer bumped into her as he tried to reach the counter. Talon took hold of her arm and moved her to the side. “Let’s get out of the way. Where’s your table?” For some reason, her mouth wasn’t working, but it didn’t matter. He was so tall, he could easily see over the crowd. “Never mind. I see it,” he said, pulling her along to the table against the window. It gave a perfect view of the beach and the pier jutting out into the water.
She wasn’t usually this awkward. Moving to take a sip from her drink, she completely missed the straw. Talk about cringeworthy. And she wished she’d taken more time with her appearance. Her jeans and top were nothing special and she wore no makeup. It was a deliberate choice. One to remind both of them that this was no big deal. Just like any other day. But being here, looking in his eyes … it didn’t feel normal at all.
“I thought you were going to be more the girl-next-door type. Not so …” She frowned, and he didn’t finish his sentence. A slow smile reached his eyes. “I like it. You can stop looking like you want to punch me.”
He leaned back in his chair and sprawled out his legs like she’d seen her brother do a million times. It always bothered her with Zach because he ate up all the free space, but it was different with Talon.
“No response? That’s not like you,” he said.
It wasn’t. But she was speechless.
He reached over the table. “Thanks for getting this for me. You’re a peach.” Ignoring her confused look, he grabbed her drink and took a long sip. He added a satisfied sound at the end with an exaggerated wink.
It was the wink that jolted Keeley back. “Listen, Talon,” she began, fingers drumming against the table. “Not everything revolves around you. You can’t just —”
“There you are,” he interrupted, his knee grazing hers. “I was wondering if I had the right girl, but I guess I just need to make you mad.”
Keeley jerked her knee away. “You are so … so …”
“So wonderful? Majestic?” He lifted the cup till the straw was touching her bottom lip. “You want a sip?”
She pushed the cup away. “I was going to say infuriating.”
“But it got you talking.”
He didn’t get it. That girl on the phone wasn’t who she was, but who she wanted to be. How could she explain that to him without sounding crazy?