Talon pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. Then another at her temple. Her breathing grew unsteady when he nuzzled her cheek. He shifted closer, and she shivered despite the heat of his body. In perfect unison, almost as if they planned it, he dipped his head down while she angled upward. Their lips touched.
It was a moment of admission. Her feelings on full display. She felt scared, unsure, but he accepted what she had to give and returned it with just as much feeling. He pulled away first, his breathing as rough as hers. Her eyes traced the contours of his mouth. He had been a stranger, but now he was so much more. She felt like she knew him better than anyone else.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” he told her.
“Me too.”
He kissed her again.
“Next stop, Main Street. Main Street, next stop,” an electronic voice announced over the train’s intercom.
“Home, sweet home,” Keeley declared. She glanced at Talon, who was still passed out in the seat next to her. “Talon. Wake up,” she sang in his ear. She was surprisingly energetic even though she stayed up for hours playing video games with some of the girls in the dorm. If this was what college was like, she could get used to it.
“Go away,” he mumbled.
“Talon,” she said again, this time louder. When he still didn’t move, she nudged his side with her elbow. “You sleep like the dead.”
“If I was dead, would you leave me alone?”
“You have to get up or we’ll miss our stop.”
He gave a long stretch just as the train came to a halt. They grabbed their bags from the overhead compartment and stepped onto the platform. “Do you need a ride home?” he asked, digging into his backpack for his car keys.
“My brother is picking me up.”
“Zach?” Talon asked. He looked wide-awake now.
“He should be here. I texted him what time the train arrived.”
Suddenly Talon grabbed Keeley’s shoulders with both hands, forcing her to look at him. “Keeley ... I-I …” he faltered and rubbed a hand over his face. “Damn it. Okay, listen, I …” he trailed off, looking slightly uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong with you? It’s not like you’re meeting my parents or anything.”
“Keeley —”
Her eyes lit up as she saw her brother. She waved her hand in the air, trying to gain his attention. “Zach!” she shouted.
Zach gave her a chin nod and headed toward them.
“Keeley,” Talon said urgently, shaking her shoulders. “Listen to me. I have to tell you something —”
“Hey, Keels,” Zach greeted her, while approaching them.
Talon’s eyes closed for a brief second, his face a mixture of resignation and dread.
“Talon, I want you to meet my brother, Zach. Zach, this is —”
“JT,” Zach said, finishing her sentence. “What the hell are you doing with my sister?”
“JT?” All the blood drained out of her face. It had to be a mistake. He couldn’t be JT. He would have mentioned it during one of their talks.
Wouldn’t he?
Doubt started to creep in.
“Baby doll,” he whispered softly, the words barely audible.
“What the hell is going on here, Keels?” Zach demanded to know.
She ignored her twin, keeping her eyes locked with the boy standing before her. “You’re JT?”
Talon’s face contorted. “Keeley —”
“You’re the varsity quarterback of Crosswell?” The look on his face said it all. She had trusted him. She had confessed to things not even her best friend knew.
“Keeley, wait. Let me explain.” Talon reached out to grab her hands, but she stuffed them in her pockets. “What I told you yesterday about waiting till after the trip to explain everything. I —”
Zach swung his gaze to her. “You went to Barnett with him? How could you do that?”
Keeley didn’t appreciate the criticism in his tone. She wasn’t a child who needed scolding.
Talon stepped between them. “Back off, Brewer. This is between me and Keeley.”
Zach’s nostrils flared. “There is no you and Keeley.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Talon shot back.
Did he really think they could pick up where they left off, even though he lied to her?
“What is that supposed to mean, Harrington?” Zach growled.
“Exactly what you think it means,” Talon countered, his expression turning smug.
Zach took a threatening step toward him. “You better not have laid a hand on her!”
Why were they talking as if she wasn’t there?
Talon straightened his shoulders, drawing himself up to full height. “I only did what she wanted me to do,” he taunted.
Not only had he lied about his identity, but now he was lying about their relationship. Making it seem like more than it really was — they’d only kissed — but also, somehow less than it really was, too. Keeley’s self-control snapped. “Excuse me?” she interrupted, her voice low and calm, belying her fury.
Talon’s face paled when he realized what he had implied. “That came out wrong. I didn’t mean it like that. You know I didn’t.”
“I don’t know what you meant, JT. And a piece of advice? Acting like a dick won’t make yours any bigger.” She’d had enough. “Let’s go, Zach.”
“Baby doll, listen to me.”
That nickname. It hurt so badly she had to close her eyes.
“It’s not what you think. I wasn’t playing you. It was real. It IS real.”
She needed to go before she broke down.
“So, you’re just going to leave?” he called when she started walking. “I never took you for a quitter.”
“And I never took you for a liar. Guess we both don’t know each other as well as we thought.”
She got into the car. Her brother sat in the driver’s seat, his hands gripping the wheel. His face was a mixture of anger and betrayal. “Do you want to tell me what the hell that was about? Why were you with him? And how do you even know him?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She wanted to go home and forget the whole incident. Forget she ever met him.
“Are you dating him?” he persisted.
“Drop it, Zach.”
“Well, are you? I think I have a right to know.”
Couldn’t he see she was at her breaking point? “I’m not dating him. Now, can you just shut up and drive?!”
“What’s your problem?” Zach asked incredulously.
“My problem?” Keeley repeated in a low tone. “My problem is that I don’t want to talk. My problem is that I just want to go home.” Her voice cracked on the last word, surprising both of them.
There was an awkward silence as Zach fumbled around looking for his car keys. “Um …” he mumbled, refusing to look at her, “have you seen —”
“The keys are in the ignition,” Keeley said in a wooden voice.