Keeley sighed, too. Okay, she had messed up. But she just wanted to make things better now. “I guess I got so caught up in Talon I didn’t realize how much I was ignoring you.”
That was all it took for Nicky to admit her own mistakes. “I guess I was the same way this summer. There was so much going on with the classes, and when those college kids wanted to hang out with me, I felt so special. I didn’t want to share. But once class was over, they pretty much forgot about me, and then you were constantly with Talon and I … I …”
“You what?”
“I needed my friend.”
All other emotions fled except concern. “What’s wrong?”
“All my hard work at school might not even pay off,” Nicky said. “My mom says money’s real tight right now. Basically the only way we can afford college is if I get a full-ride scholarship.”
“Oh, Nicky …” She knew how much college meant to her.
“I know. It sucks so much. I’ve been working my butt off for nothing.”
“That’s not true. You have the grades. You can get a full ride.”
“But probably not to the schools I want.”
Keeley knew Nicky had it all mapped out: a good pre-med program and then right on to medical school. Her plan would crumble if she didn’t build a strong foundation. Maybe that was even worse than having no plan at all. “Listen, why don’t we go back to the table and you can vent all you want? We can order our usual.”
“What about Talon?”
“He wanted to give us time together, so he left.”
Nicky was skeptical. “Just like that?”
“Just like that. I know you don’t like him, but can you try and get along? You’re my best friend, my other half. It’s important to me. Please?”
Nicky made a disgruntled noise. “Especially because your actual twin doesn’t get along with him either.”
She winced. So they had plenty of roadblocks. But they could get through them. She had faith. “I’ll get on my knees and beg if I have to.”
Nicky wound her arm through Keeley’s and locked elbows. She pulled her to the door. “No need to beg. You can buy me a cupcake instead.”
“Of course. One cupcake coming up.”
“He was an ass. Better make it two.”
Keeley bumped Nicky’s shoulder in thanks.
Keeley wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead, then took another long gulp of water. Traipsing around the state park was much easier at night when the sun wasn’t beating down. Her head whipped around when Talon slammed his phone on the picnic table. Lowering her water bottle, she asked, “You okay?” He’d been texting ever since they’d hiked back down the mountain after finding a cache hidden near one of the lakes.
“It’s my dad again. He turns into this crazy person during football season. I hate it.” Talon didn’t speak of his dad that often. Keeley got the feeling they fought a lot. “He couldn’t care less what I do in the off-season, but football time rolls around and suddenly he’s dictating my every move.”
“Why does he care about football so much?”
“I don’t know. I think it’s some sort of status thing. Growing up on the farm, my dad didn’t have a lot of money, but he played football and it opened a lot of doors for him. Got him a scholarship to college. I think he assumes it’s the only way I’ll succeed. Which is insulting. I’m not a stupid jock. My grades are high.”
Keeley wondered if Talon even liked football or if he played because his dad wanted him to. “Are you going to play in college?”
“If I didn’t, my dad would have a heart attack. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing. I just wish he would let me do it without the constant criticism.”
“Zach would trade places with you in a heartbeat. My family isn’t big on football. We go to all his games, but we’re not die-hard fans.” Keeley knew the basics, but couldn’t talk anything beyond, like strategy.
“My entire family is — all my uncles, aunts, cousins. One of my girl cousins, Linda, played in high school.”
“That’s badass.” And incredibly brave. “I wish I had the guts to do something like that.”
“You can. Although maybe not sports. I’ve seen you run,” he teased.
“It’s not even about sports. I don’t think I can get out there and make a big statement like your cousin.”
“Who said it has to be big? The only thing that counts is if it’s important to you, or at least that’s what my gramps told me.” Talon’s stomach let out a growl. “I’m hungry. Do you have time to grab dinner before I have to take you home?”
Keeley glanced at the clock on his phone. “I have time.”
He grabbed the empty water bottles scattered on the table. “Let me throw these away and then we can go.”
She picked up his car keys and phone. “I’ll get the air-conditioning started.”
As she unlocked the truck, his phone beeped. It did it again. Then again. Must be texts from his dad. She went to turn it to silent but more texts popped up on the screen, from two guys named Mitch and Finn.
Mitch: You’ll never believe who we saw at the store. CLAIRE.
Whoever that was.
Finn: Completely ignored us. Don’t know why you were so hung up on her.
Mitch: Think she moved back?
Finn: Who cares? An ex should stay an ex.
An ex? She hadn’t realized Talon had an ex-girlfriend.
When Talon hopped in, he checked his phone. He typed something, then slipped it in his pocket. “Let’s eat,” he said, his expression unreadable.
Keeley didn’t know why she was so bothered by Talon having an ex-girlfriend. Maybe it was because he’d never mentioned her, not even when she talked about Randy. And if Talon had an ex-girlfriend, it meant he could be comparing Keeley to her at all times. She did it with Randy. Thankfully, Talon always came out ahead, but what if she wasn’t as lucky?
At dinner, she tried to work the ex-girlfriend into the conversation, but either a waiter would interrupt or Talon would start talking about something else. She was starting to think it was a conspiracy. They were walking to his car when she decided to stop being subtle.
Looking him straight in the eye, she asked, “Talon, have you ever had a girlfriend before?”
He stalled. “Besides you?”
“Besides me.”
“Uh, yeah. Once. My freshman year.”
When he didn’t say anything else, she nudged his side. “Come on, I want more than that. You know about Randy.”
The ends of his mouth turned down. “Her name’s Claire. She was in my art history class and we were paired together for a project. We hit it off and started dating.”
“And …? What happened?”
He sucked in a breath and slowly let it out. “I don’t like talking about it.”
Even to her? She thought they could talk about anything.
It was quiet as they turned onto Keeley’s street. Talon parked half a block away so Zach wouldn’t catch them. When they got out of the truck, Keeley turned to Talon, intent on giving him a hug goodbye, but he stopped her. “Are you mad?”