She wasn’t mad. More confused. And a little wary. What didn’t he want to tell her? “Was the breakup bad or something?” That’s the only reason she could think of.
“You could say that,” he admitted rather reluctantly.
“You can tell me anything, you know. I won’t judge you.”
He sighed. “I thought everything was great between me and Claire, but …” He shrugged and looked away. “One day I got a text from my buddy Mitch. It was a picture of her and this guy kissing at a party. We’d only been dating for a couple months. I felt like an idiot.”
He’d been cheated on? Keeley couldn’t imagine this happening, especially to a guy like Talon. Most people didn’t see it, but he had a soft heart. “I’m so sorry.”
“The worst part was the guy purposefully went after her to get to me.”
What kind of guy would do something that low? “Why would he do that? Does he —”
A loud ringing interrupted her.
“Damn,” Talon said, pulling out his phone. “It’s my dad again. I have to take this.” He held the phone up to his ear, a small grimace on his face. The volume was loud enough for her to overhear.
“Do you know what time it is? You were supposed to be home ten minutes ago.”
Ten minutes ago? It was only eight o’clock.
“Dad —”
“The game is tomorrow. You should be home resting. Not out with your girlfriend.”
Talon’s shoulders were hunched over, his voice hushed but urgent. “I’m not doing anything illegal so stop treating me like I am.”
“So you’ve said. And don’t think for one second I’ve forgotten about you storming out of the house this afternoon while I was talking.”
“That wasn’t talking, that was lecturing. And I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“This is no time for girls, son. You can date all you want after the season is over, but right now, your mind needs to be on football. This is your future we’re talking about.”
Talon blew out a frustrated breath. He twisted his body, shifting away from Keeley. “Dad, I’ll be home in twenty minutes. We can talk about it then.” He ended the call and gave her a smile, but she could see the anger swirling beneath. “Dad at it again.”
“I didn’t know he wanted you to stop dating me. Why didn’t you tell me?” What else had he left out of their conversations? She was starting to get a bad feeling about this.
He shrugged and looked away. “Didn’t want to worry you.”
“Talon,” she whispered, emotion radiating from her voice. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
“You’re not trouble. Trust me, I’ve been in trouble.” He reached into his pocket. “I know we haven’t been together that long but I want to give you something. Will you wear my class ring?”
He held out a square gold ring with a dark-green emerald embedded in the middle. “Crosswell High School” was printed around the gem in block letters. A football was etched on one side while his name, JT Harrington, was etched on the other.
He was giving her his class ring? All of a sudden, their relationship felt more serious than it ever had. This was an expensive piece of jewelry. Her parents had been furious with Zach when he’d lost his. Was he really comfortable letting her wear this?
He pulled at the collar of his shirt. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s just an idea I had. Stupid, really.”
“It’s not stupid.”
“Then why won’t you wear it?”
“I don’t know what this means,” she answered truthfully.
Planting his feet on the ground, he leaned against his car. Then he pulled her to him, one hand on her lower back, the other holding the ring. “It can mean whatever you want it to mean.”
“That doesn’t help.”
He gave a crooked grin. “I know we haven’t been dating long —”
“Not even a full month.” It felt longer, though. Maybe because their relationship began way before their first date.
“But knowing you’re wearing it, especially at the game tomorrow, is important to me.”
“Why?” She didn’t understand. It wouldn’t affect anything.
He shrugged. “Wearing it feels like you’re supporting me somehow.”
“Of course I’m supporting you.” Why wouldn’t she?
“What about Zach? Aren’t you going to be cheering for him?”
She bit her bottom lip. She hadn’t thought about the logistics. She’d been too caught up in Talon and the newness of their relationship. She couldn’t openly cheer for Talon, not if she wanted to keep him a secret from Zach.
Feeling her tension, he rubbed her shoulder. “I get it. I do. That’s why I want you to wear my class ring.” He brought his hand between them and opened it. The ring lay on his palm.
She was still nervous, but she got why it mattered to him. And how could she not accept it when he was being so understanding about her brother? “I’ll take it on one condition,” she told him. “I give it back after the game.”
“Deal.”
She had the perfect place to put it. Reaching back, she unclasped the delicate chain around her neck and threaded it through the ring. It jingled as it collided with the silver charm.
Talon fingered the miniature cell phone. “I didn’t know you wore this.”
“Every day.” The chain was long enough that she could hide it under her shirt. It felt like her own little secret from the rest of the world.
His lips parted in surprise and then spread into a large smile. Seeing him smile at her did something funny to her chest.
“What?” she asked. It wasn’t as if she’d just declared her undying love.
Half expecting a flippant answer, she was surprised when he said, “Makes me happy, that’s all.”
It made her happy, too.
“I hate pep rallies,” Nicky commented as she propped a foot on the bench in front of her. Today was game day and tension was mounting. Last year’s defeat couldn’t — wouldn’t — happen again. The football players vowed it. A loud cheer went up in the school gymnasium as the cheerleaders entered. They took their places just as music started blasting. The whole school watched as they tumbled and danced to the beat.
“You hate pep rallies because you’re jealous of the cheerleaders,” Keeley replied.
“I don’t see why I didn’t make the team. I’m peppy and loud.”
“You can’t even complete a cartwheel.”
Nicky wrinkled her nose. “The floor was slippery. They didn’t give me a fair chance.”
Yeah, right, Keeley thought. But being loyal, she said, “You would have been the best cheerleader out there.”
They watched as a girl was hurled into the air, completing multiple flips before being caught in the arms of her teammates. Nicky sighed. “Fine. I could never have been a cheerleader, but I would have been the cutest one if I had any talent.”
The music stopped and the cheerleaders left the floor as the football players made their entrance. One by one, the school principal introduced them.
“And finally, number six, Zachary Brewer!”