And why was she sitting here thinking about these questions instead of just asking him? Conscious choice, she reminded herself. Every time had to be a conscious choice. Her fingers played with Talon’s ring. “Why did you do it? Steal his girlfriend in the first place?”
At first, she thought he hadn’t heard. She was about to repeat herself when the door swung open. Zach was sitting on the floor across from the doorway, leaning against the bed. His head was tilted back and his hands were resting on bent knees. He looked sad. Defeated.
“What exactly did he tell you about her?”
“That she was his girlfriend and you purposefully went after her to hurt him.” His head shot up and she sent him a disapproving look. “It’s bad enough that you guys have this stupid rivalry, but to use a girl like that?”
“Look, I’m not proud of what I did. But he’s out for revenge and will use anything in his arsenal to do it. Even you. Wake up, Keeley. I thought you were better than this.”
“Me? What about you? Punching someone over a stupid picture of a kiss? Targeting an innocent girl? This isn’t like you. Not the Zach I know. And how come I’d never even seen that picture of you and Claire till the other night?” She’d never felt so far from him than she did right now. “What happened to us?”
Zach sighed. “Do you know what I wrote about for my college admission essay?”
He wanted to talk about college? Now? “What does that have to do with us?”
“I wrote about why I first joined football.”
“Dad signed you up. We were six.” That’s why his jersey number was always six.
“And the reason I kept playing was because I needed something to do. When you became friends with Nicky, you didn’t need me anymore. You stopped coming to me with all your problems. And I felt … alone. Football gave me friends. Something to do. And turns out, I was good at it.”
She never knew he felt that way. “I didn’t think you wanted to talk about Barbies and girl stuff. That’s why I turned to Nicky.” And eventually, it had become natural to confide in Nicky, rather than Zach. “I’m sorry if I was shutting you out. I didn’t mean to.”
“I know. But ever since then, there’s been this wall between us. We talk about the day-to-day stuff but never anything more. I’ve wanted to come to you, especially when everything happened with Claire, but I didn’t know how. Maybe that’s why I’ve been pushing Barnett on you. I thought if we went to college together, it would give us a chance to start fresh. Gain some of the closeness back.”
Keeley felt guilty for being oblivious. Her brother had always been the strong one. She’d assumed he never needed her. How wrong she was. “I like Barnett, but I’m not applying there. It doesn’t fit me. But that doesn’t mean we can’t build back our relationship.”
“How are we going to do that, miles apart?”
Conscious choice. That’s what it always came back to. “We make an effort to turn to each other when we’re having problems. I could have told you about swapping phones right away, but I didn’t. Going forward, if something happens, I’ll tell you. And you do the same. No more secrets.”
His mouth lifted. “I like that.” Suddenly, he winced, as if remembering something painful. “I should tell you something. It’s about Talon and Claire. There’s more to the story than what he’s told you.”
More? “What do you mean?”
“You need to ask him,” he replied. “You deserve the whole truth.”
“Why can’t you tell me?”
“I … I can’t.” Frustrated, he banged his foot against the door. “She asked me for one thing and that’s never to tell anyone what happened. I’m sorry, but I won’t go back on that promise. Not even for you.”
She left his room confused. What was Zach talking about? The whole truth. What more could there be? She grabbed her cell phone and texted Talon.
You free?
Yeah. Just finished with the parentals. You at your house? I can swing by to pick you up.
See you then.
Keeley felt anxious as she waited for Talon. What “truth” was she going to hear?
She answered when he rang the doorbell. Before she could move, he lifted her in the air and spun.
“What was that for?” she asked when he put her down.
“Celebrating, baby doll,” he explained with a wide grin that made her feel uneasy.
He opened the passenger door to his truck and helped her get in. Fully expecting him to close the door, she let out a startled gasp when his hands grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her in for a hard, quick kiss. Grinning, Talon pulled back and closed the door. He jogged around the back of the truck and hopped into the driver’s seat. After pulling out of the driveway, he reached across the center console and grabbed her hand. “I have a surprise for you.”
He was so happy. She hesitated to bring up a touchy subject, but reminded herself that Talon liked her true self. He even encouraged it. “Talon, I want to talk.”
“We will,” he reassured her, squeezing her hand. “But I want to show you something first.”
Glancing down at their entwined fingers, she said softly, “We really need to talk, Talon.”
“It can wait. I found this great —” He faltered as he caught a glimpse of her solemn expression. “What’s going on?”
She hesitated before saying it. “Zach said I should ask you about Claire. Something about you not telling me the whole story.”
“Let’s not hash this out right now,” he told her, a hint of desperation in his tone. “I have graham crackers and Peeps. We can go make s’mores.”
“I want to know, Talon,” she said firmly. There was something both Zach and Talon were keeping from her. It wasn’t fair. “I need to know.”
He appeared at war with himself as he bit his lower lip. Then a fierce look of determination swept over him. Yanking the wheel, he pulled his truck off the road and parked alongside a beach.
What the hell was he doing?
A pair of burning blue eyes stared back at her. “You want to know what happened? Fine. Let’s talk.”
He pushed open his door and marched to her side. His body was rigid as he held open her door and waited for her to get out. Silently, she followed him as he trudged through the sand and made his way to the shoreline. The moon highlighted the crashing waves and the stars glittered above. It would have been a romantic moment if the topic had been anything other than an ex-girlfriend.
He finally stopped when the waves of the rising tide lapped against his ankles. Looking out at the sea, he jammed his hands into his front pockets and hunched his shoulders. “I’m not sure how to tell you,” he started. “I never wanted you to know, but in the back of my mind, I always worried it would come to this.”
What was he so afraid of telling her? Some of her old doubts resurfaced.