Page 23 of Hush, Hush

I finish all my coursework in record time, speed reading through textbooks and praying I’ve retained everything. When I’m done, I dress for tonight’s festivities. Keegan sends me a text, asking me if I actually plan on going to the judging tonight. My response is curt and tells him just how excited I am.Of course. I figure I can afford to lose a few brain cells tonight.

He responds back with:Ha. Ha.

Unbeknownst to me, Keegan shows up just as I’m leaving. He’s dressed down in a pair of jeans and a feather red shirt that hugs his pectorals. He blinks in surprise when we run into each other in the foyer of my dorm. “You look...good, Dee.”

I’m wearing a distressed jean skirt with a pair of leggings underneath. My custard yellow shirt shows off a hint of stomach as I make my way toward him. “What are you doing here?”

“I figured we could ride together.”

I chuckle at him. “No need to worry. No one’s asked me if I needed help with my virginity problem all day today.”

He relaxes a little, and it surprises me that he cares so much. It’s not in the way I want him to. Not yet, anyway. I’m pretty sure he’s only worried about protecting his prized possession at the moment.

I took care to dress the way I did tonight. Devon’s words were in my head the entire time, telling me that in Keegan’s eyes, I might not be making an effort in ways that he can see. So, I chose an outfit I believed would fit in most in a dive bar in the downtown area. In addition to that, I’m wearing big, hoop earrings with my hair in long, beachy waves.

“Better safe than sorry.”

I bite my tongue, refusing to start a fight by asking him where that attitude was the other day when he decided he was going to tell Anne-Marie that I’m still sporting the v-card. I’ve decided that even though I don’t like Anne-Marie, she was right. I don’t think Keegan intended to tell anyone. He let his temper get the best of him, and it slipped. It doesn’t excuse him by any means, but I can understand it.

The ride into town is quiet and comforting. The engine on his muscle car thrums underneath us as he steers the car down twisting roads. When winter comes, he’ll have to put this vehicle in storage, so he can start driving his Jeep.

The dark night creeps in. Wind blows the colored leaves on the trees haphazardly. Keegan reaches down to turn the heat up when he notices me rubbing my arms. “You know you don’t have to do this. You’re going to hate it.”

“You wanted me on the committee, I’m on the committee. I’m joining in, being a part of the group. How would it look if I only did part of the planning?”

His jaw ticks. The blue light from the car’s dashboard illuminates his high cheekbones along with his clear frustration. “You’re beginning to make me regret talking to Reginald Wright after all.”

Wow. That’s rich. “Why? Because it was wrong? Or because you don’t want me around when you’re out having fun with the guys?”

He shakes his head, fingers clenching the wheel. “Why are you always so bitchy?”

“I could ask the same thing about you, you know. You expect me to just take things sitting down, and I won’t.”

He moves his head from side to side as if he’s trying to stretch his neck. I know what this is about. He wants me to cater to his every word like most girls do. Other girls don’t dream of talking back to him, even if he is acting like a jerk. It’s not being bitchy though. It’s having self-respect.

Minutes pass where he doesn’t respond, so I decide to change the subject. “I was thinking about a theme. I haven’t heard back from my dad yet, so I’m not sure if this has been done in the past, but what about devils versus angels? All the girls can wear white, maybe even with feather wings? It’s the day before Halloween, so costumes would coincide with that.”

“Angel outfits? Like Victoria’s Secret?”

I shrug. “Yeah, I guess.”

He sucks his lip into his mouth in concentration. A moment later, he says, “I like it. Actually, I think it’s perfect.” Before I can get too big of a head, he tacks on, “The guys will love it. Everyone gets turned on by the idea of sullying something perfect.”

He cuts his gaze to the vee of my legs, and I crush my thighs together at the influx of heat. The temperature in my entire body rises until the heat from the air vents blowing on me is too much. I don’t understand how he can do this to me with just one look.

His stare lingers for way too long, but then he asks, “Should the guys wear red or black?”

Excellent. Something I can concentrate on other than wanting Keegan so bad it hurts. “I was wondering about that too. Black is more traditional. It’s the opposite of white as opposed to red, which we would only be using because of fairytale-like portrayals of the devil.”

“I say black then.”

“We have to pitch it to the group, Keegan,” I remind him.

He shakes his head. “That’s where you’re wrong, Delilah. You don’t understand the power couple we could be. We could make anything happen. Half the time, I think that’s why you don’t want anything to do with me. You fear us together.”

“That’s...not true. Keegan, I—” I stop myself from telling him what I have a few times before. It’s never stopped being true, but sometimes love isn’t enough. Sometimes it warps into something awful. “There’s still hope for us, I think. I’m not scared of it.”

He turns into town and parks the car in a public lot. I’ve been through the tourist laden town enough to know that the dive bar is only a couple of blocks from here, however the main street is usually full of cars, so it’s better to walk in.

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