Page 52 of My Heart to Keep
“Did you three just meet tonight at the game?” Maiken asked evenly despite the hard vibe jumping off him and onto Noah.
The four of us stood in a circle of sorts, and I slipped my hand into Maiken’s. I wanted to feel him as much as I could before Celia and I headed home in a couple of hours. Daddy had been adamant that we get on the road early. He didn’t want us driving back in the dead of night.
“He goes to Kensington,” Celia said.
One part confusion and one part shock washed over Maiken. “Really?”
Noah held up his big hands. “I called you. You were supposed to call me back and never did.”
“I left you a voice mail,” Maiken volleyed in return.
I squeezed his hand. “I just learned tonight he was your roomie at camp.”
Celia slipped her phone in her purse. “Did you know Dustin Lane and Noah are cousins?”
Maiken glared at his friend. “For real?”
Sensing or reading Maiken’s stiff body language, Noah said, “My mom took a job in Ashford, and just before she did, she told me about a step-cousin I never knew I had. I called you that day to tell you the news.”
I wagged a finger between the boys. “You really didn’t share much at camp, huh?”
Noah laughed. “Nah. I didn’t tell Maiken squat about me except that I move a lot. And he didn’t share much either except that he had a girlfriend and lived in Ashford. I have a dysfunctional, screwed-up family I don’t like talking about. Nothing is going on here, bro, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He stabbed a finger at me while keeping his gaze locked on Maiken’s. “Full disclosure, though. I did try to ween in on Quinn until I found out the first week from the basketball team that you two were dating. Then I backed off.”
“I was curious why you stopped hounding Quinn,” Celia said, echoing what I was thinking.
Maiken draped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me to him as though he were making sure Noah knew he wasn’t getting anywhere near me.
A second of thick, soupy silence stretched between them.
“You came up to see me play, then?” Maiken asked.
Noah beamed. “Dude, I’ve been trying to convince my mom to send me here. She gave me the thumbs-up to check out the place. And I heard from Coach Dean that you were playing tonight. So two birds, one stone, and all that.”
Maiken lit up. And just like that, any animosity was gone as though someone had stuck a pin into a balloon and popped the air out of it. “Wow! That would be awesome.”
I tugged on his hand. “Can you wrap this up?” Not that I was bored, since I was glued to Maiken’s side. “I would like to spend time with my boyfriend before we get on the road.”
Maiken kissed me on my temple. “Want to take a walk?”
I wanted to do anything other than stand there.
“Quinn. Celia.” Emma’s voice echoed in the humungous room as she bounced up, her ponytail swishing behind her. “We didn’t get to meet earlier.” Her big brown eyes were on Noah. “I’m Emma, Maiken’s sister.”
Noah tensed. Maiken did as well.
Celia and I exchanged a knowing smile.
Poor Noah. He was sort of screwed. He couldn’t date me. He couldn’t date Emma either because of the bro code. However, Celia wasn’t off limits. She liked Noah, but she was digging Sloane’s brother, Trevor, more. But Trevor had his lips on the brunette, Claire, and seemed to be into her more than any other girl.
Still, I could see the attraction. Where Noah was tall and lanky, Trevor was tall and beefy. Celia liked beefy.
I was warming up to Trevor. Under all his bully layers and mean comments, he was just a boy who was looking for attention, much like Sloane and Marcus.
“Why don’t we head down to the pizza place on campus?” Emma asked.
Celia’s lips parted. “There’s a pizza restaurant on campus? I want to go to this school. Maybe I’ll talk to my mom too.”
“I don’t think so,” I rushed out. “My BFF isn’t leaving me.”
