Page 138 of Stealing for Keeps
“Break it up. It’s a family-friendly event,” Rowan jokes as he walks toward us with Lacey, Andie, and Brandon.
“You guys came.” Claire rushes forward to hug her best friends.
“Password.” My lips twitch with a smile as Rowan rolls his eyes.
“You were serious about that?”
“Completely.”
“I can see over your head.” He glances above me but then sighs. “Austin Keller is a…” He mumbles so low I can’t hear the last two words.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” I cup my ear and lean forward.
He repeats himself, a tiny bit louder.
“I’m so sorry, but I still can’t seem to hear you.”
“Austin Keller is a soccer god!”
“Oh wow, that’s so nice of you to say. Love you too, buddy.”
With an exaggerated eye roll, Rowan brushes by me. The others tag along behind him to look at our art show collection.
“What was that?” Claire asks, coming to stand next to me.
I wrap my arm around her. I can’t get enough of being able to touch her any time I want (which is always).
“I gave him a different password.” I lift one shoulder and let it drop casually. “I wanted to hear him say my name one time.”
“Austin Keller.”
A shiver rolls down my spine. “I definitely like it better when you say it.”
“Austin Keller is a soccer god,” she says sweetly in a tone that’s all flirt.
“Are you trying to kill me?” I bury my head in her neck and breathe her in. Now all I want to do is drag her out of here and make out in my car. I mean, to be fair, that’s always on my mind, but I was doing a decent job of focusing on our art show until now.
Luckily or unluckily for me, there’s a steady stream of people stopping by after that. Some of my teammates show up as well as a few girls from her cheer squad. My entire family blows in like the chaos that they are. Wyatt runs circles around the gym after signing his name in big blue letters across the middle of our centerpiece. Mom and Dad are excited and complimentary, almost to the point where Claire is uncomfortable with it. Torrance hangs back a little shyly. Things have been better between us since we talked. I’ve forgiven her. I just hope she can find a way to forgive me for everything else. Hopefully in time, she’ll see that Frost Lake isn’t so bad. When everyone is gone, I glance over at Claire. Something seems off with her.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask. “Is it my parents? They’re a lot. I know. I’ll talk to them.”
“No, they were so sweet. I love that they showed up for you and wanted to hear all about each piece. And look! Your mom even wrote how proud she was of you on the paper.” She points to the short note Mom wrote.
“Like I said. They’re a lot.” But they’re mine, and I wouldn’t change them for anything.
“It’s not them.”
“Okay.” I wait for her to elaborate.
“I thought maybe my family might come. I sent both my mom and my dad all the information last week and reminded them yesterday.”
Fuck. I hadn’t even thought about them not showing up, which maybe says more about her family than my brain, but I should have realized that it would hurt. Especially when my family is here parading around like I created a masterpiece.
“I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.” Her lips curve into a smile that if I didn’t know her better, I’d believe is real. “I’m sure my mom had to work late, and Dad never remembers anything without being prompted ten minutes beforehand. And it’s just a silly high school art show. Are you ready to go?”
Again, she flashes that gorgeous but totally fake smile. I really hate her parents sometimes, but saying so feels like dogpiling when all she obviously wants is to ignore it.
