Page 44 of Stealing for Keeps
“I don’t know. I guess I did it when I was nervous or bored or something. I didn’t eat it!” She throws her arms up, paintbrush still in one hand.
“Just licked it.”
The pink on her cheeks is redder now.
“I never should have told you,” she says, but her smile says the opposite.
“I’ll never say a word.” I get up and go sit on the floor in front of her with my sketch pad and pencil. “You still do it, you know.”
“I do not eat my hair.”
“No.” My gaze moves from her eyes to the end of her ponytail draped over one shoulder. “When you get nervous or you’re concentrating really hard, sometimes you’ll play with your hair.” I reach over and tug the end gently.
“Oh.” She reaches up to touch it self-consciously, and our hands brush and hold.
My gut twists, and my pulse kicks up a notch.
Somewhere in the very back of my brain, I hear Vaughn’s voice asking if I’m interested in her. I’m not. I can’t be. I realized yesterday that I’d been given an opportunity to finally have the guys accept me. I got to school, thinking it didn’t matter and that I didn’t owe Vaughn anything, butthen suddenly my teammates were all happy to see me and wanted to talk soccer and invite me to hang.
And practices have been incredible. I’m no longer fighting for every possession, every shot. I forgot what that feeling is like. Being a part of a team, especially a good one, is magic.
Which is why I can’t risk things going back to the way they were. Not even for her.
“Austin, dinner’s ready!” Torrance yells as she walks by my open door.
I drop my hand and jump back.
I clear my throat as I stand. Claire does as well, neither of us saying anything.
Wyatt and Torrance are already seated when we get downstairs.
Mom is at the stove. She glances over her shoulder. “Everything is on the table. Austin, get Claire something to drink.”
I walk over to the fridge and hold up a can of Diet Dr Pepper in one hand and Brisk iced tea in the other.
“Dr Pepper,” she says.
“Good choice.”
I get two, and we sit at the table. Wyatt fires out question after question until Mom has to tell him to stop so Claire can take a bite of her food. Dad calls in the middle of dinner, and Mom takes her phone into the office to talk. Torrance leaves without saying a word to anyone, and Wyatt stuffs the rest of his food in his mouth and hurries off to play video games before Mom tells him to start getting ready for bed.
Claire and I eat in silence and then take our plates to the sink. I load up the dishwasher while she watches me.
“Your family is nice.”
“Nice?” I ask, popping in a tab of soap and closing the dishwasher to start it.
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t think your sister likes me very much, but you all have a nice dynamic together.”
“I’m sorry about Torrance. It’s not you. She still hates me for uprooting the family and ruining her life. Wyatt likes you, though. In fact, I think he has a crush on you. He must have asked you fifty questions tonight.”
“I don’t mind,” she says, and I believe her.
“Do you want to work on our projects a little more?”
“I should probably get home.”
I really don’t want her to go, but that seems like something someone who was interested in her would think or say, so I just nod.
