Fool Me Once

“Look!” Zane thrusts the pineapple toward us. “Brenton said I can use it to make SpongeBob’s house.”

“That’s great,” Keegan tells him, but his jaw ticks, and I know why he wasn’t here today. He still doesn’t want to be around Brenton.

Zane drops to his knees and starts digging a hole to set his pineapple in.

“I better get going,” Keegan says.

“Are you coming by later?”

“Depends on how much I get done. I’ll text or call you.” He encircles his arms around my body and kisses me hard. I go to pull back, but he doesn’t release me. When Sierra whistles, I realize Keegan is putting on a show, staking his claim in front of Brenton.

“Not cool,” I murmur against his lips.

“What?” he asks innocently. “I can’t kiss the woman I love?”

“You and I both know what you just did.” I raise a knowing brow. He doesn’t confirm or deny it. He just grins so wide, his dimples pop out.

“Text you later, Jailbird.” He kisses my cheek then calls Zane’s name. “Have fun, bud!” And then he’s running back up the beach.

We hang out a couple more hours, until an afternoon shower makes its appearance. Then we quickly pack up and head home. Sierra goes with Kolton, even though he’s just dropping her off at our place so she can get ready for work. Zane conks out on our way home, and Brenton offers to carry him up for me.

“I had a good day,” Brenton says when he comes out of Zane’s room.

“I did too.”

“Did you see the text from Brianne?”

“No.” I pull my phone out of my purse and see a missed text. “They want to meet tomorrow night to finalize everything. Sierra has off, so that should be fine.”

“I have my interview tomorrow at the high school, but it’s at noon, so it will be done well before our meeting.”

“Oh! That reminds me. I have mine as well.”

For our Child Psychology class, we have to interview a guidance counselor. We’re supposed to pick the age group we’re planning to work with, so Brenton is doing high school and I’m doing elementary.

“Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I check my phone again to see if Keegan has texted that he’s coming by, but he hasn’t. I shower and throw in a load of laundry. Still no text. Sierra comes out dressed for work, and I make us each a Cobb salad. After she leaves, I check my phone, but there’s still no text from Keegan.

A little while later, Zane wakes up and I give him a bath. We spend the evening playing Legos and watching his new show obsession: Peppa Pig. When it’s time for bed, I read him a story and tuck him in. He asks where Keegan is and if he can call him. I let him, but Keegan doesn’t answer, and I try to ignore the warning bells ringing loudly in my ear.

I lie on the couch, select a rerun of Gossip Girl, and fall asleep with my phone in my hand. Spoiler: Keegan never texts or calls.

Blakely

“The next bus doesn’t come until one thirty. And then I’ll still have to walk two miles to the school.” I close my laptop and sigh in annoyance, taking a sip of the delicious vanilla iced coffee Sierra made for us. We’re sitting outside on our balcony, enjoying the warm weather. She has off today, so she’s relaxing in her pajamas.

“I should’ve thought about this ahead of time when I scheduled the meeting with Cocoa Elementary. I was hoping to get a meeting with Carterville, since it’s walking distance, but before I could call to schedule, several other students did, and by the time I called, they were full, so I had to choose another school. The next closest elementary school is Cocoa, and I was able to get an appointment for two.”

I didn’t consider the fact that Sierra and I don’t have a vehicle. Something we’ve never needed since everything is accessible by bus or is walking distance.

“Call Brenton,” Sierra says, taking a sip of her own drink.

“He’s doing his interview at the high school.” I take another sip of my refreshing drink.

“So? You know he’ll still take you over there. Or call Keegan.”

“He hasn’t called or texted since he came by the beach yesterday. I don’t want to bug him. He said he has work to do.”

“That’s part of being someone’s boyfriend,” Sierra points out. She’s right, but Keegan’s been acting weird. It’s like he suddenly has all this work to do that he never had before. My initial thought is that maybe his schoolwork caught up to him and now he’s playing catch-up. But another thought is that something else is going on. And if that’s the case, what is it, and why isn’t he being honest with me?

I grab my phone and debate who to call. Deciding I’m a chicken, I hit Brenton’s name. It rings several times and then goes to voicemail. I don’t bother leaving him a message. Instead, I end the call and hit Keegan’s name.