Snatched

“Hey, Bradley,” I say warmly.

“Kenley, out all night,” he teases, tsking me as he takes in the fact that I’m wearing Finn’s clothes. “That football player again?”

“You told him?” I ask Mandy, horrified.

Mandy shrugs. “Is it a secret?”

“I don’t exactly want who I’m sleeping with to be public record.”

“So you are sleeping with him, now?” Mandy asks, lifting her eyebrows.

“You’re using protection, right? Those guys fuck everything that moves. There’s no telling what kind of STDs he’s packing,” Bradley says, looking genuinely concerned.

“Okay, these are not conversations I want to have at ten o’clock in the morning,” I say, and head into the kitchen. Mandy is intentionally taking up more counter space than is entirely necessary, given that she’s literally opening a container of yogurt, but I shoulder her out of my way in order to toast an English muffin.

“I’m just saying, you have to be cautious. Guys like him go through girls like they’re toys,” Bradley says. “Stewart Adams is definitely like that. I think it’s a quarterback thing, in particular.”

“I’ll be careful. Thanks,” I say shortly, without looking at him. I’m focused on the toaster, but from the weight of the silence that follows I know Bradley and Mandy are giving each other a look, likely accompanied by a disappointed head shake.

“Bradley’s taking me to the climbing gym today,” Mandy says, changing the subject in an incredibly intentional voice.

“Since when do you like climbing walls?” I ask.

“She doesn’t know if she likes them,” Bradley says, and he’s suddenly beside us in the kitchen. He wraps his arms around Mandy’s waist and rocks against her, kissing her neck. “You’re going to love it.”

“She’s afraid of heights,” I point out.

“I need to conquer that,” Mandy says, like this is super obvious.

“Why? Just don’t go to a climbing gym. There’s nothing to conquer. It’s not like you’re afraid of cars, or sticks.”

“Maybe you and Finn can come with us,” Mandy says flatly.

I pause. She’s baiting me, and I know it. “We can’t. He has practice.”

“Tomorrow then,” Bradley says, sweetly oblivious.

“We’re not being public about our relationship,” I say plainly, turning to face them. “With mom and Dr. Reams and the way football girlfriends get hounded by the paper, it’s not worth it.”

“Girlfriend?” Mandy asks, eyebrows shooting to the ceiling. “Seriously?”

“Whoa. I thought this was just a dirty hookup. Does he know you’re using the word girlfriend?” Bradley asks.

“He does. And look, we’re just…we are what we are right now, okay? My point is, we’re not going rock climbing. Thanks for asking. Really. Have fun conquering your fears, Mandy,” I say, and whisk from the room.

“She seems mad,” Bradley whispers when he thinks I’m out of earshot. Dear, sweet, innocent Bradley. You have no idea how sister passive aggression works, do you?

Chapter 10

I’ve only been to a dozen or so Harton football games since I started school here. I nearly always go to the homecoming one, since it’s a huge event and everyone goes. And then I usually make it to one of the other big games, the sort where there’s tailgating beforehand and a party afterward. The only other times I go is if a friend is in town, or someone happens to have an extra ticket and I don’t have anything else to do.

On Sunday, the person that happens to have an extra ticket is Bradley, who not only has an extra ticket for me, but an extra ticket for my sister (of course) and my mother.

“It’s so sweet of his family to give us these!” my mom says as we walk from her office toward the stadium. “I’m sure they could have sold them for a nice chunk of change.”

“Probably,” Mandy confirms, looking pleased. I suspect that Bradley’s family would never dream of selling tickets. That’d be gauche. Besides, if you can afford season VIP tickets, you probably don’t need an extra thousand bucks.

Finn could have gotten us tickets for free, I feel like saying. He’s offered me tickets a couple of times this week, but I turned him down. I’m just paranoid about anyone knowing we’re together. Even though we’ve been spending time together at the Ansley Park house, studying and fucking. I blush just thinking about it.

But I had to go to the game when Bradley offered us tickets.

To say no would have invited all sorts of unwanted questions from my mom.

“But why haven’t I met this boy before now?” Mom asks Mandy, though there’s a gentle edge to her question— like she already knows she’s going to like him, but wants to give Mandy a hard time out of motherly duty.

“We were just casual for a while, Mom. Not everyone has to be instantly serious,” Mandy answers as we inch closer to the center of campus. Harton as a whole is a shrine to football on game days, but it’s still remarkable how the closer we get to the stadium, the more devoted the worshippers become.