Stealing for Keeps (Frost Lake High Book 1)
Stealing for Keeps: Chapter 16

On Saturday, I meet up with Lacey and Andie at the school. We signed up for dance cleanup duty, which sounded fine before the events of last night. I feel better than I should. I think my mother walking in on me half-naked and Austin about to kiss me flushed the alcohol right out of my system. I had the slightest headache when I woke up, but I’m nursing more of an embarrassment hangover than anything else.

“What did Austin do?” Lacey asks as she pulls a streamer down from the basketball goal.

“What could he do? He ran out of there before my mom woke the entire neighborhood threatening to call the cops. Then she spent the next hour lecturing me on perverted teenage boys.”

Andie snorts a laugh. “I got that same talk from my parents when I started dating Brandon.”

“But it wasn’t like that,” I stress to them. “If anything, I was to blame. I was drunk, and he helped me out of my dress, and I just…I wanted to feel something besides sadness and anger.”

I wanted to feel it with him, but I don’t admit that part.

Lacey looks to Andie. “Two drinks, and she’s tearing off her clothes. Who would have thought?”

My face heats. Maybe it was the alcohol, but it isn’t like I hadn’t thought about it before I drank too much and was all alone with him in my room.

“I am mortified,” I say.

“Why? You’re hot. You just showed him what he was missing.”

“Poor Austin. He must have been so conflicted. Pretend not to notice how hot you are or get pummeled by Vaughn.” Andie and Lacey continue to laugh, but my stomach rolls with unease.

“That’s not all…”

My friends both stop and stare at me.

“I dared him to kiss me.” I want to curl up in a ball and die.

“What?!” Lacey’s voice is shrill, and Andie squeals with excitement.

“He didn’t,” I say. “We didn’t.”

He was going to though. I felt it. One minute longer and my mom would have walked in on a completely different scene. She probably would have called his parents and the school then.

“Have you heard from him today?” Lacey asks.

“He texted last night to check on me, but I didn’t respond.”

They both seem surprised by that.

“If I respond, he’s going to want to talk about it, and I’d rather pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Oh, sure. No problem.” They laugh.

“Do you think I can switch to home school for the rest of the year?” I ask my friends.

“Your mom would love that. Are you kidding? She’d have you back skating every hour of the day as soon as that boot is off.” Lacey’s tone gives away her feelings on that. But she’s wrong. Now that I can’t skate competitively, I’m not sure she’d see the point.

“Would you really want to spend all day with her?” Andie asks. She’s spent less time around my mom, but she knows enough to realize how torturous it’d be.

“Right now, it sounds better than facing Austin on Monday.”

“It’s fine,” Lacey insists. “It’s not like you slept with him. You didn’t sleep with him, did you?”

“Oh my god. No, of course not.”

“Good, because once you sleep with them, they lose all interest. That’s why this one is still making Brandon wait it out.”

“That is not why.” Andie shoves Lacey playfully before she bends down to pick up more decoration trash from the gym floor. “We’re waiting until our one-year anniversary.” She blushes. “I want it to be special.”

“It will be,” I tell her. “Ignore Lacey. She’s still salty about Zach touching her boobs and then getting back together with Maureen the next day.”

“It wasn’t even the next day. It was one hour later. He was copping a feel in the pool, and then we got out to dry off, and the next thing I know, they’re hugging and kissing and back together.” It’s been a year, and she’s still not over it. Zach isn’t even her type, but he’s the first person she let grope her, and I think the experience scarred her for life.

“Those two have been on and off for years. It had nothing to do with you or your boobs,” I remind her for at least the tenth time. One of these days, she’s going to believe me.

Andie nods her head in agreement. “Boys don’t think like that. Boobs are boobs. They’re all the same.”

“Is that true?” I ask. “Remember Tasha?” She had DDs in seventh grade, and the guys were obsessed with them.

“She’s an outlier,” Andie says.

“Maybe I am too.” Lacey sticks out her chest for our appraisal. “Are mine so bad you would want to get back with your ex?”

“Only to a blind man. They’re perfect.” I purse my lips to give her an air kiss.

“She’s right.” Andie nods. “Yours are way better.”

Lacey smiles. “I bet he thinks that every time he touches hers now.”

The three of us laugh, and for a brief moment, it makes me forget about last night and Austin. Since I hurt my foot, everything has felt off. Then Vaughn and I broke up, and it’s just been one change after another. But these two always make me feel better.

“So…what are you going to do?” Lacey asks after we fall quiet again.

My stomach tightens. “Easy. Avoid him forever. That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?”

Lacey fights a laugh. “Sure, babe. No problem. It’s not like you go to the same school or anything. Or have the same lunch. Or any classes together.”

I stick my tongue out at her. “Not helping.”

“You don’t need to avoid him.”

“Easy for you to say. You should have been there. If Lacey is scarred by Zach touching her boobs and then getting back together with Maureen, then imagine Austin seeing me mostly naked and then being tossed out by my angry mother.”

“The girls at Frost Lake will be so sad when he announces his decision to remain celibate for life,” Lacey says, laughing.

Andie joins in, nodding. “No kidding. You should have seen them during the soccer game. I watched one girl have a full-on fainting swoon when he lifted his T-shirt up to wipe his face.”

That girl might have been me. I don’t know what it is about him. He’s hot, of course, but it’s more than his nice abs.

“He’s probably not stressing about it, so you shouldn’t either.” Lacey gives me a reassuring smile.

“I’m going to turn red and get all weird when I see him again. I just know it. I can still see the shocked expression on his face when I dropped my dress to the floor.” I groan and walk ahead of my friends to clean another section of the gym.

“I have an idea,” Andie announces. I turn in time to watch her drop the trash she’s gathered into the big janitor’s bucket and brush her hands off. “Follow me.”

I give Lacey a questioning glance. She shrugs, and we fall into step behind our friend as she leads us out of the gym and through the school.

“Where are we going?” I ask as she heads down the hallway.

“You’ll see,” she chirps over her shoulder with a smug smile that makes me feel uneasy.

It’s only when she pushes out the back door and I hear voices and the familiar sound of Coach Collins’s voice that I realize what’s happening. The soccer team is here. They’re practicing on the back field.

“Andie, no!” I stop and shake my head.

“They won’t see us,” she says. “Come on. See him, let the embarrassment wash over you, and you’ll be fine when you talk to him on Monday.”

“This is a terrible plan,” Lacey says, but I consider it. Maybe it’ll help? Or maybe I just want to see him. Whatever the reason, I replace myself stepping outside.

It’s almost fall, and the cool weather is here to stay. I pull the sleeves of my sweatshirt down over my hands as the three of us veer to the left where the side of the building blocks half the field from view.

I stay in the back for added protection, but just knowing that Austin is out here has my pulse racing.

The girls’ team is on the far field, and both teams are in the middle of practice.

“How did you know they were here?” Lacey asks Andie.

“I saw Rowan when I got here. He looked a little rough.”

“Looks fine now,” Lacey points out. The three of us huddle against the wall, peeking out around it.

I replace Austin first. His cheeks are red from the wind and exertion, and his dark hair is messy for the same reason. He’s standing next to Vaughn. Both have their hands on their hips while they exchange words. Austin gives a firm nod, and they jog down the field.

Rowan is pointing and calling out something I can’t make out. While they wait for the action to begin, he bends over with his hands on his knees. It’s the only indication he’s tired. Otherwise, he has that same relaxed, nonplussed expression on his face, like he didn’t drink more than anyone else at the party last night. And as soon as the ball is kicked into play, he perks right up without missing a beat.

We watch from our hiding spot until Coach Collins blows the whistle and tells them to get water. The girls’ team is also on a break, and the teams mingle as they get water. Sophie approaches Austin. A twinge of jealousy picks at my already wounded pride.

He says something to her as he bends down to get his water bottle. It’s a short interaction but long enough for her to touch him and laugh and for Austin to smile back at her. He said he wasn’t interested in her being his girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to hook up with her at some point.

“Well, I guess he’s not traumatized,” I say glumly and move back away from the wall.

Andie and Lacey follow me.

“Well, you saw him, and you’re not blushing. How do you feel?” Andie asks.

“Like he doesn’t know I’m standing here, so it’s not the same. Monday, I’ll have to face him and talk to him.”

“Or not,” Lacey says. “You could just avoid him forever.”

She’s kidding, but it sounds like the best plan I’ve heard all morning.

I spend the rest of the weekend watching TV, doing homework, researching colleges, and avoiding thinking about Austin. Mom and Ruby get back late Saturday night, and they’re still sleeping when I get up on Sunday. Mom doesn’t bring up Austin, and I don’t say anything to her. She didn’t punish me for the drinking or the boy being in my room, but I’m convinced it’s only because she’s been too focused on Ruby to remember me.

By Monday morning, I’ve worked myself into a full-on frenzy over running into Austin. I go to the art room and ask Mrs. Randolph if I can use her supplies to keep working on my art project. If I can finish my pieces, then there’s no reason for Austin and me to get together after school this week.

I do the same thing at lunch, which works great until the bell rings. I know I’m not going to be able to avoid Austin any longer.

I feel the second he enters the room. Breathing is harder, and my skin flushes. I’m at the back, rinsing out the paintbrushes I was using, as he takes a seat at our table. I hide out there until class starts, then slide into my seat with a smile. I turn my head but don’t meet his eyes. Instead, I look somewhere over his head.

“Hey,” he says in that familiar deep voice. “Where’ve you been all day?”

“What do you mean?” I ask, feeling my face get warmer.

“I haven’t seen you all day.”

“Weird,” I say, voice tight. “I guess we’ve just been missing each other.”

I’m grateful when Mrs. Randolph asks us all to quiet down. She spends the rest of class going over the next section. We’re moving from a drawing project to painting. She shows us some examples from her students last year, including one of mine. “We’ll spend today and tomorrow on this assignment. You’ll need to use your time wisely to get it all done, so focus on technique, not perfection. By the end of today, your drawing should be complete so you can paint tomorrow.”

I get to work more eagerly than I have for any assignment ever. Out of my peripheral, I can see that Austin is flipping to a blank page in his sketchbook, but he’s glancing at me.

“So how was the rest of your weekend?” he asks.

“Fine.” I stand abruptly. “I need to ask Mrs. Randolph about something.”

I flee, then spend the next five minutes asking our teacher questions about the assignment I already know the answers to. Austin seems to take the hint though, because when I take my seat, he doesn’t engage again.

I work with the kind of distracted concentration that makes my hand hurt from gripping the pencil tightly. I keep my head bowed over my work, the hair falling around my face keeping me from seeing the guy next to me.

I can hear his quiet sketching, feel every time he shifts in his chair or taps his pencil against the desk in concentration.

As the class winds down, I start to worry about how I’m going to escape. We usually walk back to our lockers together, but it’s at least a two-minute walk, and that’s far too many seconds where he can bring up seeing me half-naked.

I groan and squeeze my eyes shut. I promised myself I would not even think the word naked, let alone reimagine that night. Now I’m doing both.

When the bell rings, I gather my stuff quickly. My pencil drops to the ground. Before I can grab it, Austin leans down and picks it up. He’s wearing a confused smirk as I contemplate how badly I want my pencil back.

Slowly, he extends it out to me. I wrap my fingers around the eraser end, but Austin holds on for a few seconds longer before letting it go.

“Thank you,” I say as I feel my face heat. “I need to talk to Mrs. Randolph.”

“Right,” he says in a tone that’s not completely believing.

“I’ll, uh, see you later.”

He nods and finally goes ahead without me. I don’t need to talk to Mrs. Randolph, but I do need to unclench my hand before I break this pencil and get a freaking grip on myself.

I take my time, waiting until everyone is gone, and then approach her desk.

“Hi, Claire,” she says, brightening as she greets me. “More questions about the assignment?”

“No,” I say with a small laugh. God, how ridiculous she and Austin must think I am. I have only a few seconds to come up with something else, so I go with the first thing that comes to mind. “Do you have any suggestions for colleges with good art programs?”

“You’re considering art as a major?” she asks, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling.

“Maybe,” I admit. “I’m not really sure what I want to do, but I like art.” That much is true. It isn’t exactly the same feeling as skating, but it’s uncomplicated and peaceful.

“That’s great, Claire. I can put together a list for you if you’d like.”

I nod and give her what is maybe my first real smile of the day. “Thank you.”

When I finally leave the class, Austin is still waiting for me. He’s leaned back against the wall, one foot over the other. I pause when I see him. Panic washes over me.

“You waited.”

“Yeah.” He shifts his bag higher on his shoulder.

“Go ahead. I need to go to the restroom.”

I start to dart away, but he grabs my wrist. “Are you okay? You’re doing a lot of running off in the other direction every time you see me.”

“I’m fine,” I say brightly. “Just really need to pee.”

His brow furrows. “If this is about the other night—”

Warmth creeps up my neck and face.

“I really gotta go,” I say, breaking free and not stopping until I’m safely behind the door of the girls’ bathroom.

Avoiding him forever is a lot harder than I expected.