Stealing for Keeps (Frost Lake High Book 1)
Stealing for Keeps: Chapter 21

I go over to Austin’s house to work on our art project and then play video games for our daily activity. He picked Mario Kart, which was actually in my favor, because Ruby loves it and it’s one of the few Nintendo games I’m good at.

I beat him three times in a row before he lets out a little grunt of frustration.

“Again?” he asks, but he’s already cueing up the game for another race.

“No thanks. I think I’ll quit while I’m ahead.” I set the controller on the couch next to me. “I don’t dislike video games, but I get bored with them fast.”

“Not Austin,” Wyatt says. “He once played Legend of Zelda for ten hours straight. He smelled so bad.”

“Okay.” He tosses a pillow at his little brother. “Enough secret sharing between you two.”

Laughing, I stand. “I need to get home anyway.”

“You’re not staying for dinner?” Austin asks. He always invites me to stay, and I love watching the way his family interacts with one another. His sister doesn’t say much, and what little she does say is clipped and moody, but his mom asks about their days, and Wyatt provides comic relief, and when his dad is in town, they all joke and smile more. It’s nice.

“I can’t tonight. It’s my sister’s birthday, so we’re going out.”

“It is?!” Wyatt stands on top of the chair cushion he was just sitting on. “I didn’t get her anything.”

“It’s okay,” I tell him.

“But Mom says birthdays are days to tell people how much they mean to you.”

It’s hard to argue with that and makes me love him just that much more. As much as I enjoy Austin, his little brother is climbing up my favorite people list.

“Why don’t you make her a card?” I suggest, unzipping my backpack and pulling out a piece of paper.

“Okay.” With no hesitation, he jumps off the chair to me and swipes the paper.

Austin laughs, those light green eyes glinting with humor.

“It’s going to be the best birthday card ever,” Wyatt announces.

“All right.” I sit back down next to Austin, and he hands me the controller again. “But I have to leave in ten minutes.”

* * *

I get to the restaurant five minutes late. My mom and dad are sitting across from each other. Dad looks stiff and uncomfortable, and Mom is smiling in that big, fake way that I know is her way of trying to make us look like a happy, adoring family. Ruby perks up when she spots me.

“Hi,” I say as I slide in next to Dad.

“You’re late,” my mom announces, like I don’t already know.

“They haven’t even taken our drink order yet,” Ruby says with a hint of annoyance in her tone. She is only eleven, but she has teen angst down pat.

“Sorry, but I had to wait a few minutes so I could deliver this.” I set the birthday card in front of my sister. Her smile brightens as she takes in the hand-drawn card. “It’s from Wyatt.”

“Awww. This is so nice.” She opens it up and reads it.

“Who is Wyatt?” my dad asks.

“He’s my friend Austin’s little brother. He’s planning on marrying Ruby.”

“Oh good.” One side of Dad’s mouth lifts. “I was worried no one would want her.”

“Hey.” Ruby’s mouth drops in surprise, and Dad and I laugh. For the briefest of seconds, it feels like old times. Well, the good old times. There were plenty of bad old times too.

Mom and Dad spent most of the time fighting before they divorced, and when they weren’t, Dad would hide at his office, probably to avoid fighting. But he has always been the softer of the two. He’s fun and no schedule, and Mom is all schedule and zero fun.

“Hopefully I won’t replace this one in my house at two o’clock in the morning.” Mom’s gaze is pinned on me. She hasn’t mentioned that night since it happened, but I should have known she was just waiting for the right moment.

My face heats, and my dad glances over at me. Somehow his disapproval always feels worse than Mom’s, because with her, I expect it.

“It isn’t what it sounds like,” I say quickly before he can assume the worst.

“She was in her bra and panties, drunk, and had a boy in her room.” Mom smiles at the server who has now approached our table.

I recognize the girl from school. I think she’s a junior, but I only know her name is Cameron because of her name tag. She takes our drink order and then leaves us to our super fun family dinner.

“Claire Bear?” Dad says my name like it’s a question, clearly still hung up on whether I’m sneaking boys in and having drunk sex.

“Okay, it’s what it sounds like, but nothing happened. I had a few drinks, and it hit me harder than I expected. So I did the responsible thing and got a ride home. We’re just friends.”

“Friends do not hang out almost every night,” my mom says.

“We’re on a group project together.” Although most of our time isn’t spent on that anymore. I squirm in my seat, feeling uncomfortable under their scrutiny.

“You might not be thinking about him like that, but I guarantee he is.” My mom has all sorts of thoughts on the teenage boy, and none of them are good. I settle in to hear how horrible they are for the nine millionth time. They only want one thing, and when they get it, they’re done with you. I shouldn’t waste my time, blah blah blah. She didn’t even really like Vaughn, and he is every parent’s dream.

“I got it, Mom,” I say when she’s done. “We’re not dating. He’s on the soccer team, and he’s friends with Vaughn.”

I don’t know why I say it. Maybe as a reminder to myself.

“No boys in your room after ten.” Dad leans over and bumps his shoulder against mine. “And no drinking. You’re only sixteen.”

“You drank in high school.”

“Which is how I know it’s a bad idea.”

A small smile pulls at the corner of my lips, and I nod my agreement, or at least my note of consideration.

“That’s it?” my mom asks, sounding incredulous.

Dad sighs. “What do you want me to do, Marie? Ground her for eternity for being a teenager?”

“Nothing. I don’t want you to do anything. Let me be the bad guy, as usual.”

Ruby and I exchange a look, neither of us wanting to be here.

“Happy birthday,” I mouth to her while attempting to smile.

* * *

After school the next day, Austin stops by my locker.

“Hi,” I say, pulling my backpack out and shutting the door. He doesn’t usually talk to me outside of lunch and art class. I glance around for any sign of Vaughn. Neither of us has outright admitted we’re still avoiding being seen hanging out alone because of my ex, but the knowledge hangs over me.

“Meet me in the breezeway in fifteen minutes,” he says.

“Don’t you have practice?”

“Yes.”

When he doesn’t expand, I ask, “How do you plan to be in two places at once?”

“I can teleport, obviously,” he deadpans. “I gotta go. See you in fifteen.”

“What am I supposed to do until then?” I ask myself, because he’s already gone, jogging down the hallway toward the back field for practice. I replace Lacey in the locker room where she’s getting changed for practice. I’m antsy, excited, and a little nervous.

“What do you think he has planned?” I ask her after explaining Austin’s cryptic remark.

“I don’t know,” my best friend says as she pulls her hair up in a ponytail. “The only reason I’ve ever met up with anyone there was to exchange homework notes or make out.”

Her eyes light up with possibility.

“He didn’t ask me to meet him there to make out,” I say. Probably. No, definitely.

She looks at me skeptically.

“It’s not like that.”

She laughs, not even bothering to pretend that she believes me.

“Okay, yes, there have been a few moments.” The dance. The closet. The soccer field. The library.

She’s no longer laughing, but her lips are slammed closed like she’s fighting it.

“But nothing has happened. The night of the dance was an anomaly. We’re friends.” I really hate that word, but we’re not more than friends, so it’s close enough.

“Whatever you say.” She swipes her phone off the bench and starts toward the door, turning and walking backward so we’re still face-to-face. “Text me later to tell me about your friend hang.”

I wait it out another few minutes and then walk slowly back through the school toward the breezeway. The halls are empty, but a lot of the teachers are still in their rooms grading papers or preparing for tomorrow.

As I get closer, voices filter in from outside. I stop at the doors and stick my head out to see a group of students sitting at the tables. I duck back inside quickly before I’m spotted, then peer back out to check and make sure Austin isn’t among them.

“Hey.” He comes to a stop behind me, making me jump. He’s breathing hard, like he was running to get here.

“Hi.” I turn to face him. He’s in his practice clothes. A blue jersey with FROST LAKE HIGH SOCCER written across the chest, black athletic shorts, shin guards covered by tall socks, and soccer cleats. I’ve seen him in his soccer gear before, but I don’t know. There’s something about seeing him like this and knowing how much it means to him that makes him even more handsome.

“There are people out there,” I say, hitching a thumb over my shoulder.

“I know.” His grin widens. “Let’s go.”

Confused but too curious to object, I follow him out the double doors to the breezeway. There are four tables, two on either side of the doors. Students, mostly guys, a couple of girls, sit at two of them. It’s only as we walk closer that I notice the chess boards set up in front of them.

Before I can tell Austin that there’s absolutely no way I’m joining the chess team, he’s holding out a hand to José and greeting him.

“You know Claire?” Austin says.

“Hey, José.” I wave awkwardly, then shoot Austin a “what the hell” look that he either doesn’t read correctly or ignores.

“José has graciously agreed to let you sit in on one of their practices to see if you’re interested.”

Someone calls for the chess team captain, and he holds up a finger to us. “One sec.”

When he’s gone, I step closer to Austin. “No way.”

“It might be fun,” he insists. “How do you know unless you try?” He opens his mouth like he’s about to deliver another cheesy, trite saying.

“On this one rare instance, I think I just know.” I might be willing to accept that I’ll never be as good at anything else as I was at skating and even that there are things I might love that I wouldn’t know unless I tried. But chess?!

“How are you going to be here and at practice?” I motion to him.

“I’m not.” He gives me a boyish, hopeful grin steeped in remorse.

Then I remember what he said. José was going to let me sit in.

“You cannot leave me here,” I hiss.

“José is cool, and the others seem…focused.”

“Is there anyone in this school you haven’t befriended?” I ask instead of running away, which honestly, I think should count for something. I didn’t try chess, but I considered it for all of three minutes. I’d say that deserves two gold stars.

“We have study hall together. He’s nice, and he promised to show you how to play as a favor to me, so you can’t back out now.”

“I know how to play chess. Kind of. I know that the queen is important.”

He chuckles. “Good. That’ll come in handy.”

“I cannot believe you,” I say and then give in and laugh with him. This is a terrible idea but also strangely sweet.

“The Frost Lake High chess team has gone to state the last eight years, and two of their players are among the top twenty juniors in the nation.”

“That’s pretty cool,” I admit.

“Right?” He continues grinning at me, obviously pleased with himself. “Now, have you ever considered chess as an opportunity to try a new sport and make friends?”

José waves from the table. He is a nice guy. We had English class together last year, and he offered me his notes any time I missed class. Bailing will make me look like a jerk. Maybe it’ll be fun.

I hold in a groan and glare at Austin. “I am so getting you back for this.”

“For doing something nice?” He holds both hands over his heart. “Can’t wait.”