Page 102 of The Keeper

His friends seem nice too. They all play soccer together at some field not too far from the cottage. Grandpa’s mentioned it before. I should tell Tori. Maybe if we go together to watch them practice I won’t be so nervous to talk to him.

I glanced at the date of the journal entry.

Mid-July. Not too long after we arrived.

Wait.

This is from the summer before everything happened at the bonfire.

A cold chill skittered down my spine. This felt wrong. Charlotte wouldn’t have kept her new crush a secret from me, would she? I wracked my brain trying to remember if she ever mentioned meeting anyone. Nope. She never did. Not until the last summer we went there.

Maybe she had her reasons. Maybe it was just a little crush from afar. Maybe this wasn’t even the same guy.

I closed the diary and sighed. Part of me wanted to know everything. Another part of me wanted to burn it and let Charlotte rest in peace.

“Just a few more pages.” I skipped ahead to August.

Adam kissed me today.

He wasn’t with his friends so we spent all afternoon together. Just the two of us. The kiss was a surprise. It was soft and sweet and I wanted it to go on forever. I especially liked it when he used his tongue. He tasted like the Eton Mess we just shared. Tori and I always talk about kissing boys like this. She hasn’t done it yet though.

There’s a party next weekend he wants to take me to. I mentioned bringing my sister and he laughed. Twins. He said his friends will love it. I don’t think he meant anything bad by it. And we’re used to it. My sister gets a kick out of the attention. She’s a master at flirting. I should tell her about this party and see if she’d like to go. I’ll be sure to mention all the soccer players.

But this kiss today….

It stirred something in me I know I’m not ready for. Sometimes I wish I was older and more experienced. Not experienced in the way my sister talks about. All the seniors at school throwing parties with paddles and handcuffs and rope? Hell no. Way too terrifying. She seemed really into it though. And of course Killian chimed in and said how much fun it sounded. Those two. ?

No, not experienced like that. More like the girls who whisper about backseats and hiding under the bleachers out by the football field. More like that. But not now. I’m only 15. Someday. Maybe next summer. Or the summer after. I hope he’s still interested in me then.

I love talking to him. Even when he brags about some development league one of the big soccer teams in London is forming for teens. He really wants to be accepted into that.

Aside from all the sports talk, he’s quite intuitive and smart. And he has the sharpest sense of humor. The only time I ever really see him annoyed is when his brother comes around. They argue all the time about stupid stuff. Like, who’s a better natural athlete or who’s on the first team versus the second team.

Ugh. Boys. So dumb.

It reminds me of the football players at school. He seems nice though. The brother, I mean. I’ve never actually had a conversation with him or anything but we exchanged a pleasant hello once. He’s always surrounded by girls. Always. And he’s a huge flirt. I bet if Tori met him she’d totally get a crush on him. He’s a soccer player too. A goalkeeper.

I dropped the diary like it was on fire.

Xavier

“Xavier Maddox with the clean sheet,” Cade bellowed, clapping his hands. A handful of people on the sidewalk stopped and stared as we walked by. “Best keeper in the league. England’s number one.”

“Or maybe United’s striker forgot how to score,” I smirked.

“Shade from the big X. Brilliant.”

Winning the match was never in doubt. Not with me in goal and Gallagher kicking absolute lasers in United’s box. In fact, the whole squad came together when it mattered most. Even Adam. His defending actually made my life easier. Little prick. I snickered.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Cade asked while we walked toward our cars. We’d just finished a post-game meal at Black Rose, a standing ritual we’ve had for years.

“Feels good to be back is all.”

“That’s a bloody lie and you know it. You’ve been chuffed about something since before we went on the pitch.” He stopped at his car. “Are you going to New York?”

“Nope.” I kept walking and didn’t turn back. All I heard was a string of profanities coming from Cade mixed in with his laughter.

What I did plan to do was watch Victoria’s video again. And again. First thing I did after the final whistle was check my phone. She’s something else. I was noticeably hard going into the post-match interview.

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