Page 37 of Bending Under Pressure

She shakes her head. “Well, I mean a little, but I love Cam, and I’m so comfortable with him. That helps me be less nervous. Plus, it’s not like we haven’t done other things before. I’ve seen and touched his penis, Haley.”

I’m embarrassed when I start choking on the popcorn I just put into my mouth. Jess busts out laughing at me. After taking a sip of my drink, the popcorn slides down my throat.

“I didn’t need to know that.” Jess rolls her eyes at me, and I hurry to change the subject. “Why does Cameron tell you everything I do with Keelan?”

She smiles. “Don’t tell him you know this, but he’s a huge gossip. He can’t help it. He likes to talk about what’s going on with everyone. If you ever want to know about anyone in school, heck, even in town, ask Cam. He probably knows.” Her phone dings again. “Sorry,” she halfheartedly apologizes. “He’s needy after a loss. Normally, he’d sneak in, but...” she trails off.

Right. I’m here, so he’s not coming.

Another ding.

This time, Jess flicks her eyes up at me with a hint of uncertainty.

“What?” I ask.

“Since we can’t make out like usual, he wants to know if we want to go climb the water tower.”

I stare at her. “Climb a water tower?” She can’t be serious.

“Yeah, we do it sometimes. Do you want to go? We don’t have to, but it’d be fun. If you don’t want to, Cam can just wait until tomorrow to come over.” It’s obvious she wants to go.

“Sure, why not?”

Jess lunges over to hug me. “You’re the best!”

We change out of our pajamas and my stomach is a bundle of nerves already. “Will your parents check on us?”

She laughs. “No. Cam sneaks over all the time and we’ve never even had a close call. My parents are so laid back.” She stands in front of her dresser, which has a mirror, and brushes her hair.

“Keelan’s coming, right?” Sounds like a dumb question, but I’m nervous and he makes me feel better. We’re about to go climb a freaking water tower!

“Duh.” Her phone dings. “They’re here. Let’s go.” She unlocks her window, easily pushes it and the screen up, and then we’re climbing out. Jess lives practically next to the tennis courts. Cam’s truck is parked at the courts, so we have to jog over there to meet them.

I grin when I see the brothers leaning against the truck on the passenger side. One of these days, I need to let Octavia know how gentlemanly her boys are. She would be proud. The lights from the courts are bright enough that we can clearly see them and their grins. It looks like Keelan is in a better mood than before.

Jess wraps her arms around Cam’s neck and he leans down to kiss her while Keelan and I simply stand in front of one another.

“Hey,” he says, his grin widening.

“Hey.”

He opens the back door and punches Cam’s shoulder for him to open the passenger door for Jess. No telling how long we would’ve been here had we waited for them to finish. I climb into the truck. My skin breaks out in goosebumps when Keelan touches the back of my thigh before I can sit.

“Scoot to the middle, Hales.”

I do and he climbs in next to me. Once we’re all in and buckled, Cameron backs up and we’re on our way. The cab of the truck is dark. It’s heightening my nerves. Why am I more nervous around Keelan when other people are around? It doesn’t make sense! I gulp just as Keelan reaches over to take my hand, interlocking our fingers and leaving our hands in my lap.

“How was girls’ night?” he asks, his voice low.

“Fun. We painted our nails, listened to music, ate popcorn, and talked. Are you doing okay?”

He nods, squeezing my hand. As with most places in town, it doesn’t take long to reach our destination. However, we’ve parked down the street from the water tower because it’s in the little section deemed as town. With a deep breath, we get out and quietly move between buildings. Keelan holds my hand the entire time.

Which is how he jerks to a stop when I freeze in my tracks.

“The water tower is behind the police station!” I whisper vehemently when he turns toward me. They can’t seriously think I’m going to climb up that thing now. We’re practically begging to be caught.

“Hales, no one is there and there aren’t any cameras in the back. We’ve done this before. We’re fine.” He tugs on my hand. Cameron and Jess are already climbing up the ladder.

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