Page 85 of Bending Under Pressure

“Can I speak with you for a moment?” Natalie asks after we exchange the usual greetings.

“Sure.” I face Kiera and add, “You can put your stuff in my room. The girls will be here later.”

“Okay, thanks.” Keira makes her way upstairs as I step outside with Natalie since Cameron is in the living room.

“I wanted to apologize about what happened at the reunion and if it upset you and made you uncomfortable. I thought it would be a great way for you to meet everyone. I didn’t mean to—”

“Didn’t mean to catch me off guard? Didn’t mean to lie? Didn’t mean to pretend that I’m your kid?” I blurt out, letting my temper get the best of me. “Look, Natalie, I still don’t know what you want from me. It feels more like you’re trying to make me part of your family than you simply getting to know me. Yeah, what you did made me mad. I don’t like this entire situation to start with because it’s messing up the stable life I already have and love.

“I’m trying here because I was curious and because I like Keira. But if you do something like that to me again, I won’t hesitate to cut you off. I don’t owe you anything and I don’t have to talk or meet with you at all. The least you can do is be upfront and honest with me.” I force myself to stop because she looks as if I’ve shocked her. The only reason I spoke up is because she was still acting as if she didn’t intentionally hide it from me, as if there was nothing wrong with that. Plus, I can’t have Mom fighting all my battles for me.

Natalie clears her throat. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Keelan. I hope we can move past this. Maybe you can come spend the night at our house as well.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Okay, well, I’m going to go. I’ll be back to pick her up tomorrow.” She gives me a hug, which is still awkward, and then she leaves.

Cameron and Kiera are sitting on the couch, talking when I re-enter the house. When Mom and Dad come home a few minutes later, we help them unload the groceries. It’s odd because Keira seems to fit in better with my family than I did with hers. She laughs at Dad’s jokes, talks to Mom about recipes, and ends up spending more time with her than us so far.

Haley and Jess arrive at the same time. I hear their doors closing and Dad laughs as both Cameron and I jump up to go outside to help them with their bags. Cam walks to Jess while I meet Haley.

“Hey,” she says. “Is she here?”

“Yeah, Mom is keeping her company.” I take her small duffle bag from her and gently kiss her lips, remembering last night. The struggle to keep my hands on her hips while she straddled my lap had to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. She seemed so content to just kiss that I didn’t want to make her feel pressured if I let my hands roam.

“I could’ve come earlier, but I slept in late. I’m still surprised your parents are letting me come over, considering I’m such a bad influence.”

I laugh. “Having Jess, Cam, and Kiera here helps your case.”

She laces her fingers with mine and squeezes, holding me back instead of following Jess and Cam inside. “I expect you to help my case. Don’t make them hate me more.” There’s too much seriousness in her statement.

“Hales, they like you, promise.” She rolls her eyes. “They just don’t like that I sneak out if you need me or that we kiss so much.”

“I might think that, but if it was just those things then Cameron would have the same restrictions,” she sighs. “Sorry. It bothers me more because I know that between the two of us, you’re the bad influence.”

“Think of it as taking one for the team. And remember, they do like you.”

“Okay,” she nods. “Let’s go before they think we’re trying to have a quickie.”

My laughter steals my breath as we finally walk inside. Everyone seems to be in the kitchen, probably eating cookies based on the chocolate chip aroma floating around the house. I could let Haley join them while I take her things to my room, but I don’t. I make her come with me. The next time I get her alone will probably be when everyone goes to sleep and I want to make the best out of every chance we get.

I drop her bag onto my bed, then swivel to face her, cupping her face in my hands. The corners of her mouth are already lifting up into a smile. The staggering need to kiss her all over, touch her wherever I want, and to see more of her body is getting out of hand. All I can do is pull her closer to me and kiss her that much harder. Haley’s open palms rest on my chest. She gently pushes to put space between us, her irregular breathing giving her away.

“I just said I expect you to help my case,” she scolds me with a laugh. She takes my hand and then leads us down to the kitchen where everyone has assembled.

I realize I’m supposed to be socializing and hanging out with my sister, and I am, but I’m also determined to make Haley as happily miserable as I am. I sneak kisses when no one is looking. I stroke my fingers over her skin when I can get away with it. And the moment my parents go to bed, we’re left to our own devices to watch a movie in the living room.

Mom said Jess and Haley could sleep in Cameron’s bed while Keira gets mine. My brother and I are to sleep in the living room on the pull-out couch. For now, Cam and Jess have abandoned us to disappear into his room. Haley is on one side while Keira is on the other. Haley rests her head on my shoulder and I wonder when Kiera will want to go to bed.

“So, what did Mom want to talk to you about?” Kiera asks a few minutes later when it’s apparent Haley has fallen asleep on us when she slides forward and lays her head in my lap.

“She apologized for what happened. Are you glad you came?”

“Yeah. Your parents are really great, Cam, Jess, and Haley, too. Growing up here must’ve been wonderful,” she finishes quietly.

“How was it to grow up with Aunt Frances? How is it now with Natalie?” We’ve never talked about it before and with my girlfriend asleep, we don’t have anything better to do.

“It wasn’t bad. Aunt Frances did the best she could. She would take me to visit Mom and Dad. I didn’t realize that wasn’t normal for most kids, so finding out everyone had their mom and dad at home with them was kinda hard. For the most part, I like living with Mom, but...” her voice trails off.

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