The Cell Phone Swap

Chapter 40 iTake the Leap

Keeley's knee bounced as she stared at the school library door. How long did it take to get here? She'd been patiently waiting for thirty minutes and the morning bell was about to ring. They were running out of time.

"Would you calm down?" Nicky asked. She picked up the last of the breakfast burrito and finished it off. "You're giving me a headache with all that jiggling."

She stilled her leg. "I am calm."

Nicky looked down where Keeley was drumming her fingers on the table and sighed. "I can see that." She reached over and slapped Keeley's hand down. "He'll be here."

"He said to meet him before school," she stated more as a reminder to herself than anything else.

"I know."

"And here I am, meeting him before school." Her foot started shaking beneath the table. "But is he here as promised? No, he isn't."

"Probably because he didn't have someone wake him up before the crack of dawn," Nicky mumbled in a disgruntled tone.

Keeley tore her eyes away from the door. "It was not that early."

"It was still dark outside. The birds weren't even up yet."

"There was some light," she replied defensively, crossing her arms. "And it's not my fault you have lazy birds who sleep all day."

Nicky gave her a pointed look.

"So I may have been a little eager and got to your house three hours early. Sue me." When Nicky's expression didn't change she tried a different tactic. "I bought you food."

"Which you wouldn't let me eat at the restaurant. I had to sneak it past the librarian." Nicky sent a furtive look over her shoulder. "You know she's a stickler for rules. If I get caught, I'm blaming it on you."

"I'm not taking the fall. You should have eaten it in the car like I told you to."

Nicky reached into the bag and pulled out another burrito. "Food should be savored, Keeley, not devoured."

"That argument would hold up better if I hadn't seen you eat at the buffet last summer."

Nicky scowled. "I thought we agreed to never bring that up."

Keeley shook her head and went back to staring at the door. She was getting nervous. Hell, who was she kidding? She was way past nervous and heading straight toward worried. Her whole plan hinged on this. What if he didn't follow through?

Nicky must have seen the panic on her face because she put the burrito down and offered her a sympathetic smile. "We always have our back-up plan."

The idea of filling his truck with peeps seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that she really thought about it, it sounded exhausting...and expensive. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. I have no desire to open little marshmallow packages all night long."

"If it does we can always get your brother to help. I'm sure he'd jump at the chance to do something to Talon's truck again."

"I don't think he'd appreciate the romantic overture."

"Does he know you want to get back together with Talon?"

"I haven't told him yet." She wanted to wait and see if her plan worked. No use starting an argument with her brother for nothing.

Nicky let out a low whistle. "I'd hate to be part of that conversation."

"Me too," she muttered.

The library door opened and Keeley's eyes brightened when she saw Gavin walk through. Waving her hand, she caught his attention and beckoned him over.