***Chapter Thirty-Eight***
The following day was my date with Keegan. I told him to come around 4 so that I could get some homework done and decompress from classes. I still was oblivious to where he was taking me. My complaints would be kept to a minimum, though. We were going to have a good time no matter where we went. Keegan was a fun guy and always knew how to make sure I was having the best time.
4 was approaching, so I put my books away to get ready. Once I was, I made my way to the main parking lot on campus to see if he had got here yet. To my surprise, he did and looked happy to see me. However, I was not happy to see Drew standing by Keegan’s car as well. He wore this smug expression on his face as I walked up to the both of them. I’m not sure what game he was trying to play, but I didn’t like it. There was no need for him to be here. Now I’m thinking he was simply being a jerk.
Crossing my arms, it was very hard to hide the annoyance on my face at Drew. He didn’t seem to care all that much, though. His smug smile stay plastered across his face like he had the upper hand in the situation. Whatever he was trying to do, I wished he had stopped. Nothing ever makes sense with him and it’s getting annoying. If he would not be honest, then he needed to fuck off.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him angrily.
Drew shrugged. “Just talking with Keegan. What’s up?” He played coy.
My eyes narrow at him. “Don’t you give me that bullshit, Andrew Tate.” I call him out. “What are you *really* doing here?”
He sighed before telling me his half-baked truth. “Well, I was asking Keegan where you guys were going for your date,” he explains.
“Why? It’s none of your business.” I make that clear.
Ignoring my hostility, Drew laughs it off like everything is fine. “Because I thought we could make this a double date, and I’d bring Juliana.”
Were my ears deceiving me? Did he just suggest that my date with Keegan turn into a double outing? What would even be his purpose for wanting to double date with us?
Keegan and I were looking forward to doing something fun alone for a change. Now Drew disrupted that for god knows what reason. Was this some sort of trick he was playing on me? I must admit, it would be pretty good if that were the case. However, it wasn’t, and I was angry.
Laughing sarcastically, I point my finger at him, not wanting to believe what he was saying. “Oh, you’re joking, right? There’s no way you think that’s a good idea.” I tried to make sense of everything.
Drew steps up to me, smirking like nobody’s business. “This isn’t a joke, Annabelle.” He’s serious. “We’ll see you guys there.”
He walks away, leaving me feeling annoyed and flabbergasted all in one. I can’t believe he invited himself and Juliana to *my* date with Keegan. That was barbaric and such a shit thing to do. He knew how much I wanted this time with Keegan and he was going to do that! My blood was livid at the thought of seeing him and Juliana wherever we were going. I had to remain as calm as I could because regardless of his shit plan, Keegan and I would have a wonderful time together.
Looking at Keegan, I took a deep breath before finally greeting him. I was so worked up by Drew being here that I forgot to say hello to my date. He didn’t seem too bothered by the events that transpired, but he didn’t look too happy, either. This was supposed to be our evening, and Drew was imposing. I hope he wasn’t upset, but he also could’ve said no. I do not know why he didn’t, but it didn’t matter anymore. They were already coming.
Embracing me, Keegan squeezed tight before smiling down. “Are you ready to go?” He asks, forgetting everything that just happened with Drew.
I nod, smiling up at him. “Once you tell me where we’re going,” I hated surprises. I didn’t have the patience for them.
He chuckled, opening the car door for me. “You’ll see when we get there!” He assured me.
I laughed, putting on my seat belt as he climbed in on the driver’s side. I never been in Keegan’s car before and it was very well kept. It matched him perfectly and smelled so good in here. It almost had that brand new car smell, but I could tell it wasn’t new. Possibly just cleaned, but beautiful. It made me eager to get a car of my own if I ever work up the courage to take driver’s ed. I love taking long car rides, so I can only imagine when I have one.
We drove for sometime listening to music and singing along together. I wasn’t paying much attention to the signs, as my poor singing distracted me a bit. By the time we came to a stop, I was excited to see that we were at Island Adventure amusement park. I haven’t been here in years and couldn’t wait to get inside. The excitement building up inside was just the reaction Keegan wanted. I’m surprised he didn’t take me to some dinner or something lame like that. This was more my speed!
As he parked the car, I eagerly hopped out, ready to have a fun night. Keegan looked pleased with his decision to have our date be here. I felt like he knew me better than I was letting on. Instead of going with the simple choice of dinner and a movie, he took me to a freaking amusement park. It’s a wonder he had to save up some money. These parks could be expensive.
Grabbing my hand, Keegan leads me to the entrance. “Do you like the idea?” He asked me, already knowing the answer.
“Like it, I love it!” I yelled, overjoyed. “This is going to be so fun. What should we do first?”
Keegan laughed at my excitement. “Well, we need to get the tickets first.” He says to calm me down.
I smile, relaxing a bit. “Sorry, I’m just excited. It’s been so long since I’ve been here.” I try to contain it, but it was so hard.
Well, it was hard until I saw Drew and Juliana waiting there for us. Juliana looked happy to see me, which it’s always nice to see her. It’s Drew I was annoyed with. He didn’t even seem like he cared, either. It’s like he doesn’t think he did anything wrong and it pissed me off. I almost wanted to punch him in his beautiful face. If it weren’t because I didn’t want to see him with a black eye, I would have.
Groaning, I squeeze Keegan’s hand tighter. “Why did you agree to him coming?” I ask. I wasn’t there for the before conversation.
Keegan’s eyes roll, annoyed as well. “I didn’t, actually. He just invited himself,” he says. “Before I could reject it, you showed up.”
Curse me for being so punctual. “We won’t let that stop us, right?” I wanted to be sure. “We’ll still have a good time, like they’re not even here?”
Keegan scoffed with a smile. “Are you kidding? This is still *our* night.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer.
I smile at his words, happy to at least know we’ll continue on as usual. I still couldn’t decipher why Drew would want to interfere with my date, but there wasn’t any time to dwell on it. Not when Juliana was here as well, oblivious to the whole matter. I didn’t want to say anything that would cause drama between her and I. I kept things civil and hugged her as tight as I could. She had no parts in the mess Drew created.
She hugged me back, just as excited as I was about being here. We left Keegan and Drew to go buy the tickets while we made idle conversation. To her knowledge, it was my idea that we do a double date. That was news to me, but I kept up the charade because I knew what would happen if I said otherwise. Drew better be lucky I liked him. If not for that fact, I’d be screaming at him right about now.
They got the tickets, and we made our way inside the park. I hopped on Keegan’s back as he carried me without a problem. I was doing anything to make Drew pissy, and I think it was working. He wouldn’t glance my way even for a second. I will not get caught up in pissing him off too much, but boy, would it be an enjoyable bonus.
“What did you want to do first?” I ask Keegan, with a bright smile on my face.
He thought for a moment. “I figured you’d want to do all the thrill rides first and then end our night with the best cotton candy around up on the Ferris wheel.” He had everything planned out.
“A romantic ending?” I jumped off his back to lock our arms instead. “You have everything all figured out.”
He winks at me, making me blush. “Only for the best girl I know.” He flatters me.
We did what he said, getting on every thrill ride first. As the sunset, it was fun riding rollercoasters in the dark. It added to the thrill and the lights at night made everything look pretty. Listening to Keegan scream on every ride also made for an enjoyable time. I couldn’t tell if it was the heights freaking him out or how fast everything was moving. Either way, it made for a good laugh each time we got on one.
The thing that wasn’t enjoyable was having Drew and Juliana behind us every step of the way. You’d think they’d go off and do their own thing. Juliana still looked like she was having fun, but I’m willing to bet it was Drew who wanted to stick around us. We haven’t said a word to each other since we got here and I planned on keeping it that way. I was so pissed at him for what he did. All I wanted was some alone time with Keegan. Was that too much to ask for?
Apparently so, because as the night was ending, we all went to the cotton candy stand. Keegan got one for him and me to share while Drew did the same for him and Juliana. We walked over to the Ferris Wheel; me stealing pieces of cotton candy as we went. Drew was adamant about staying in my sights that when we got to the Ferris Wheel, I had a plan of my own.
The seats could fit all four of us, but I wasn’t about to spend the last of my date with these two around. So, I let them get in first and as Keegan was going to sit down; I pulled him back, shutting the door behind him as they went first. Keegan looked confused, but surprised I had done that. We took the next car with no qualms and I was happy to have at least a small amount of privacy with him.
Making our way up slowly, Keegan laughed, eating some of our sweet treat. “I gotta admit, that was pretty cool,” he smirked.
I giggled. “This was supposed to be our date. I think we deserved to do at least one thing on our own.” I say.
He agreed with a nod of his head. “About that, there’s something I want to ask you,” his facial expression changes.
It made me nervous, but I obliged any way. “What is it?” I say, eating more candy.
“Drew…is there something going on that I’m missing?” He pondered.
I was afraid of him asking me that question because how was I supposed to answer it? Drew wasn’t being very discrete around everyone except Juliana. He’s the one that wanted everything to be a secret. Yet he continuously did things that were even confusing to me. I couldn’t produce a true answer for him when I didn’t even know what was going on. Personally, I wish he would stop so that these types of situations wouldn’t happen. He’s leaving me with a bunch of mixed emotions and never seemed to fix it, either.
Sighing, I say what I always tell myself. “Drew and I…we grew up together.” I explain. “I’m best friends with his younger sister, so he’s seen the both of us grow.”
“You think it’s only a matter of you guys growing up together?” He asked me like he had more information than I did. “The way he wants to kill me any time we’re together makes me think otherwise.”
I hated this topic, especially to be talking about it with Keegan. “I wish I could provide better answers, but your guess is as good as mine.”
I knew some answers, and it was because Drew wanted to do this sneaky friends with benefits thing with me. According to Cameron and Dillon, this situation is supposed to be a no strings attached ordeal. I’ve been doing decently at masking my feelings for him. I wasn’t letting them get in the way because of Juliana. I had a motivation to keep myself under control as much as possible. Drew didn’t have that and when he seen me talk to anybody, his whole demeanor changed. I could barely make sense of it, and I was the other person in the mess. I didn’t want to believe Cameron or anyone else that Drew had feelings for me. To me, he was doing things, so I wouldn’t experience anything without him there. He was being selfish!
In the end, I didn’t want to get caught up thinking about it. Our date was still ongoing and there was time to worry about that later. In the meantime, we finished up our cotton candy as we got stopped at the top of the wheel. Looking over, everything looked gorgeous with the pretty lights everywhere. Keegan looked like he enjoyed it as well bearing a smile on his face. I take the cotton candy stick out of his hand, resting my head on his chest. His arm wraps around me, snuggling me close.
“Despite the intrusion, I had a great time tonight, Keegan.” I lift my head up to him. “Like, the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
He smiles, taking his other hand to caress my cheek. “I was hoping you’d say that. I thought long and hard about where to take you.” His lips purse. “Will there be more dates in our future?”
I giggled, bringing my hand up to his jawline. “Not if you don’t kiss me. There won’t be.” I joke.
“Well…in that case…”
Keegan doesn’t hesitate to meet my lips, his one hand grabbing at my waist while the other stays on my cheek. This one was filled with lots of passion compared to the last time. This time, I could feel something. That spark that has always been between us but took some time to come out. It still wasn’t like the feeling I get with Drew, but it was enough to make me realize maybe I felt something for Keegan. Or it could be the way he was holding me like I was his and his alone. The gentleness of his touch, right to the feel of his lips, filled me up with so much emotion. What I thought would be the end of Keegan and I turned out to be the complete opposite. No amount of Drew’s interfering could change this moment.
Parting our lips, our foreheads rested on one another as my hand laid on his chest. We both smiled before the Ferris Wheel came to a stop once again. We sat in a comfortable silence, going around a few more times before finally getting off. Drew noticed the closeness that had since built between Keegan and I. He didn’t like it one bit, but what was he going to do about it?
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**Please let me know if you guys like shorter or longer chapters. I get carried away sometimes when I start writing and I want to make sure I'm not making them too long!**