He pursed his lips, but continued to grin at me, and didn’t say anything.
“Well, you are doing the right thing by picking them for her. Store bought flowers are overrated. It’s much more meaningful when you pick them yourself. That’s what my mum says, anyway…” I released his hand and moved about, plucking some bellflowers first. When he didn’t move, I turned and narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t be lazy!” I scolded. “You have to help.”
He chuckled and stepped forward. “Yes ma’am!”
“Pick some of those ones, the daisies…” I instructed, pointing them out. I watched as he obliged and then continued bossing him around, telling him what ones to collect. When we finished, I made him sit on the ground with me as I arranged them into a bouquet, trying to make it look as pretty as possible for the lucky girl. I prattled on about the ballet classes I’d started and how I’d taken an interest in baking at home. He listened to me, asking questions, and made me feel completely at ease around him. I didn’t understand why Shay hated him so much. If anything, Keenan reminded me of my older brother. Scrap that… older friend.
“Now, take some of those thick grasses. You need to tie them around the stems of the flowers to keep them together,” I told him, handing him the bouquet, making him finish it himself. He fumbled tying the grass with his big, calloused fingers, and I took pity, reaching over to knot it myself. Finished, I beamed up at him. “I think your girlfriend will love these,” I said, excited that I got to help this boy create something special for his girl. It was super romantic, I thought.
But Keenan simply smirked as he looked over the flowers and turned his glacier eyes to me. Wordlessly, he held out the bouquet, offering them to me as he held them up before my face.
“But... your girlfriend?” I asked, surprised.
“You were the one I wanted to woo,” he said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly in a beautiful, crooked grin.
I blushed hard when he winked and, with a shaky hand, took the flowers from him. I ducked my head to hide my smile. To have the attention of a boy, even one who was six years older than me, was actually surprisingly thrilling. None of the boys in my class had ever done something so sweet for me. All they did was pull my hair and push me into mud puddles. But Keenan, he treated me like a princess. I felt so grown up in that moment, “Thank you, Keenan,” I whispered, holding the flowers tightly.
“You’re welcome, Cutie.”
“Mina!” A shout from the distance broke the moment and my head snapped up, looking back the way we’d come. “Mina! Where are you?” I knew that voice anywhere. It was Shay.
I sighed heavily, sensing his frustration for wandering off, and frowned. “I have to go…” I loved Shay, but ever since the attack from Dana, he’d become a little overprotective when we were out and about.
“Come on.” Keenan held out his hand and helped me to my feet. Before I could take a step, he picked me up like I weighed no more than a doll and carried me on his hip with one arm tucked beneath my bottom, his other hand at my waist, and headed back.
“MINA!” Shay’s voice was closer now, and it sounded panicked, terrified.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to call to him, Keenan reached up with his free hand and started tickling my side. I threw my head back and giggled, squirming against him, trying to break free, but he held me tight, continuing his playful attack.
“WHAT. THE. FUCK?!” Shay’s thunderous roar broke into the space and Keenan slowly stopped the play, but kept me in his arms. Shay stood at the edge of the trees, spotting us from thirty feet away as we walked over. He tore into the shrubs, his silver eyes glinting fiercely, and his brows pulled down dangerously as he glared in our direction. “Put her down… NOW!”
“I think she’s rather enjoying herself with me,” Keenan smirked, stopping in his tracks. There was about twenty feet between us now, and Shay’s fists were shaking at his side.
“I mean it, Mathers, put her down now and I won’t break your pretty boy face!” he snarled.
Keenan’s other hand reached up, pressing onto my back, further holding me to his side. I stared between the two young men who were glaring daggers at each other, sensing the tension in the air. I held tightly onto my flowers with one hand, and my other was wrapped around the back of the blond boys’ neck to steady myself.
Shay let out a long, deep breath and took a step forward. At the motion, Keenan took one back, and smirked again at him. The other hand that was resting on my back slid up then, and he reached under my braid and grasped at the back of my neck. The strong, domineering hold took me by surprise, and I instinctively stilled in his hold. Shay’s eyes caught the movement and he stopped, freezing in place. Keenan’s grip didn’t hurt me, but I could sense a rather foreboding threat behind it, and I felt a ripple of fear in the pit of my stomach. And Shay, as furious as he looked, I could see something else in his gaze and that frightened me even more, like he was… scared? I always thought Shay wasn’t afraid of anything. Why was he now at the sight of Keenan and I together?
“So, I finally found your weak link, O’Hare…” he said, his voice triumphant. “Who would have thought, of all the beauties I’ve seen you with.” He shook his head, chuckling. “Never would have dreamed of this…” He turned and smiled at me, and I trembled in his arms.
“Keenan?” I whispered, my little voice breaking slightly.
It was very subtle, but his eyes twitched the tiniest bit when I whispered his name, and his grip on the back of my neck eased up just a bit.
“I swear to God, Mathers, if you hurt her…” Shay’s voice went deeper, becoming more of a growl than anything.
Keenan turned back to him. “Hurt her? I’m not a monster like you,” he said, sounding as confident as ever. He turned back to me and flashed another handsome smile. “She’s a pretty little thing…” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. In the background, I could hear Shay let out an exasperated snarl from deep in his throat. I was so confused. What was going on?
Shay took another step forward, but Keenan matched him and pulled me so close that my face was almost pressed into his neck. Shay stopped. His face was turning red and he shoved his messy dark hair out of his eyes. Keenan chuckled again. “I can’t wait to see what she looks like in a few years. She’ll be popular… how many are you going to have to fight then, O’Hare?”
I was completely lost with this conversation. What did he mean by that? Why was Shay so concerned that he might hurt me? Keenan had been nothing but gentle with me and I’d been at his mercy for the last half an hour. But he hadn’t done a thing. That is, not until we had an audience, specifically, Shay. And now, I was being squeezed against him, his grip at the back of my neck firm and controlled. I couldn’t turn my head, even if I tried.
Shay suddenly let out a loud, shrill whistle. At once, several of the teenage members of the Celtic Beasts burst into the forest behind him, backing him up. Keenan did the same, and his own friends quickly joined his side. Everyone was looking from one boy to the other, to me who was still held tightly in Keenan’s arms, and back to Shay again.