"I'm ready…", Talia said when she exited the dressing room, surprised that Keith didn't move from the spot since she left. "Is something wrong?"
Keith was staring at Talia who was wearing only black shorts and a red exercise bra and he swallowed hard. He saw girls that were taller, plumper, curvier, with less clothes than what Talia was wearing, yet he found himself out of breath.
He still didn't adjust his mindset to the fact that he likes her, but here she was, adorably ignorant of the things that were brewing within him.
Considering that it was just the two of them in the training center, Keith knew that this will be difficult.
"Keith?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine.", Keith stumbled over his words. "Wait for me on the mat. I will just go and drink some water.." And splash cold water on my face.
Talia noticed that Keith was stiff and absentminded when he returned.
Talia assumed that he was thinking about something, or someone related to the festival because he was fine before they came to the training center.
She remembered how Keith was reluctant to accept coming here today. After all, everyone is at the festival (or preparing for it), and because of that, only Talia and Keith were present in the building.
Guilt swelled within Talia. Considering Keith's popularity, he probably had a lot of things to do and many people to mingle with, yet he left all that behind only to help her exercise because she wanted to come today.
"Should we go back to the festival?"
Keith refused. "No, it's fine."
"Are you sure? We can do this tomorrow."
"Don't you want to do this?", Keith asked.
"I do, but I see that you have something else on your mind.", Talia said frankly.
Keith chided himself internally. The moment he confirmed that he likes Talia, he turned into an idiot.
But the fact was that Keith was nervous.
Keith never crushed on a girl for real and all this caught him by surprise. He was not sure how to treat Talia.
Who knows what Talia was thinking about him when he was spacing out, like a moron?
Shouldn't he tell Talia that he likes her? But considering that no one is present, if Keith does it here, he might appear like a creep who wants to do something despicable. Keith already established that Talia is pure and inexperienced, and he didn't want to freak her out.
He decided to think about it later, when they return to the festival.
Now they came to exercise, and Talia is expecting his help. If he wants to leave a good impression, he needs to focus on what he does best. Training people.
"OK. Sit on the mat and spread your legs as far as they go.", Keith instructed. "Stretch your arms above your head… bend at the waist forward until your palms are flat on the mat… try to keep your back and your legs straight…" He pushed on her upper back gently, to increase the stretch. "Hold this for ten seconds."
Keith observed Talia's tiny frame when compared to the size of his hands and he wondered, if he grasps her waist, will his fingers meet around her? Maybe. He chided himself internally for not checking that last night, while they were dancing in the Shifters nightclub.
He had a chance to feel her out discretely, pretending that it's just dancing, and he missed it.
'Focus, Keith!', he reminded himself, and mentally picked a number of yoga poses he will show her next.
After her stretching exercises, Talia quickly freshened up before returning to the festival with Keith.
She was surprised to see how many more people were present compared to one hour ago, when they left for the Training center.
There were so many stalls, that they couldn't fit in the town square and they spilled into the neighboring streets. The whole area was very lively.
"Every stall has a line of people waiting.", Talia said while observing with awe.
"There will be more people in the evening. This place will be packed.", Keith explained. "This is a good time to play games without waiting in a line for long. Let's go there. I promised you a stuffed toy."
"Shouldn't we look for Lulu, Sandy, and the guys?" Mindy also, if she was still there with them.
Keith could mind-link them to find out where they are, but he was not willing to share his time with Talia. "We will look for them later. After the game. Here…" Keith offered his hand to Talia. "Hold my hand so that we are not separated in the crowd."
Talia didn't think much about it. They can reunite with others after the game, as for handholding… Keith was right. The crowd was increasing, and if they got separated, she had no idea how to find him.
"Do you want to watch the parade?", Keith asked.
"Is it that time already?"
"I'm glad you are having fun to the point of not noticing the time passing."
Talia realized that he was right. After the ring toss (where Keith won for Talia an adorable brown puppy-plushie), they went to throw basketballs into hoops, and then there was a game of hitting targets with water-filled balloons, and other than playing, Keith also gave her many turns to practice. Between games, they ate mini-donuts and funnel cake and there was a massive bag of kettle corn that they couldn't finish (and Talia was holding onto leftovers, for later)… and now that she thought about it, more than two hours passed. She had fun.
Talia remembered one more thing. "Should we meet up with others so that we can watch the parade together?"
Reluctantly, Keith mind-linked Pierce to ask where they are.
Keith didn't want to meet up with anyone, because he enjoyed his time with Talia, but he was out of excuses.
"They are in the back where merry-go-round is. Let's go to the clock tower and they will find us."
Talia followed Keith to the clocktower, and the sight of a tall black structure reminded her of a scene from a few hours ago.
It was a flashback of Talia and Damon and him telling her that he will be back from his meetings by the time the parade starts, and then he asked her to wait for him and he said how he can't stay away from her.
Talia fought mightily against her imagination that was coming up with all kinds of romantic scenarios, but she was failing miserably. Damon's words sounded just how lovers would talk. He was sweet and a bit teasing, but she didn't dislike it because it all came with his delicious scent of the forest and the dark chocolate she loved.
"What did you do to Talia?", Lulu asked Keith teasingly, snapping Talia out of her thoughts.
"Nothing.", Keith said. "After our exercise, we checked out some stalls and…" Keith's voice trailed as he observed Talia's face that was red like a ripe tomato.
Keith perked up. Is Talia bashful because of him? Doesn't that mean that she sees him as a man? Maybe Talia has a crush on him, and Lulu's words hit the spot. Why else would Talia blush like that?
Liam frowned when he saw Keith's foolish grin directed at Talia.
"Checked some stalls? You were gone for hours.", Liam grumbled and walked to Talia. "Let me help you carry those." Liam took the half-full popcorn bag.
Pierce was quick to stand on Talia's other side and grab Talia's insulated lunch bag that Stephanie prepared for her. "We should hurry and find a good spot to watch the parade."
Before Talia could say anything, Pierce and Liam hooked their arms with Talia's and started walking away.
Caden rushed to join the trio. "Let me help you hold that plushie!"
Sandy inched close to Keith and asked in a whisper, "Did you bully Talia?"
Keith rolled his eyes. "Is that what you think of me?"
Lulu and Sandy looked at Keith suspiciously. Is Keith pretending to be a gentleman? They all know about his reputation.
Every guy werewolf who stands out will attract ladies, and Keith stands out in terms of his looks, skills, and money. Werewolves (males and females) are sexual creatures with high libidos and it's not a secret that Keith bedded many she-wolves. There is nothing wrong with it, but why was he acting innocent?
"This is not about what we think, coach.", Lulu said. "Beta Maya told us to make sure Talia is safe. Don't do something you might regret later."
Keith cleared his throat awkwardly. Why did he feel like a kid who stole a cookie and got caught? He and Talia were having fun, and the most contact they had was holding hands! Why are they looking at him like he is some molester?
"I am Talia's personal trainer. Don't get strange ideas. Now let's hurry up and join them. Or do you think that Liam, Pierce, and Caden won't take advantage of Talia if they get a chance?"
Lulu and Sandy glanced at each other and nodded in understanding. Keith was right. Those three are just like everyone else… up to no good.
