Page 59 of The Breaking Point

But I’d gotten used to this setup now. It wasn’t strange for me to call the pizza place, or to make sure I was around to answer the door when it arrived. I paid the pizza guy, a kid I recognized from my high school, and then called up to Grace a second time.

I was getting plates and cups when Grace walked into the kitchen. I nearly dropped what I was holding when I saw her.

At fourteen, Grace had started looking less like a kid and more like a young woman. Even though I’d hated noticing such a thing about her, I’d noticed.

But Grace usually wore pretty boring clothes. She wasn’t the type of girl to doll herself up.

Until tonight. Wearing shorts that should be criminal along with a tube top, she looked like my worst nightmare.

Because it reminded me that she was trouble incarnate.

I stared at her, and I watched as a blush grew on her cheeks. She wouldn’t meet my gaze as she took the plates from my hands.

“I’m starving,” she said, as casual as you please.

When she turned around, I couldn’t help but notice her butt was almost hanging out of her shorts. There was no way in hell her parents would be okay with this outfit.

I decided to act like I hadn’t noticed her new skimpy clothes. I grabbed a soda and went to the living room.

Grace followed me, damn her.

“I’m gonna watchThe Terminator,” I said, only because I knew she hated action movies.

“Okay.” Then she sat down next to me on the couch. So close that our legs were almost brushing.

“Do you want to watchTheTerminator?” I asked, annoyed now.

Grace shrugged. “I’ve never seen it. So why not?”

I groaned inwardly. I turned on the movie, ignoring Grace, but she didn’t seem deterred.

In fact, I nearly jumped out of my skin when her hand touched my leg.

My body reacted, even though I hated myself for it. I could smell her body wash on her skin and feel her warmth. I wondered what she would do if I kissed her.

I got up and sat on the large recliner in the corner. Grace’s expression fell.

“It’s too hot,” I said weakly.

It took another few minutes before Grace got up and went back to her room with tears in her eyes.

Since that whole thing had happened, I’d been avoiding Grace. When she’d reminded me earlier this morning about tutoring her, I’d tried to get out of it. But her mom had overheard and had thanked me for helping Grace.

I stared at my watch. Maybe Grace would forget about the tutoring. Or maybe she’d catch the hint that I wanted nothing to do with her.

Yeah, fucking right. You can’t stop thinking about her.

I needed to do something drastic to get Grace away from me. Ignoring her wasn’t working, clearly.

An hour later, I opened the front door and let Samantha inside. Samantha was in my grade, and one of the prettiest girls in our high school. She also loved to wear tight, revealing clothing, and today she was showing off her cleavage.

“Thanks for inviting me over,” Samantha said, trying to seem coy.

I heard footsteps behind me. I knew it was Grace.

I took Samantha by the arm and led her upstairs, passing by Grace without a word. But I could feel Grace’s gaze on me like a laser beam. I could feel how pissed she was at me.

Right before we reached the top of the stairs, Grace called out, “What about tutoring me?”

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