Page 8 of The Apple Tree

I rolled my eyes.

“What are your plans for tomorrow night?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Yes. It matters. I can’taidyou if you plan on doing something your parents don’t want you to do.”

“My parents don’t want me to leave the house, laugh, or have an original thought.”

He narrowed his eyes for a few seconds and smirked. “What did you do to get grounded?”

“Does it matter?”

He slowly nodded. “Yeah, it matters.”

I sighed. “I had a few drinks.”

“Driving?”

I shook my head. “By the creek.” I gestured to my right.

“Are you going to drink tomorrow night?”

“No.”

Maybe.

“Drugs?” he asked.

I grinned. “No.”

“Unprotected sex?”

Allthe blood in my body surged to my head until I felt my pulse in my burning cheeks. Was he making me an offer? “I’m a preacher’s daughter. What do you think?”

His smile beamed. He wassosexy. “If you hadn’t confessed to drinking by the creek, I would have assumed you were a rule-follower. A perfect angel. But I’m getting more of a rebel vibe now.”

“Pfft. Angels are just rebels in disguise. I’m going to the bowling alley with friends. We bowl between memorizing Bible verses and exclusively snack on Gold Fish, Animal Crackers, and grape juice as a nod to Jesus.”

Something on Kyle’s face changed as he paused before responding. He rubbed his fingers over his mouth but grinned anyway. Then, his fingers curled into a fist as he laughed. “Eve …” he said, shaking his head.

I wanted to bottle the feeling he gave me. Very few people appreciated my humor.

“So you’ll say you need a babysitter?”

He cleared his throat, still grinning. “Do you have a fake ID?”

I barked a laugh. “Everyone in Devil’s Head knows who I am. If I could get into a bar with a fake ID, do you think I’d drink by the creek?”

“Then where do you get your alcohol?”

“I can’t reveal my source. You’re a teacher, which means you can’t be trusted.”

“Gosh, we just met and already have trust issues?”

“I got all of your dishes and silverware unpacked,” Mom announced, coming out the front door. “And Josh is looking for his monster truck.”

Kyle glanced over my shoulder at my mom. “Thank you, Janet. That was very kind of you.”

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