Page 65 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
It’snoon the next day before either my dad or myself roll out of bed. After snarfing down too much food at Denny’s, we checked out a few movies and then gorged on some snacks until we could barely move.
After hitting a few stores on our shopping trip, I start to get discouraged. So far, nothing’s felt right. I don’t want to get my girlfriend foot-softening socks or perfume or some other lame gift.
My dad and I are sitting at a picnic table under a tree near the local food-truck area, throwing back some street tacos as I’m wracking my brain, trying to come up with a good idea.
“Well,” he says and wipes his mouth with a napkin. “What’s Ginny like?”
Geez. “Uh…I don’t know. She’s just cool.”
He chuckles. “She’s just cool? I think you can do better than that.”
I sit there for a moment as my gaze slowly drops to the half-eaten taco on my plate. What is Ginny like? “She’s beautiful. Strong. If you get hit with a ball that she’s spiked, you’ll need medical attention and plastic surgery. Her skin is soft and warm, and it glows when she’s in the sun.” It hits me that all of those are superficial. She’s more than that. Deserves more from me than that.
“Okay, those seem good.”
Looking up, I shake my head. “No, Dad. When I first met her at the library in Groves, instead of just expecting me to fail that first six weeks, she was upset that Mrs. Yates was already threatening to fail me. Not that it was true, I just…Everyone had me pegged but her. That last test before Thanksgiving break, I aced it, but I pretended I failed. She didn’t even look at the test before she was flying into Mrs. Yates’s room and sticking up for me. She’s bright and funny and kind to her core. At the beginning of school this year, I felt more alone than I ever had.”
My dad’s face falls. “I’m sorry—”
“No, I get it.” I wiggle my finger between us. “Our relationship problems were just as much mine as they were yours.” I pause and quickly add, “And part of what changed things for me, for us, was her. She sees things differently. Made me see things differently. Made me want better for myself. She believed in me long before I believed in myself. She’s…a precious stone. The kind you find in a pan of dirt at the end of the day when all you’ve had is lumps of roots and rocks. She’s that one thing you’ve been looking for and didn’t know it. But now you do know and you don’t want to let it get away.”
A smile slowly stretches on my dad’s lips. “That sounds…a little like…”
I know what he’s implying…that I love her…but he doesn’t know the context. Thinking like that before this thing with her mom is over is just a bad idea. “No, we’ve just started dating. I don’t want to rush anything, but I do want her to know that I care about her.”
“All right. If you think so, then I won’t push it.” He finishes off the last of his taco and takes a drink. “Well, you said she was a precious stone. When’s her birthday?”
“It was a couple of days before school started in August.”
He pulls out his phone and types something before turning the screen to me. “There’s three different stones. Maybe she’d like one of these?”
I take the phone and scroll the page, reading the information about each stone. Peridot stands out because it’s apparently formed under extreme conditions, but it’s still soft, like Ginny. With a chuckle, I hand his phone back. “The green one seems to fit her best.”
“Okay, well, seems we have a game plan. We’ll check out a few jewelry stores until we find the right one. Do you know what size her finger is?”
“Uh…” I sigh, and my shoulders sag. “No.”
“Don’t worry about it. You can have it sized later. If she’s half as wonderful as you say, it won’t matter what you give her; she’ll like it because it’s coming from you.”
Well, I can’t refute that. Actually, she’s infinitely more wonderful than I could ever express. Although, the part about her liking it coming from me is debatable. Not that I don’t care about her, but that deal I made with her mom is sitting heavy on my chest. Maybe I’ll talk to her about it when I see her again.
Suddenly, I’m torn between enjoying the holidays with my dad and the desire to see Ginny. The selfish side of me is wishing she’d stayed in Port Crest, but that lasts for about a second. She needs the time with her mom as much as I needed this with my dad.
Hopefully, she’s getting some things worked out with her mom. What are the chances that she returns and this whole deal thing is over and done?
They say Christmas is full of miracles. Maybe we’ll both experience a little magic over the holidays. I can at least hope for it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ginny
“Oh, this is nice.”I sigh as I slowly slip into the private hot tub sitting just outside the room my mom booked for us. She has never booked anything so extravagant in my lifetime.
I knew when we pulled up to the place it wasn’t cheap, but I was flat-out speechless when I walked through the door into the room. It was decked out with a full kitchen, an oversized shower with jetted tub, and the softest, most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. The hot tub on our balcony has been my home since we arrived. What is it about hot water and bubbles that can make stress float away?
My mom nods and leans her head back, closing her eyes. “I couldn’t agree more.” She gives a heavy, languid groan. “It’s like these jets can make my muscles into butter.”
“Right? I need to look up who invented them and tell them thanks.” I take in a long drag of air, and as I let it out, the tension in my body goes with it. “I’m thinking this is how I want to spend every Christmas Eve from now on.
