Page 20 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
“Why?” I ask, giving her the pushback she wants. “Why can’t I just hang out with friends for once? What could possibly happen that would destroy my future?”
“Aside from the fact that you’re grounded for lying to me? You know my stance on parties. No matter—”
“How fun they might be, there’s too much danger in things getting out of hand. Parties are fun, but they have no value for a successful future,” I drone out, mimicking her voice.
“Ginny.” She speaks my name with a warning behind it.
“Mom.” I throw back.
Her eyes narrow. “What has gotten into you? You need to watch—”
As far as acting goes, my mom could be on Broadway. She’s diving into this role as bad guy feet first. Fine. I’ll play the part of rebellious daughter.
It doesn’t hit me how angry I am until I fire back and say, “My attitude. Right.”
“You are on shaky ground, young lady.”
Just shaky? Right now, I want to start an earthquake, but if I do, there’s zero chance of going to that party on Saturday. My mom will be standing outside my window, waiting for me to sneak out.
I swallow down the anger and frustration I feel and then sigh and act defeated. “I just need a break, Mom.”
My mom drops her arms to her side. “I really do understand, but the harder you work now, the less you’ll have to fight later. I don’t want you—” She looks from me to Kaleb. “Could you let me talk to my daughter alone for a second?”
“Uh, sure,” he says and taps my arm. “I’ll text you later if I have any questions about the homework.”
I nod, and my mom waits until he’s well out of earshot before she says, “Ginny, I know you work hard. You always have, and I love that about you. Even if something comes easy to you, you still work to be the best at it. It’s not that I don’t want you to have fun. I don’t want you to get distracted and lose everything.”
There’s so much I want to say, but all it will lead to is going in circles with her. Instead of fighting it, I shrug. “Okay.”
As I go to turn, my mom catches my arm. “I’m not trying to hurt you. I only want the best for you.”
The bell rings, and my mom tips her head in the direction I should be going. “Get to class, and we’ll talk about this later.”
Unwelcome and unwanted tears blur my vision. “Yeah, I know,” I say as I pull my arm free and walk away. It’s the same story, same verse as always. Only, as I’m leaving, I realize her first sentence is a lie. She wants me hurt so I’ll stop putting her dreams for me at risk.
The sound of her heels clicking grows softer as the distance between us increases. As I pass a small maintenance door tucked back from the hallway, a soft whistle grabs my attention.
“Hey,” Kaleb says. He takes a small step forward and glances down the hallway. “Are you okay?”
Shrugging, I step into the small hiding spot with him. “I don’t know. I’m tired of fighting with her.”
“I’m sorry I asked about the party.” He keeps his voice low.
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? We can’t exactly pretend we’re dating if we never go anywhere,” I whisper back. I should be getting to class, but the last thing I want to do is sit in a classroom when the entire school feels like a cage.
He takes his bottom lip in his teeth and nods. “I know, but that’s not why I asked. I thought we could both use a break and celebrate. It’s not an A, but we worked hard for it.”
I chuckle. “You worked hard for it.”
“You put up with me, didn’t you?” He shoots me a half-smile, and my pulse races.
There’s no explanation for the way he affects me. Yeah, he’s cute, and for most girls, that would be enough. But Kaleb is more than attractive. As we’ve spent time together over the last couple of weeks, we’ve had a chance to talk. I’ve seen a side of him that I don’t think a lot of people get to see or appreciate. He’s smart and funny and sweet. I…I like him.
“You’re not that bad,” I say, teasing.
In the next second, this little spot we’ve picked feels sealed off from everything, and the air is charged.
Then it hits me. I’ve never wanted to be kissed before in my life as much as I want to be kissed by Kaleb. My heart is pounding so hard that there’s no way he doesn’t hear it. I’d be surprised if the entire school can’t hear it.
