Page 31 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
“You sound like your mother.”
I’m offended. I knit my brow in disbelief and glare at him.
He shows me his twisted smile and pushes a piece of hair back from in front of his eye. Why does he have to be so…Kaleb and cute?
I force myself to relax and say, “I just want you to do your best. In all things.”
“You have a point.” Kaleb props his skateboard up against the table and sits. I’m pretty sure he’s not supposed to bring that in here. “They say that punctuality is a key to success.”
“That’s what I’ve been told,” I say, tapping my pencil again.
As he drops his bag next to his chair, he pulls out his books and takes a seat across from me. “So why do rock stars always show up so late?”
I grin. “Are you planning on being a rock star?”
A snort pops out, and he shakes his head. “I can’t sing to save my life.”
“You sure look the part.” My filter and my mouth have conspired against me. My cheeks flush red, and Kaleb rakes his hand through his hair, grinning to himself.
Okay, deep breath and change of subject. “We’re going to talk aboutA Midsummer Night’s Dreamtoday.” I open my textbook and flip to Chapter 5.
For a second, I think Kaleb is going to give me grief over my stumble, but he just opens his book then looks up at me expectantly. “This is the one with all the faeries, right?”
“Yes, it’s a play about love and magic.”
“They go hand in hand.” Kaleb looks at me intently, and I almost have to look away from the intensity of the stare.
“What do you mean?”
He shrugs before clearing his throat. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in love, but I hear it feels like witchcraft.”
Why did my heart break when he said he’s never been in love? Ugh, when it comes to inner-emotional composure, I’m the one who’s failing today. To not give too much away, I dive right into the lesson. “That’s actually what the play is about. Magical forces are used to make certain people fall in love. Even the Queen of the Faeries comes under a spell where she falls in love with the first thing she sees. She ends up loving a donkey.”
Kaleb laughs. “That’s pretty messed up.”
“She doesn’t think so. Because of the spell, the donkey looks like the most handsome guy in the world.” I have to wonder if someone’s weaving a spell for me. Except Kaleb actually is the most handsome guy in the world.
“This play sounds kind of cool.”
“They performed it in the theater department last fall. Did you get to see it?”
Kaleb looks deep into my eyes. “Do I look like the kind of guy who saw this in the theater department last fall?”
I can’t help but laugh hard. Kaleb really does have a great sense of humor. It leads me to believe that he’s a whole lot smarter than he lets on. There’s something so appealing about that. “They did a really good job. Ronnie played the lead faerie. She wore a blue unitard with a rainbow tutu.”
“I can totally picture that.”
“The Queen of the Faeries wore this beautiful green dress.” As I mention it, I think about that stunning emerald gown, and my face lights up.
Kaleb notices it, and his face lights up too. “I wish I could’ve seen you wear it.”
I’m confused and knit my brow. “I wasn’t wearing it.”
Kaleb awkwardly clears his throat like he’s been caught. “Right…I meant, just in general.”
“Oh.”
I watch as Kaleb gets up from his chair and comes around the table. I have no idea what he’s doing. He pulls out the chair beside me and sits. I can feel the warmth coming off of his arm. I look over at it and see the ripple of muscles. Crud, I’m blushing again.
