Page 56 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
“Yeah, I guess I’ll see you on Monday,” I reply. Maybe by then I won’t be grounded anymore.
“We’ll see each other over the weekend. Unless you’re saying you don’t want to sneak out.” There’s something in his eyes that I can’t quite put a finger on, and I quickly dismiss it as wishing something was there.
“I do. We just never talked about Thanksgiving break. I didn’t know if you and your dad do anything.”
“The holidays changed after…” He clears his throat. The smile that was there vanishes for a brief second but returns just as brilliant as before. “He’s wanting to hang out this year. How about you? Any special plans?”
Shaking my head, I push a piece of hair from my face. “No.” I take that moment to skim through my past Thanksgivings. They don’t sound any more exciting than Kaleb’s. “You know, you could come to my house. You and your dad. Maybe it’ll spur my mom to make something besides tofurkey.”
Kaleb’s lips curl up. “Toe what?”
“Tofu in the shape of a turkey.” I grimace. It tastes just as bad as it sounds. Which is why Ronnie has smuggled in Thanksgiving dinner for as long as I can remember. I don’t mind my mom trying to cook healthy, but tofurkey comes out about as great as her dairy-free cheese-shell tacos.
“Gross.”
“Try eating it.” I laugh.
His gaze dips from my eyes to my lips and back up. “So, I’ll see you…”
I chew on my bottom lip a second. “The beach tonight. Not near The Hut. I’ll tell my mom I’m taking a run.” I smile. “It’ll mean I actually have to run, but I don’t mind.”
“Okay. Tonight. What time?”
“Maybe seven? We can talk about our next secret date.” I wiggle my eyebrows.
Kaleb shakes his head, laughing. “Okay, bad girl.”
We hug again, and before he fully releases me, he touches his lips to mine. It’s sweet and soft and brief, but it feels like there’s an entire chapter of exposition in it. His gaze catches mine. “Maybe we can talk about a few other things too.”
“Oh.” My voice is barely audible.
He winks and turns, and I stare after him as he strolls away.
If my heart had stopped, that would’ve been all the electricity needed to restart it. He wants to talk about a few other things. I palm the spot over my heart, and it’s still furiously beating against my ribs. Well, I’m not dead, and I know I’m not dreaming because the kiss was far too quick for it to be a dream.
An arm snakes around mine, and Ronnie says, “He doesn’t have a bad side, does he?”
My cheeks warm at the comment. “No.”
I steel myself as Ronnie twirls to face me. This is one time where I don’t want her prying. I’m not sure if it’s because my feelings for Kaleb have changed over the last few weeks or if I’m hoping I’m not the only one feeling that way.
This did start as a scheme. A huge scheme. The potential for heartbreak has grown increasingly possible every moment I’ve spent with him. Like a feather being gently lowered to the earth by the wind, I’ve fallen for him. My heart takes off at a gallop. I’ve fallen for him, and it’s taken no effort.
“So,” Ronnie says, breaking through my thoughts. It’s a good thing because I don’t need to dwell on that. Even if Kaleb does feel the same way, we’ve both agreed that our paths are forking once high school ends.
I focus on her by pulling my gaze from Kaleb’s retreating form.
“I had the brilliant idea that you should spend the night at my house tonight. Mom has already called your mom and set it up.”
“Uh…”
Her lips turn down. “Please don’t say you can’t.”
Now I’ve got a choice. Break my best friend’s heart or bail on my fake boyfriend who I wish wasn’t so fake who wants to talk about other things. “Um…Of course, I can hang out with you.”
“Good because I have some bad news.” She shrinks back.
“Like what?”
