Page 47 of Loved By The Bad Boy

I undo the buttons and palm her belly. “Perfect.”

“Hmm. Benny the liar.”

“I’m not lying, babe.”

The playfulness in her eyes vanishes. She accepts her backpack from me and throws her arms around my neck. “I was beginning to think you would never call me that again. I missed it.”

“Babe,” I say.

The butterflies in my stomach flutter awake. It’s one word, but it makes everything so right. When you’re with the right person, everything is bright and colorful. I believe that phrase now.

Gracie makes everything bright. I pucker my lips for a kiss, and she pecks me. “Babe, not fair.”

“Everything is fair in love and war,” Gracie replies. Ruffling my hair, she chuckles at my frown. She hasn’t gone yet, but I already miss her. “I love you, but I have to go in now. See you later?”

“Later.”

Throwing herself on me for another hug, Gracie kisses me properly. Being grounded means we can’t spend as much time together, so every second we have counts. I smile sheepishly when she opens the door to her classroom. She blows me a kiss, and the door shuts after her.

We will have that conversation about Tessa, and everything will be alright. Gracie won’t judge me.

I begin the silent walk to my class after she is gone. My phone vibrates with a text from Maria, followed by a video of her giving me a thumbs up. She’s so dramatic, yet she and Gracie work well together. I stop a few doors to my class and lean on the wall to reply to her incessant texts.

One thing to note about Maria is her stubbornness. What Maria wants is what she gets. But it’s surprising she hasn’t mentioned our letters. I won’t mention it if she doesn’t. We agreed to stick to texts, but our last messages on that other phone were after I told Mom about Tessa. The tone of her responses gutted me. I left the other phone in San Francisco, texting and calling her with this number when I moved here, and she didn’t say a thing. My phone buzzes with another text.

She will be in New York next week. The name of her hotel sounds strange. I haven’t had much time to explore this city. Maybe Gracie and I can do that. It will be our first official date in NYC.

A picture appears on my screen, and laughter catches in my throat. If that’s her gift for Gracie, she is better off having none. I groan again as pictures pour into my phone. She wants me to select the best gift for her best friend. I think she forgets who Gracie is. The weeks she spent on America Got Talent might have made her a mini-celebrity, but her friend’s style hasn’t changed.

I don’t know what to do with our prize money. The $50,000 is still intact, same as my savings to repay Josef. He suggested some investments. He would have sponsored SAS if I didn’t get the scholarship. My present worries are almost laughable. I am worried about how to spend money.

Maria and I fix a time to meet on her arrival. She will provide Gracie’s house address while I handle the cake. Mrs. Mower is not answering my calls. But she’s better than Hayden. He leaves all my messages on read. He would have knocked me out if he was guaranteed to get away with it.

A ball of uncertainty unfurls in my belly as I slide the phone into my back pocket. What if Mrs. Mower disagrees with us having a party at their house? Maria promised she would sort that out. But as far as I know, Gracie hasn’t made any plans for her birthday. I need to do this for her.

I look up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Calum Dissick. I don’t want to fight him, and his voice is too good for the band to kick him out. I hasten my steps. He blocks my path, the corners of his lips lifting in a mocking smile. We might never get along, and that’s completely fine by me.

I am fine with anything life throws at me as long as I have my girl.

In an accusing tone, he says, “So you love her.”

We don’t need a soothsayer to know who he is referring to. I shrug. “I do. I love Gracie.”

More than he will ever be able to understand. He thinks he loves her, but he doesn’t. I am the one for her. The second half of her soul. He can’t get that. Loving her transcends hugs and kisses. It’s more than that. It’s knowing when she silently needs you, supporting her, or kicking the voices of insecurities when she can’t. But he doesn’t know her fears, to begin with. How can he help?

“But you broke her heart,” he says with his voice losing some of its sharpness. I’m in the process of mending it. This time, I won’t make any silly mistakes. We will go to NYU together. I don’t care how I’ll do that, but God help me, I will. We will settle down and have kids. We might even tell our kids about the guy who tried to come between us. “Who says you won’t do it again?”

“I won’t.” The certainty coating my words is unrivaled. I was a fool once. I won’t be a fool again. Calum sizes me up with an annoyed glance. “I was dumb then. Now I know better. You shouldn’t try to come between us. You’re only hurting her with your attitude. Gracie loves me.”

We are both late for class, but this conversation must hold. I don’t owe Calum an explanation, but if he’s convinced I can treat Gracie better, he might try to stay friends with her. Gracie pretends to be fine, but she misses their friendship. Left to me, I don’t want them to be friends, not until he has gotten over his infatuation for her, but I trust Gracie. She will always put me first, as I will.

His chest sags. He runs his hand over his face and fixes me with an annoyed glare.

“I spoke to Hera.” My partner for Mrs. Miller’s class project. The girl talks too much. It’s why I haven’t met her to discuss the project. I might snap if I have to deal with her for much longer. His lips twitch when I raise my eyebrows. What is he getting at? Shoving his hands into his pockets, he says, “She agreed to trade places with me. You can work with Tessa for the project.”

Stunned into silence, I can only grin. I pat his arm in a friendly gesture. “Thanks, man.”

He scowls. “I didn’t do it for you.”

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