Page 60 of Loved By The Bad Boy

His arms return to my waist. He hugs me without a word, but the silence carries more words.

I love him, and I’ll always be here for him. All of us.

Twenty-Five

Boyfriends are annoying.I push Ben’s money back to him, and the idiot wraps an arm around my waist and lifts me off the ground. He slides some bills to the lady behind the counter while I try to recover from the shock of being carried like I weigh nothing. The cashier sends us off with a smile. We must look a sight. I punch his chest when we are outside, and he pinches my nose.

“Annoying. You’re so annoying, babe,” I tell Ben. He kisses me to silence me. Because I’m such a sucker for my boyfriend, I lean into the kiss, but he pulls back before I deepen it. I tuck my hair behind my ear as a gentle wind blows it into my face. “You should have let me pay, Mr. Carter.”

“Why?” Ben offers me the bag containing the pills and a soda. Tugging me toward his car, he continues, “I’m the reason you need to use the pill, anyway. It’s only fair for you to let me pay.”

“You’re not.Weare the reason. In fact, I am the reason.” His lips quirk in a seductive smile, and I blush from thinking about the incident. I lost my virginity to him. So unexpected. So sudden. Do I regret it? Hell no. Will we have sex again? Hell yeah. “I just wanted to pay for it, that’s all.”

For the most part of our relationship, he does the gifting. He seems content with my presence, but I also want to gift him. Throwing his arm around my shoulders, he draws me in for a kiss on my temple, and I melt into a puddle of love. Why can’t life always be like this? Fun and no worries.

“Next time, you will pay,” he murmurs.

Yeah, right. Like Ben will ever let that happen. We locate his car in the sea of cars, and he opens the passenger door for me. Under his watchful gaze, I take the pills according to the instructions given by the pharmacy tech and banish the aftertaste with the soda. Ben draws circles on my palms.

“What if you get pregnant?” he asks.

I reduce the volume of the radio to catch his words, but he doesn’t repeat them. I take another sip from the can and another until it’s empty. The idea of being a teenage mom churns my stomach.

“Nope. I won’t. Don’t even think about it, Benny.”

The naughty boy pushes one leg over his seat and shrugs. “What if, babe?” Creases appear on his forehead. He is taking this seriously. I hate this hypothetical situation. “What happens then?”

“Shut up.”

If he says it too much, it might become real. It was just once we had sex. I cannot get pregnant anytime soon. Kids can come in when we have stable jobs and enough money to raise a family.

We sit in comfortable silence, occupied by our thoughts. I push my hand out the window, and the wind caresses my fingers. Spring break starts today and will last for a week. We have discussed our plans, but I’m yet to fulfill my side of the bargain. I haven’t spent the break away from home. This will be a first for me. It should be exciting, but the real reason for the trip ruined that.

I trace circles on my knee until Ben pries my hand to lace our fingers. He’s not smiling. He’s not frowning, either. I have an idea what he’s about to ask. “Have you told your mom? Your dad?”

“No?” I reply.

“Why not? I want us to leave on Sunday.”

Today is Friday. Per my advice, Ben wants to file a report against his stepsister. He has to do it in person, which means a flight back to San Francisco. I promised to be there. But I haven’t told my parents. I don’t know how to tell them I want to spend spring break in another state with my boyfriend. We will stay in the same room. Ben’s parents are cool with it. My parents might not be.

I twirl a strand of my hair around my finger, and the lines between Ben’s brows deepen. “I’ll tell Mom today.” So she can tell her husband. I’m not about to face him or answer twenty questions about teen sex and the possibility of an STD or pregnancy. Yes, I’m a chicken. “She’ll tell him.”

“Promise?” he whispers. I nod.

Ben starts the car. We are headed to my house, but I want to spend a few more minutes in his company. He will call later to remind me if I haven’t informed Mom. I must tell her today if we intend to get our tickets tomorrow. We are paying for our flights with the All-Rounder prize money. I wanted Ben to have it all, but he no longer needed it. A lot has changed in only a month and a few days. Now, we are both stuck with a huge sum of money and no immediate need for it.

The sound of his car ruins the silence of the neighborhood. A few yards away from my house, he parks. Mom might be home. Dad returns much later. I unfasten my seatbelt and cross my legs on the seat. Ben’s fingers drum the steering absentmindedly. He looks to our porch and back at me.

“I was thinking we could create a joint account for the money,” Ben comments. It’s not an awful idea. Maybe it can go into the payment for our first apartment. “We will both have access to it.”

“Okay.” I lean forward to capture his lips, but his phone’s ringtone cuts the air. I roll my eyes at the caller’s name. The award for worst timing should be given to her. I pick up before Ben does. He watches me, his lips curving in the slightest. At first, she’s silent, so I murmur, “Hey, Olivia.”

Ben laughs. I flip him the bird sign, and he retaliates by pinching my nose. I try to warn him with my eyes, but he proves why I think boyfriends are annoying by running his finger over my lips.

So frustratingly cute and annoying.

“Tessa.” Her voice is flat. If she were here, I would have stuck out my tongue. Ben is mine. “Hi.”

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