Page 100 of Loved By The Bad Boy

The sound of my heels meeting the stairs breaks the silence. Mom appears at the bottom of the stairs and grabs my duffel bag. I was struggling with it and the heels. She passes it to someone behind. Dad. I bend my knees in a playful curtsey, and his jaw slacks. He won’t stop staring.

“My baby girl looks so pretty,” Dad coos. I swat his hand reaching forward to pinch my cheek. He chuckles and draws me in for a hug instead. A camera dangles from his neck. I knew this was coming, but I still groan. He matches my groan with a grin. “We need something to remember today.”

“Yeah, sure.”

I take another step down so we are on the same level. Mom guides me to the wall with a blue banner. I choose not to look at it as I pose under it. The flash of his camera goes off. I change my pose, and he clicks away. Mom joins in on some pictures. Dad continues without taking a break until his ringtone interrupts us. Walking over to us with a grin, he hands the camera to Mom.

“Your brother,” he says. He turns his phone, and my brother’s face appears. “She is here.”

“Hey, princess,” Hayden says.

“Hi, non-princess.”

Hayden laughs. I’ve missed him. I can’t wait for him to be home, so I can tell him he was wrong about my relationship with Ben to his face. We might have our differences, but they only serve to make us stronger. But he might not understand. The only things in his head are legal jargons.

“Where’s your prince charming?” he teases.

I whip my hair like the princess I am pretending to be. “On his way to pick his beautiful princess charming.”

We chat for a few more minutes until Mom takes over. The doorbell rings. Everyone tenses, then Mom scrambles to the door. She opens it without letting our guest enter, and my heart pounds hard and fast.

My prince charming is here.

Ben walks in. I knew he would wear a tux, but the sight still blows me away. He looks so good. So yummy I want to eat him up. His tux fits his frame snugly. Gel keeps his hair out of his face. His blue eyes rake over my body, and he nods his approval. He even trimmed his brows like I would have. I giggle before he says a word. Smiling hard, he bridges the gap and pecks my lips.

“Hey,” I murmur, shy and conscious of my parents. I smoothen the invisible creases on his jacket and wink. “You look hot, Benny.”

“You look hotter, babe.”

Dad clears his throat. Ben grins and knots the wrist corsage around my wrist. Oops. I didn’t get him anything. We are forced to pose for pictures. This is the first prom I’m happy to attend without being coaxed. I point at theHappy Prom Daybanner and flash the camera a smile. My cheeks hurt from smiling a lot, but when Ben slides his hand into mine, I only smile harder.

After what feels like hours of posing and smiling, we are released. Ben slings the duffel bag over one shoulder and laces our free hand. Once out the front door, he kisses me properly, stealing my breath.

“I wanted to do that as soon as I saw you. You look so pretty, Gracie.” And Ben looks super handsome tonight. The breeze caresses my face. I nudge him to the limousine parked in front of my house. He rented it for tonight. “Can we skip prom and go somewhere I can stare at you?”

“Ben,” I say with a laugh, covering my mouth to hide my dentition. Maria will have my head. Mom will lose her mind after her efforts. “We have all night together. You can do the staring then.”

We stop by the car, and he holds the backseat door open for me. Before I slide in, his arm slides around my waist, and he whispers against my lips, “I love you very much, Gracie Mower.”

Forty-Two

I’m still grinningat the familiar faces inside the car. Calum. Imani. Mira. Calum doesn’t have a date, but he will be alright. The girls at school love him. He would have found a date if he dared to ask one of the girls at school to join him. My boyfriend’s hand rests on my knee, drawing my attention to his handsome face. My eyes trail the length of his body, and my mouth waters. So hot.

Ben offers me a glass of what the rest are drinking, but I shake my head. It’s probably laced with alcohol. I need to be sober for everything that will happen tonight. I’m looking forward to our getaway as much as the rest of tonight. This is the first prom I’ll enjoy, and I want to revel in it.

His nose brushes mine. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I reply in the same whisper so no one hears us. “This is going to be the best prom ever.”

“I swear it.”

We laugh at his promise. But I believe him. I cup his face, trace the dip of his jaw, and lean closer to capture his lips. He tastes different, like wine. I giggle against his lips and pull back.

“Keep making out, and we might just have to kick you out,” someone yells. I laugh against Ben’s lips, pulling him for another deep kiss before he withdraws. “Fuck you, bitches.” Yeah, it’s Mira.

Tonight is going to be great.

The limousine slows minutes later. Calum or Mira, I don’t know who, screams a string of excited words, and our laughter echoes in the car. Calum throws the door open for us. Ben steps out first and extends his hand to me. Muffled music filters out, and his hand lowers to the small of my back as we start up the stairs. Mira does the same for Imani. She’s in a tux, while Imani is in a dress. Her hair is pink. I never thought I would be happy to see that, but I am. It’s more like Mira. I’m glad they didn’t go ahead with their plan of wearing tuxes, or I would have been the odd one here.

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