Page 45 of Loved By The Bad Boy

Ben hops off his seat, and Calum takes over. He dumps his textbook on the desk, saying nothing for the next few minutes. I flip to a random page to appear busy. If he won’t speak to me, then fine. Today is for introductions. I can do the project without his help. I’m used to working alone.

“About the kiss—”

“We don’t have to talk about it,” I interrupt.

Ben looks back. He’s in the front row with his partner. His hands disappear under his table for some seconds, and the bag at my foot vibrates. I know it’s him, but I don’t check my phone. I wave. He nods toward my bag. He shouldn’t be texting in class. I don’t want to indulge him.

I scribble on the back of my book and show it to Ben. Instantly, Ben’s eyes dart to my partner. Calum matches Ben’s glare with a scathing one of his. I don’t want to be on the receiving end.

“Mr. Carter?” Mrs. Miller calls.

I drop my book and pretend to focus on something else. Thankfully, Ben doesn’t get into any trouble, neither does he turn to us. Calum uses that opportunity to knock his textbook into mine.

“About the kiss—”

“It’s okay,” I mutter with more emphasis. Meeting his gaze for the first time since he took his place beside me, I smile and say, “I was making out with Ben while you poured out your heart.”

Hurt and sadness blare in Calum’s blue eyes. I bite my lips to stop myself from apologizing. He withdraws his textbook back to his desk. I slide my palms between my legs, waiting for him to break the quiet. I don’t know why I bother striking when I’ll end up feeling bad afterward.

“The song was silly,” he whispers.

I trace the topic of the chapter I opened. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Doesn’t matter if it’s the truth.”

“The song is not silly. It just isn’t for me,” I say to my desk. I can’t look Calum in the eyes, and I’m not sure he can do the same. On the bright side, this conversation proves there might be hope for our friendship. I like having Calum in my life. “We didn’t make out. It was just a kiss.”

“What’s the difference?” he mutters. He flips to another page of his textbook and copies into his note. I’m not sure what to do. Moments later, he fists his hands. I hide mine in my pockets. “For a moment, I thought you felt the same things I did. I honestly thought you wereitfor me, Tessa.”

“It?”

“The Imani to my Mira,” Calum mutters. I laugh. He chuckles. I’ve never seen it that way, but it makes a lot of sense. Mira is a different person around Imani. She does things I’m sure no other person would have been able to convince her to do. “I… I guess love is not in the cards for me.”

“We are still young, Cal.”

He shakes his head. “If it were about age, you would both be single.” I can’t think up a reasonable argument or reply, so I stay quiet. “Me? I’ll never find love. It’s kind of expected. The Dissick curse. I don’t think my parents were ever in love. Maybe I’ll have the same fate as them.”

This is his first time talking about his family. The subject stirs sad emotions in me. I bump my shoulder into his. “You won’t. You’re not your dad or mom. Even if it’s a family curse…” I trail off to break my pencil. Shoving one half into his fist, I add, “You’ll break it. You’ll find love.”

Ben was against love. He tried to discourage me once. But here we are. I’m not the biggest romantic, but I believe there’s someone out there for everyone. A person they easily connect with.

“Not true. But that’s okay.”

“Even if you don’t fall in love, there will be plenty of women and sex.”

The last two parts are to cheer him up. Our group might not openly talk about sex, but Lucas mentions it a lot during rehearsals. He’s hot, and he knows it. He uses it to get the girls. Ben is the opposite in that regard. If it’s not me, he’s not making an effort to impress the female gender.

“Nope. None of those. I’ll just stay off sex and women, focus on the music, you know?”

“You won’t. When you become so popular, you’ll have too many women tofuck,” I add that last word on a whisper like it can harm me. Calum laughs. He doesn’t believe me. I have heard him sing. All four of them are a powerhouse. It’s only a matter of time before they get their big break. Unpopular now, they get enough female attention. How about when they make it? “Wanna bet?”

“That I’ll stay off women and sex?” he says. That isn’t what I meant, but Calum looks so pleased with himself that I have no choice than to nod twice. He stretches his hand to me. “Deal. So, friends?”

My hand hovers over his without closing in a handshake. There’s one more thing to resolve.

“I can’t be friends with you if you disrespect Ben.”

The rest of my words linger in the air. Calum knows what I’m asking of him. For my sake, I hope he can be nicer to my boyfriend. I don’t expect them to be best friends, but I also don’t want him to ignore Ben. Ben doesn’t have any friends around here. They can get along if they set aside their differences. Lucas already thinks Ben is cool, but they don’t attend the same school.

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