Page 46 of Loved By The Bad Boy

Calum’s hand lowers, and my heart dives deep to my stomach. I steal a glance at him. “Cal?”

“We should get started on the project.”

Nineteen

BEN

Gracie feelsguilty about the fallout with Calum, and I don’t know how to cheer her up. I don’t give a shit about Calum, but I care about her. She is as quiet as she was when we walked into the cafeteria. I flash her a smile, and her lips twitch in the briefest smile. She carries her tray and heads for the table. We hesitate before sitting with the crew. The girls are not a problem. Calum shouldn’t be a problem, but I am not sure Gracie can handle sitting at the same table with him.

My worry dissolves when she settles down on the other bench. Mira, Imani, and Calum are on the opposite side. I sit beside her, trying not to feel bad for Calum, who shares eye contact with her.

He shouldn’t have tried to replace me. Gracie and I are meant to be. Always and forever.

“Are you guys like a couple now?” Imani asks. She’s eating something funny from a plastic cup.

“Yeah,” Gracie answers. She smiles at me and leans over to kiss my nose. “He’s my Benny.”

Calum clears his throat. Gracie grimaces and subtly pulls away from me. Mira saves us from the impending awkwardness. Using her fingers as horns, she sticks out her tongue at him. “He’s her Benny. Did you hear that? Get over it already.” Imani smacks her, and she shrugs. The glare her girlfriend directs at her makes her sigh in defeat. “I just don’t want this to ruin our friendship.”

“It won’t,” Calum answers without looking up.

The rest of our meal is weird. It feels like we are on three teams. Me and Gracie versus Mira and Imani versus Calum. I finish my meal and start on Gracie’s fries. She ordered an unusually large amount today.

“What’s the occasion?” I ask. She pretends to stop me the next time I try to take a piece from her plate. But when I decide to give up, she pushes it closer to my front. “Can you finish all of that?”

“Of course not. I ordered it because of you, foodie.” Giving me no chance to process her reply, she drops a wet kiss on my lips. Calum will be fine. “I knew you would steal from my plate.”

“I am doing you a favor,” I say in my defense, and she laughs harder. Hearing her laughter eases the doubts dwelling in my heart. I’m still worried about mentioning Tessa to her, but I don’t let it show. I don’t think she knows when she rests her head on my shoulder or sticks her finger into her mouth after wiping the ketchup on my lips. I whisper into her ear, “I love you very much, Gracie.”

It might be because of Calum that Gracie doesn’t respond, but she squeezes my hand. Imani and Mira excuse themselves once they finish their lunches. Calum mutters something and nearly tumbles over himself in his haste to leave the cafeteria. Gracie turns to me when he’s gone.

“I feel bad,” she says.

“Don’t.” I tuck a stray hair behind her ear, and she slips her hand into mine. She is wearing the memory bracelet. I am yet to return her combat boots or the notes we exchanged. I also miss the puzzle exchange. “It has nothing to do with you. It would have been worse if you led him on.”

“Okay, Benny.”

“Okay, Gracie.”

She stands and offers me a hand. I grab her backpack, but she doesn’t lead the way. Students file out of the cafeteria, leaving us two staring at each other. Her eyes bore into mine, and she gulps audibly. I’m not sure what she has to say, but she opens and closes her mouth without a word.

“What is it?” I ask.

Her fingers splay on my chest, slowly riding up to my collar. She fiddles with the top button for a few seconds. “I think it’s okay for you to help Olivia. I mean, for the case you talked about,” she quickly adds. Olivia already stopped asking. “I’ll not be mad as long as you return to me.”

“Always and forever, remember?” I remind her, my hands cupping her jaw. There’s no place I’ll rather be than with my girlfriend. Tucking my hand into the crook of her elbow, we step outside. We are the only ones in the hallway though we still have time. “So… what changed your mind?”

“I don’t know.” Gracie’s steps falter, and she shrugs. It is a big deal for her, and I am proud of her for setting aside her sentiments. That thing she said earlier about being broken is not true. In my eyes, she’s perfect. “I don’t like her, but he deserves jail time. If you can help, you should.”

We stop in front of her class without opening the door. Sadly, I don’t take this course.

“I’ll do my best,” I murmur.

“You better,” she says with a laugh.

My eyes run over her body, and I trace the visible patch on her stomach. Something happened to her after she left San Francisco. I don’t know what that is, but it’s something good. She’s not afraid to speak her mind anymore. It makes me happy as much as it frightens me. I am worried because a part of me feels like she won’t always need me. She won’t call me to rant about her choice of dressing. I enjoyed hearing her rant, even though I never provided any solid advice.

“Do you like my outfit? I wasn’t so sure about this one,” she murmurs. Her head tilts back, and she bites her lip. Doing a little spin causes the hem of her jacket to swish in the air. My silence must have made her fasten the last two buttons to hide her stomach. “What do you think?”

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