Page 10 of Loving Bad
"I’ve got to go. I've got a meeting," he told me. "Please keep your phone on you."
"I will."
"I love you," he said. He said it to me every time we talked. I think it was those three words that people regretted not uttering for the last time to a loved one that they had lost.
"I love you too."
The call ended, and I dropped my phone onto my bed. I let out a sigh as I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes for a moment.
"Was it that rough?" Jordan asked.
She'd been so quiet I'd forgotten she was in the room with me. I opened my eyes and found her sitting on her bed, crossed-legged with a book on her lap.
"Yes, but it was my fault. I shouldn't have forgotten my phone," I said, rubbing my forehead. I was still feeling a little fragile and, after the conversation I just had, I could feel another headache starting up.
I'd told her about my overprotective brother, but I had never told her why he was so overprotective. It wasn't something I liked to talk about, and she understood that. The problem with telling people about it was the sympathetic looks, and I just couldn't stand those anymore. This was my chance to start over, doing what I wanted, making my own mistakes without my past following me every step of the way.
For the rest of the day, I put my homework away and lay on my bed with a book, trying to get my mind off a hot bad-boy who made my stomach flutter every time I saw him.
The next week was busy. Between classes and homework, I didn't have a lot of free time. I'd made it in just in time to my last class for the day. Still out of breath, I sat down in the first available seat and began to get my books out.
"You nearly didn't make it," said a voice from beside me.
I brushed my hair out of my face to see a guy that I'd noticed the week before smiling at me. I tried to calm my heart down as I gave him a friendly smile back.
"Yeah, tell me about it," I replied as I went back to the task of getting my notes out.
I could still feel his gaze on me, and I tried to ignore it when the class started up. Despite my best efforts, I couldn't concentrate on the teacher and what he was babbling on. It was the boy with the nice smile beside me who had kept my thoughts busy. The few times I'd snuck glances at him, he'd smiled knowingly at me.
He had blond hair with dark blue eyes, but his dimples that appeared every time he smiled were his sexiest feature. Embarrassed that I'd been caught looking at him a few times during class, I packed my bag as soon as the bell rang and tried to get out of the class before I embarrassed myself further.
"Wait," he called out to me as I exited the classroom.
I didn't want to be rude, so I stopped and turned to face him.
"I'm Caleb," he said while running a hand through his hair.
"I'm Taylor," I replied as I hitched the strap of my bag higher onto my shoulder.
"When a pretty girl sneaks in a couple of glances my way, I don't let her leave without taking her number," he said and pulled out his phone.
I was speechless.
"Are you going to give me your number?" he asked, seeming a little more serious than before.
For a moment, while his eyes held mine, I debated whether or not to give him my number. I was here to experience everything that I could. I liked him, and there was nothing wrong with that, so I decided to give him my number and he typed it into his phone.
"I'll call you, and we can go out sometime," he said as he turned to leave.
I nodded, and he gave me that killer smile with the dimples once more before he disappeared down the hallway.
For a few minutes, I stood there trying to get myself together. It had been the first time a guy had asked me for my number, and my heart was still hammering with excitement. It was precisely for these moments that I'd strived hard to experience, and it was even better than I'd ever dreamed. I smiled to myself as I turned to walk back to the dorm. I still had the stupid smile on my face when I pushed the door open to my room.
"Why are you so happy?" Jordan asked, looking at me with narrowed eyes.
