Page 16 of The Perfect Catch

My pulse quickened as she said that, surprising me at how much I wanted that. Of course, what kind of guy wouldn’t want to have the attention of one of the nicest and most outgoing girls in school, and beautiful to top it off? But that was just a wish, and I knew nothing could come of it. I’d seen her mother around the halls, and I definitely wasn’t the type Mrs. Adams, or Shepherd, would appreciate having her daughter date.

I finally caught up to my sister and grabbed the phone from her, purposely moving to the bathroom. The one place in the trailer where I could actually read what Kate had sent me in peace.

I’d rather be doing that than trying to figure out these math problems.

I grinned.What are you having a hard time with?

It took a minute or two, but a frowny face came through and she texted,Everything. The whole equation.

I glanced down at the time on my phone, seeing it was only eight thirty.I can meet you somewhere to help you out.

What was my deal? I kept telling myself things would never work out between us, but there was something always pulling me back to her. For some reason, I wanted to make her happy, because if the person who always had a smile on her face during school functions wasn’t happy, I guess it meant I wouldn’t have a chance to be happy, or something like that.

A dialing tone sounded, and I saw her name pop up on the screen, asking to video chat. I pushed the green button, giving her a half-smile. “Trouble with math, huh?”

She gave me a feigned frown and then chuckled. “Are you in the bathroom?”

My cheeks heated, and I twisted my lips to the side, nodding. I dropped my voice a bit lower and said, “It’s about the only place I can have a shred of privacy in this place.”

I loved my dysfunctional family, but it seemed like I could never have something of my own, and right now I didn’t want my siblings to say anything about my growing crush on the girl on my screen.

“I get that. My brother likes to barge into my room all the time. I still love him, though.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, glancing away for a moment. “Anyway, meeting you would probably be easier, but my mom would ground me until I was at least fifty for leaving this late at night. Any chance you can help me through here?”

I laughed at the way she said it, her voice going from sarcasm to a soft pleading. “Yep. I don’t have much homework, so I can definitely help you for a few minutes.”

As we talked about math, we chatted about other things. It was easy to talk to her, to share the little things about my life, and I enjoyed hearing about hers.

I’d judged her before as someone who was nice to everyone because there wasn’t some deeper part of her, but I’d been wrong. She was kind to people because she cared, and for the first time in my life, I realized how much I needed that.

Chapter 12

Kate

Working with Dax was a lot easier than I’d expected. He had such a simple way of explaining all the math equations that looked like ancient hieroglyphs in my brain. It shouldn’t have surprised me that the guy who always got into fights wasn’t just some low-level idiot, but under all the disguises he tried to throw up, he was actually pretty smart.

I’d been so excited to go shopping with him and his sister for her dance outfit, but I was disappointed when he said he had to take a shift at work because one of the other coworkers had called in sick.

“I’ll still pick up Bree,” I said at the end of the school day.

He ran a hand through his hair, sending a nervous glance in my direction. “You really don’t have to do that.”

I leaned forward and gave him a small shove in the shoulder, grinning at him. “I’ve been looking forward to it for the last two days. It’s not often I get to help a girl pick out her first dance stuff. I don’t have a sister, and shopping with my mom, well, let’s just say that’s more torture than fun.”

He chuckled and shifted, stuffing his hand into his pants pocket. “Okay, then. I’ll get some money out on the way home so she can take it with her.”

I was struck by that, surprised by his admission. “Your dad doesn’t give you money?”

His eyes went wide, making the whites more visible than normal. He shifted again, rubbing his hands over his face. “Um, he gives us some money, but I use a lot of what I earn for extracurriculars.”

Jake called to us from the other end of the hall, and Dax looked relieved to see him. “What are you two up to?” His smile was wide, curious, as if he suspected something was going on between us. I leaned forward a bit, interested in what Dax would say.

My mind kept going back to the fact that he was going to pay for his sister’s clothes and cheer class from what he’d earned himself. It threw me. Things had been tight for a while after my dad passed away, but I’d never had to pay for my own activities, let alone Zane’s. Just another admirable quality in this so-called tough baseball player.

“Just talking about committee stuff,” Dax said, his body stiff as a board. As his gaze darted between me and Jake, looking almost like a scared animal, I got the impression he didn’t want me to say anything about his admission just moments before.

“Cool,” Jake said, glancing at me for confirmation. “Ben said he’ll throw batting practice to us tonight. You in?”

Frowning, Dax shook his head. “I wish, but I have to fill in for Cory at the garage. I’ll have to head to the batting cages or something tomorrow before the game on Saturday.”

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