Page 59 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
Me: I was too. I’m sorry I didn’t text sooner.
Kaleb: It’s okay. See you tomorrow evening?
I chew my lip. That seems so far away.
Me: How about at sunrise?
Three dots appear and disappear. It’s a full minute before another text finally pops up.
Kaleb: Do you know how early sunrise is?
I snicker. So, he’s not an early bird. I’m not really either, but I’ll sacrifice sleep if it means I see him sooner rather than later.
Me: Yes, I know how early it is. What are you saying? You can’t hack it predawn?
Kaleb: Real funny, bad girl. Yeah, I can hack it.
Kaleb: But only for you.
The second text pops up immediately after the first. My heart thumps harder, and my stomach flutters. Does this mean he’s missing me too? I sure feel his absence way more as of late. I’ll keep that to myself for now, though. Seeming too eager before I know how he feels doesn’t seem smart.
Me: Okay, see you tomorrow morning.
Kaleb: Sweet dreams, girlfriend.
I don’t know what to text back, so I don’t. Maybe by tomorrow morning I’ll have a witty reply, but at the moment, my brain is frozen. He called me the G-word. My heart hums in my chest like its dancing with the butterflies swarming in my stomach. Girlfriend.
Warning bells and alarms are going off, but things are different now. I don’t think we’re pretending anymore. I know I’m not. Before I can get too wrapped up in my thoughts, a knock comes from the door.
“I actually do need to use the restroom,” Dixie says.
Quickly, I flush the toilet and whip the door open. “I really had to go.”
Dixie rolls her lips in as we pass each other in the doorframe. “Sure you did.”
It hits me right then that I forgot about Ronnie’s request, and I shoot a quick text to Kaleb asking about Chris. Of course, he gives me a smart alec response. Am I interested in his friend? Nope, butmyfriend sure is interested inhisfriend.
When the news of Chris’s dating status pops onto my screen, I’m thankful for it. By the time Dixie returns to Ronnie’s room, we’ll have something other than my love life to discuss. I don’t know what I have with Kaleb yet. Maybe tomorrow morning I’ll have a better idea of what it is Idohave with him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kaleb
It’s not quite sunrise yet.I don’t know why I was up way before my alarm went off, other than the anticipation of seeing Ginny had me awake well before our planned meeting time. I don’t know what it is about the last few weeks that has me in a rose-colored fog.
My head and my heart both scream,That’s a lie!I know exactly what it is. Aside from my rising GPA, spending the last few weeks sneaking out with Ginny has reminded me why we were friends until…I started turning into a jerk. It feels like it was forever ago, and I can’t remember having a reason why I stopped talking to her.
By eighth grade, I was getting old enough to understand that my parents were fighting. Not a lot at first, but enough that it affected me. I acted out at school. It spilled out into every aspect of my life. I was angry all the time. The stress in my house was growing, and I didn’t know how to handle it.
“Deep thoughts?” Ginny’s voice takes me off guard, and I jump.
Her laughter fills the air and my heart. “A little.” I look up just as she’s parking in the sand next to me. “You’re early.”
“You’re earlier.” She smirks. “Is everything okay?”
I shrug and stretch my legs out in front of me. “Yeah, just woke up and figured why not head to the beach?”
Hugging herself, Ginny shivers. “It wasn’t that cold when I left Ronnie’s house.”
