Page 68 of Tutoring the Bad Boy
As I close the door to the bathroom, I’m suddenly filled with giddy joy. There’s the real prospect that maybe my mom is seeing me, hearing me. That maybe our relationship can go back to what it was, and that I can confide in her my real feelings about Kaleb. Not before she tells me about the deal, but since the moment this all started, I’m thinking she will. That she’s had a genuine change of heart.
The thought fills me with happiness. And Hope. Real, tangible hope.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kaleb
For the second time,I’m standing at the beach waiting for Ginny. I got a text a couple of hours ago that she’d meet me here. She and her mom were returning from Galveston this afternoon so they could get ready for school starting back up tomorrow. I’m not sure how she’s managed to sneak away, but I’m not complaining.
“Kaleb.” Her voice floats on the breeze, and her fruity scent follows.
I turn around, and she is every bit as beautiful as she was when she left. Maybe more so, but that might be because of how much I missed her. She’s wearing a coat with a t-shirt peeking out at the top and a pair of jeans that hugs every curve perfectly.She’sperfect.
Ginny runs to me, throwing her arms around my neck, and I bury my face in her hair. Until this moment, I knew I missed her, but not how much. I’m not sure that could ever be calculated.
Breathing her in, I feel a sense of peace I’ve never felt before. “I missed you too.”
I hold her for a while before leaning back so I can look at her. “Did you have fun?”
Her face says everything and more. “Yes, it was so great. We talked and shopped and…” She heaves a heavy sigh. “It was the best trip I’ve ever had with her. I didn’t have to sneak out to meet you. I asked, and she said it was okay.”
My mouth drops open. Principal Gray has been body-snatched. “Really?”
“I know, right? At first I thought she was going to tell me she was dying or something, but we talked. I told her how I was feeling about being so restricted and that I’ve felt suffocated.” She smiles the biggest, widest, happiest smile she’s ever given me. “I still haven’t told her I know about her deal with you. I want to ease into that. See how things are.” She pauses, chewing her lip, and then smiles. “I think things are going to be okay, though.”
“That’s amazing.” It really is. No more pretending or sneaking or any of it. “Does it mean she’s okay with us?”
Nodding, Ginny says, “Yeah. I told her I cared about you. That you’re…that you mean the world to me.”
She’s hesitant to say anything more, and I understand. I am too. For some reason, this deal I have with her mom is still a cloud hanging over us, even if they’ve made peace. It’s the elephant in the room that we need to deal with before we go any further.
“You mean a lot to me too.”
“I can’t stay long. I told her I’d come back and help her get laundry done.” She smiles and pulls a rectangular box out of her coat pocket. “I hope you like it.”
We’d said no gifts, but I didn’t listen either. I take hers from my jeans pocket. We swap them at the same time. I’m equally eager to see her reaction as I am to open my gift.
She peels open the paper, opens the small box, and gasps at the ring inside. “It’s beautiful.” It’s not huge. Just a tiny silver ring with her birthstone in it.
I take the ring and slide it onto her index finger. “I know it’s small, but, funny story, my dad helped me pick it out.”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “Your dad?”
“Yeah. It was pretty cool. I had no idea what to get you, so we hung out one day just going to different stores. He asked me a bunch of questions. Like your eye color and hair color and stuff like that.” I’m leaving the part out about when he asked if I cared about her…L-word her. I haven’t even so much as allowed myself to think it, much less tell someone before I say it to her.
She bites her lip, her gaze dipping to the present she’s given me. “Your turn.” I love the sparkle in her eyes when her gaze meets mine again.
I put it to my ear and shake it. “What could this be?”
She gives a small shrug. “Open it.”
Keeping my gaze locked with hers, I feel out the paper and tear it off. Only when I feel the box do I drop my gaze. I flip it open and pull out the silver pen lying inside. I look at Ginny.
“It’s an architectural engineering pen, but I found this little shop that did engraving. I googled the best pens, and this one popped up, but it was plastic. The little shop had this one, and I wanted something that would last. It’s refillable and everything.” She bounces on the balls of her feet. “I almost didn’t even go in, but my mom knew I was looking for something. I was so shocked when I saw it.”
I knit my eyebrows together. “Engraved?”
Her teeth catch her bottom lip as she nods and smiles.
