Blind Love (The Complete Box Set Romance Series) (7 page)

I straightened,
feeling protective. “What did he do?”

“He insisted that
I kiss him goodnight.”

“You didn’t want
to?”

“No, I didn’t. I
guess I don’t like to do that on the first date.”

She really was
innocent. I’d done more than that after only a burger. Her date had taken her
to a nice restaurant. If I knew the guy, I’d have a talk with him. “What did
you do?”

“I walked away. He
yelled at me, but I wasn’t budging.”

“I told you guys
were dicks.”

She laughed. “Yes,
you did, and I’m going to listen to you from now on. He sent me a text today.”

“Did you tell him
last night that you didn’t want to go out with him again?”

“Not really, no.”

“We men are
idiots. We need direct language. Tell us what you want us to do,” I told her.

Too many women
assumed we had an idea what was going on in their heads. We didn’t have clue.

“Really? I should
have told him that last night?”

“Yes. What time
did he drop you home?”

“Ten.”

“He should have
gotten the first hint from that early time. Then you could have reinforced it
with what you said. No reason to be mean, just firm.”

She tapped the
pencil against her cheek while she stared at me. “Wow. I never would have
thought of that.”

“Did you text him
back?”

“No, I wanted to
ask you what I should do.”

“You should tell
him that you don’t want to see him again. Think of it as rejecting a puppy. You
have to be firm, but don’t kick the guy in the nuts.”

She laughed again,
and I liked making her do that. Crap. It was going to be a long afternoon if I
kept thinking about her this way. She sipped her soda then pulled out her
phone. “Help me do this.”

She tapped on some
keys then showed me the text. I shook my head. She’d taken a nicer approach
than I thought she should. “No. Say these words. I’m sorry, but I don’t want to
see you again. It isn’t going to work out.”

“I should say
that? That isn’t kicking him in the nuts?”

“No, it isn’t.
Calling him names and telling him he’s ugly would be.”

There was that
laugh again. In that laugh, I could hear hope for my world. Holy shit. Stop,
Dylan. Stop, I told myself. I rubbed my face while she typed.

“Okay, I did it.
Will
he
text me back?”

“He might, but
ignore it. If you respond, he’ll keep responding thinking that there is hope.”

She nodded. “Well,
you’ve taught me a lot about guys today. Maybe we need to talk about math. Or
do you want to tell me about your night?”

I shrugged.
“Nothing to tell. Guys hanging out. Talking about girls.”

Specifically, girls
we would like to do and teachers we’d do it to also, but sweet, innocent Taylor
didn’t need to know that part. She would be disgusted at what we talk about. No
need to completely shatter her illusions about boys. Not all at once.

“Do you talk about
girls the way we talk about boys?”

He laughed. “Not
quite, but I’m not revealing any more. We men need some secrets.”

She nodded then
opened the textbook. “Sadly, we have to get down to this math. You need a
refill on the soda before we start?”

“No, thanks. Let’s
get going.”

Chapter
Eight

Taylor

I walked down the
hall after math. Dylan had run out of class before I could talk to him, but for
the first time, I hadn’t felt lost in class. I had some idea what the teacher
was saying. I stopped at her locker and Greg, the guy I’d had a date with Saturday,
stopped by. I groaned inside.

“Hello, Taylor.”

“I thought I made
it clear, Greg, that I wasn’t interested.”

“No reason to be a
bitch, Taylor.”

I pulled out the
books I needed. I didn’t want this from him. Hadn’t my text been clear? “I’m
not being a bitch. I’m telling you that I said everything I needed to tell you
in that text. I want you to leave me alone.”

I slammed my
locker and walked away from him. He put a hand on my shoulder. I spun back to
him, pissed. This guy as an idiot. I’m sure my face was red. “What do you
want?”

“Another chance.”

“I don’t want to
go out with you again.”

“Why not?”

“Because you were
rude to me and I’m not interested in you,” I said.

I stared him right
in the eyes so he’d understand that I was serious.

“You can’t be
serious. This is me. Girls would give their right leg to go out with me.”

“Not this girl.”

He put his hand on
my shoulder again to stop me when I turned away from him. I didn’t turn this
time, but tried to shake him off. “Stop it, Greg.”

“Or you’ll do
what?”

I looked back at
him. His eyes raked up and down me. “We meet alone somewhere, you’re mine.”

“Is that a
threat?”

“No, it’s a
promise.”

He put his face
close to mine, but then he was yanked backwards. Dylan had him by the neck and
his arm was cocked back to punch Greg.

“Dylan, no.”

Dylan looked at
me. His face was red with anger. “Is this the guy?”

“Yes, but he isn’t
worth getting in trouble over.”

Dylan glanced back
at Greg then back at me. “You leave her alone. She’d made it clear that she
isn’t interested.”

He let go of Greg,
who made a show of wiping off any dirt on himself. Not that there was any. He
was just being an ass.

“What the fuck
concern is it of yours?” Greg said.

He was brave now
that Dylan had let him go. Dylan had a few inches on him and the
asswipe
was still mouthing off to him.

“She’s my friend,”
Dylan said.

That was sweet. He
considered me a friend.

Greg looked from
Dylan to me. “Oh, I get it. You want her all to yourself.” He pointed to Dylan
and asked me, “Slumming with him?”

Dylan’s arm went
back again, but I grabbed it. “Don’t, Dylan. He’s an idiot.”

Dylan looked at my
hand on his arm. He relaxed it. I really didn’t want him to get into trouble.
My father might kick him out, and I didn’t want that to happen. I was beginning
to like the guy. I wanted him to have a chance at a good life.

Back in the
trailer, he wouldn’t.

Dylan stepped
back. “Beat it.”

The bell rang. I
was late. I was never late to class. Dylan looked at me as Greg left at the
sound. “You okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.
Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I deal with
punks like him all of the time,” he said.

Right now, he was
my hero. I had been beginning to be afraid of Greg when Dylan showed up.
“You’re going to be late to class.”

“It’s just study
hall. The teacher’s cool. You should go to your next class and tell her your
stomach hurts. Tell him or her that you were in the bathroom afraid you were
going to throw up. You can go to the nurse’s office and get to lay down for a
few minutes, then she’ll give you a pass to your next class. That way you won’t
be late.”

I cocked my head
at him. “Spoken like someone who has done it before.”

He smiled, and I
realized it was an adorable grin that lit up his brown eyes. “More than once.”

He spun away from
me and walked to class like he didn’t have a care in the world. My step was
lighter knowing that Dylan was on my side. It was nice to have a protector. I
walked into my next class, hunched over. I hoped I looked pale enough.

“Mrs. Watkins, my
stomach hurts. Can I go to the nurse’s office?”

It might be nice to
sit out a class. I have to admit that Greg had shaken me up. I’d never had
anyone treat me that way and I didn’t like it. Dylan had ridden in on his white
horse.

I lay in the
nurse’s office thinking about him. What a tough life he must have. Hopefully, it
would be better now. I wondered what I could do to brighten it. Should I
introduce him to my friends or did he not care about those things? I didn’t
know.

What I knew about
Dylan, I could count on one hand. He wasn’t a forthcoming with information. He
still hadn’t told Daddy why he’d been writing on the wall. I wondered why he
didn’t want to tell us. Was it embarrassing?

Had someone
written something about him?

No, that wasn’t
it. He didn’t care what most people thought. It must be a great way to go through
life. Then again, the reasons he of how he got there aren’t good.

I sat up when the
nurse came in.

“I’m feeling
better. Can I go back to class?”

“Of course.”

She wrote me a
pass. There was only ten minutes left in the period, so I sauntered and got
there with only five left. No need to even open my notebook. Bailey was in that
class and would give me her notes.

The bell rang.

“I saw Greg in the
hallway. He looked mad. Is everything okay?” Bailey said.

It was. Because
Dylan would protect me.

Chapter
Nine

Dylan

I found the right
room for the Mathletes. Oh, God. That sounded nerdy. I guess I was a nerd, but
Taylor had recommended this club since I was good at math. She said it would
look good for college.

Like I was going
to college. Still, Mr. Dean wanted me to get involved, so I paused outside the
classroom where the Mathletes met. I’d heard of them, but had never given them
much thought before. I couldn’t think about much with my stomach rumbling.

I couldn’t
remember the last time I went hungry. I was putting on needed weight and
probably should go to the weight room instead of the nerd room.

And it was.

I opened the door
and five kids with glasses and superhero t-shirts turned to look at me.

“Can we help you?”

They looked a
little scared of me, as if I was going to shake them down for their lunch
money. “I’m here to join.”

They all looked at
each other, then back at me.

“It’s not a joke,
guys. I’m good at math.”

The tallest one
stepped up. He was almost my height, but skinny and pale. These kids were all a
walking stereotype. There was even a dorky girl in the corner.

“Oh, really?”

“Yes,” I said. “I
need to join an activity and someone suggested you guys.”

Did I have to be
hazed first? Solve six differential equations in some short time period? They
exchanged a glance again. The taller one stepped closer. “I’m Jake.”

“Dylan.”

We shook hands.
The rest seemed to relax. The girl stared at me as if she’d never seen a man
without a superhero shirt in her life.

“Why do you want
to join us?” one of the others spoke up.

“Well, I’m living
with a family and the father said that I need to find an activity. I tried out
for baseball and didn’t make it. A friend recommended your club. She said I
would fit in okay.”

I wasn’t so sure,
but I refused to judge them on their appearances. That wouldn’t be fair. Jake
nodded. “It’s fine guys. I don’t think it’s a prank.”

“A prank?”

“One of the jocks
joined and made us lose our first meet. On purpose. Then he left. I’m guessing
the football team thought it was funny.”

“Oh, no, this
isn’t a prank. What do you guys do?”

“Well, we compete
in tournaments. We have to solve math problems and are asked questions about
math related topics.”

“Well, I’m getting
an A in calculus. Do I qualify?” I said.

“That would do.
We’ve never tested anyone or turned away anyone,” Jake said. “People aren’t
knocking down the door to join us.”

I shrugged.
Whatever. If it made Mr. Dean happy, I didn’t really care. Having been an
outcast my whole high school life, being a part of something might be nice. I
was surprised that Taylor had known about them. Guess she wasn’t that much of a
snob, after all.

“Then, I want to
join. Is it too late?”

“No, but we have a
tournament coming up and you won’t be eligible to compete.”

I shrugged again.
“That’s fine.”

Jake made the
introductions. I learned the girl’s name was Sandra. She was reluctant to shake
my hand, but I’d win her over. I had that kind of touch with the ladies. She’d
be charmed by me. Eventually.

The meeting lasted
an hour and when I walked out of the classroom, Taylor was waiting for me. I
said goodbye to all of the mathletes. They saw Taylor and stepped back like she
was a queen or something. I guess in some ways she was.

She smiled at all
of them, but didn’t say anything. I fell into step beside her.

“How was it?”

“A little odd at
first, then it was okay.”

“You think it’s
the right club for you?”

I nodded. “I do,
Taylor. Thanks. I don’t look like a geek, but I guess in my heart, I am.”

She laughed. Each
time she did, my heart skipped a beat. I had always thought that was bullshit,
but it happened. I swear. “Did they ask you about your tattoos?”

“Yeah, they did. I
don’t think I’m the only one in the school with them, so I don’t know why
people bring them up.”

“But you’re the
only I’ve ever talked to,” she said. “People with tattoos are scary.”

“Am I scary?”

“No, not at all.
You’re just Dylan,” she said.

I liked how she
said my name. Damn. I had to remember that her father had let me into his
house. I doubt he’d like me dating his daughter. “But I have tattoos.”

“I was afraid of
you when I first met you.”

“I know.”

“Did that bother
you?”

“No.”

It hadn’t. I was
used to it.

“I’m sorry that I
was afraid.”

“You don’t have to
be sorry about how you feel. It’s just how you feel. I appreciate that you’ve
warmed up to me.”

She nudged him
with her hip. “You’re not so bad.”

I couldn’t help
smiling. This was a flirty Taylor. Her eyes twinkled. They were an odd shade of
blue, but it worked on her.

“Is your Dad
picking us up?”

“Yep. Like usual.
I miss him when he’s out of town.”

“Does he travel
much?”

“He’ll go for
weeks where I don’t see him but once a week,” she said.

I could see the
sadness in her eyes. What would that be like? I had to admit that if my mother
had traveled, it would have been a relief. There was always drama surrounding
her – and strangers who wanted to party.

I would often come
home to all sorts of stoned people in our trailer. I had started locking my
bedroom door when stuff started getting stolen.

Sadly, that could
have been my mother selling things to buy drugs. It may not have been her
friends. Taylor had no such worries in her life.

***

The mathletes met
after school the next day, but not for long. I had some time before Taylor’s
dad would pick us up. I could have gotten a ride home, but decided to hang out.
School was different after hours.

Everyone was more
relaxed. Usually, I was running home because my mother wanted me there or I had
to check on her because she’d had the day off. It was never a good thing to
give my mother idle time. She just drank or snorted it away.

I should probably
go visit her, but not being around her had been nice. I was only responsible
for myself. Someone else made meals and gave me money for food. This life was
nice, but one wrong step and Mrs. Dean would kick me out.

And, she should.
They’d offered me a rare opportunity and I had to do right by them.

I sat in the
bleachers watching the various sports practicing. Okay, I was only watching the
cheerleaders. And, only watching Taylor. She had command of the squad.

Those girls
listened to her. Taylor didn’t come up to see me when they took a break, which
was disappointing. It shouldn’t be, but it was.