Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 129986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 650(@200wpm)___ 520(@250wpm)___ 433(@300wpm)
“You weren’t at school today,” he remarks, seemingly untroubled by my shutting him out of my house.
“Yeah, well, if almost dying doesn’t get me a sick day, I don’t know what will.”
He cracks a smile. “True enough. You’re all right, though?”
I nod even though I know he doesn’t actually care.
He finally drops my gaze, dropping his shoulder so the backpack I didn’t notice him carrying falls. He puts it down on the porch, then opens the flap and reaches inside.
I scowl, full of distrust.
What is he doing?
I almost expect him to pull out some kind of release form his lawyer whipped up to assure I don’t sue his family, so I’m guarded when a moment later, he holds out several sheets of notes, all written in different colored ink. “Here,” he says, seeming to expect me to take them.
Still scowling, I ask, “What is this?”
“Notes from all the classes you missed today.”
My eyes widen and shoot to his face. “You… took notes for me?”
“No. I don’t even take notes for myself, I have nerds do that for me. Today, I had them copy down notes for the classes you were in, too, that way you didn’t miss anything.”
Slowly, I reach to take the papers from his hands. “That… is both really awful and really thoughtful at the same time.” My gaze flickers back to his, still uncertain. “Thank you.”
He shrugs, then closes his bag and slings it over his shoulder. “It’s nothing. You’ll be at school tomorrow, right?”
The corners of my lips tug up. “Why? Want to give your note-taking nerd army a little heads-up this time if I’m not?”
He shrugs again, his brown eyes glinting with mischief. “Maybe I’m just hoping I’ll see you in the halls. Make my day a little better.”
He’s full of shit, but it still drags a smile out of me as I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right. You literally didn’t know my name at the party, now I’m the bright spot in your day.”
I say it mockingly, but he grins, not taking offense. “Hey, maybe you are, you don’t know. I did save your life. I feel like we have a bond now.”
I try to bite back my grin, but fail miserably. “You’re the biggest liar I’ve ever met.”
So why is his obvious bullshit charming me so much?
God, I need to get out more.
I’m in a better mood than I have been all weekend. I can’t deny, even if he’s lying his ass off, this lighthearted break has rejuvenated me a bit.
“I need to get back inside, but… thank you for the notes.”
“You’re welcome.” His reply seems almost sincere. His offensively perfect lips tug up into a little smirk I desperately don’t want to find cute and he catches my gaze as he starts to turn. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
I nod, my tummy fluttering strangely as he starts down the front steps. “Yeah, you’ll see me tomorrow.”
When he gets to the bottom, he turns around so he can look at me, and walks backward toward the driveway. “Good.”
I watch him get into his car—a matte black Audi. I know his family is loaded, so even if it didn’t look disgustingly expensive, I would expect it to be. It does, though. It looks ridiculously cool with tinted windows and sexy curves. I’m not even a car person and I notice how cool it is.
I don’t want him to catch me watching him drive away, so I hurry back inside the house and close the door behind me.
When I enter the living room, Mom turns to look at me. “Was that a friend of yours from school?”
I know she worries about the toll her illness is taking on my social life, so I force a little smile and nod, holding up the pages of notes to show her. “Yeah. He was just dropping off notes for the classes I missed today.”
“How nice,” she says with far too much interest. “What’s his name?”
“Uh… Dare. Chase. I don’t know.”
Mom frowns. “You don’t know?”
“I mean, I do know. Everyone calls him Dare, but his name is Chase Darington.”
Her eyebrows rise. “Chase Darington? As in, Darington Enterprises?”
I nod. Dare’s father—also Chase Darington—started out as a residential developer, then moved into commercial. Now, he dominates both markets, and virtually anything anyone builds in this town goes through him. “Yeah. That’s his dad’s company.”
“I didn’t realize you were friends.”
Since we’re not and I don’t want this blending of the truth to get out of hand, I drop her gaze, nod, and head for my bedroom. “I better go put these away.”
“Do you need time to study them? I can entertain myself for a while if you do.”
“No, it’s fine. I can look them over tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
No.
“Yes.”
She flashes me a smile and I flash one back, then I run to my room to stash the notes I know I won’t even have time to study.