“Hadley, you may study in your room, but the door remains open.”
I felt my cheeks burn as I led Tyler up to my room. What would he think of it? It was kind of girly, but I liked it. I tried to see the room through his eyes. The lilac walls, white eyelet comforter, the deep purple armchair near the window. My desk was a mess, and it wasn’t big enough for two people. I wasn’t sure where Mom thought we were going to sit.
Tyler took my hand and led me over to the bed, pulling me down beside him. Did he think homework was a keyword for something else? Because I had every intention of actually working on my assignments. Then again…
His lips brushed against mine and I couldn’t help but lean into him. His fingers tangled in my hair and I fisted the front of his shirt. I’d never enjoyed kissing someone as much as I loved kissing Tyler. I was really going to miss this when it was all over. But what if it didn’t have to be over? Was there anything I could possibly do to make him want to keep me after his mom had been appeased?
He pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. “I could kiss you all day and all night.”
My toes curled at his words and I smiled up at him.
“So, what kind of homework do you have?” he asked, picking up his bag.
“Well, there’s the essay we both have. We could work on that, if you want?”
He nodded. “Sounds good. Are you going to type yours later or just turn in a handwritten one? Our class was told that either would be acceptable, but a handwritten one has to be longer. I think it was three typed pages or five handwritten pages.”
“I’m definitely going to type mine, but I’ll probably start it by hand.”
“If I’d thought of doing homework with you before I left this morning, I’d have brought my laptop with me. I’ll stick it in the truck tomorrow, just in case.”
“You want to do homework with me again tomorrow?” Did he really want to spend so much time with me? Or was it all for show? Not that his mother would know the difference between him being at my house or hanging with his friends. Either way, he wasn’t home.
“I like spending time with you, Hadley. I enjoyed our date yesterday. I liked having dinner with your family last night. And I loved going to breakfast with you this morning. I’m not here because I have to be; I’m here because I want to be.”
“But your mom and military school…”
He nodded. “Yeah, that’s a part of it, but I really do like hanging out with you. I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to get to this point. Maybe if we’d talked sooner, my mom never would have felt she needed to threaten me.”
I snorted. “Yeah, like you would have asked me out otherwise.”
“Hadley, the fact that you’re a band geek had nothing to do with it. I didn’t care that you were a geek and I still don’t. But I dated a certain type of girl because that’s what I wanted. Easy. And you are far from easy. You’re the kind of girl someone takes home to their mother, the kind you go away to college with, and the kind you eventually marry.”
“That’s a bad thing?” I asked softly.
“No. It’s a really good thing, but most guys aren’t looking for that in high school. Most of us just want to have a good time, and you’re not a good time girl. That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you, or that you’re less somehow. If anything, it means you’re better than all of them. Better than me.”
“Tyler…”
He placed a finger over my lips, then followed it with a kiss. His tongue traced my lips until I opened and let him in. If I’d thought our other kisses were hot, this one was hotter. If what he’d said was true, did that mean he was no longer looking for those party girls? Was he ready to have a serious girlfriend, the kind you took to college with you? Was that why he’d mentioned needing to apply to two more schools?
My heart pounded in my chest as I thought about the possibilities. A future with Tyler was all I’d ever dreamed of, but I’d always been too afraid to reach for it. Was it now within my grasp?
“We should do homework,” he said, pulling away. “Although, I can’t promise to keep my hands off you.”
“Tyler, what are we doing? I mean really.”
“I don’t know, Hadley. Let’s just see where things go, okay? I know this started out as a way to get Mom off my back, but the more time I spend with you, the more I like you. I’m not saying I’m great boyfriend material or anything, but this may end up being more than just a deal between friends.”
“Were we friends?” I asked.