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Mr. Delgado sighed and moved on, calling on someone else who rattled off the answer, but Abby didn’t have the mind to care. Too many other things clogged the pipes of her thoughts to worry about one tiny math problem. Regardless, she tried to focus but found it nearly impossible, preoccupied with thoughts of GG, Lawson, and the deposit box key. When the bell rang several minutes later, signaling the end of class, relief swept through her as she made her way toward Kaden.
“Miss Bridges?” Mr. Delgado’s stern tone stopped her. “I expect the problems we did today durin
g class to be done tonight in addition to your homework and turned in tomorrow. Got it?”
The heat of embarrassment rose to her cheeks as she nodded. “Sure.”
She needed to get a grip. First, she completely zoned out during the chemistry quiz second period, only to turn in a nearly blank test. She forgot her health homework, and on top of it all, she completely missed out on today’s calculus notes. Doing the classwork, plus their homework tonight should be fun.
Way to go, Abby.
She turned away from Mr. Delgado and noted Kaden’s retreating form. Hurrying, she caught up and jumped in front of him, blocking his path. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he said but didn’t meet her gaze.
He moved around her, heading for the door, but Abby wasn’t letting him get away that easy. She swung her backpack over her shoulder and rushed to his side to stop him. “What’s wrong?”
She followed him out the door and into the hall. “You’re not still mad at me for hitting you, are you?”
Kaden stopped mid-stride. “No.”
“So, then why are you annoyed with me?”
His gaze flickered to hers, then away again. “Who said I’m annoyed with you?” He started to walk again.
“Uh, you’re kinda obvious.”
She hooked her thumbs through the arms of her bookbag and continued to follow him, imploring him with wide eyes.
Sighing, he finally glanced over at her. “You have no clue, do you?”
“Not the slightest.”
“Yesterday, right before you left...” he trailed off like she should understand.
Her forehead creased in concentration, and Abby tried to recall what he was talking about. Did she say something to offend him? All she could think about was finding the business card for Lawson.
“You asked if I wanted a ride to school,” he finished for her.
Abby clasped a hand over her mouth and gasped. “Oh, no,” she mumbled, then smacked a hand to her forehead. “Oh, my gosh. I am so so sorry. I totally flaked. I forgot, I swear. That was before I—”
“No, it’s cool.” He shrugged and kept walking.
“Hey, no. Wait,” she said, stopping him. “I really did forget. You can’t be mad at me. It’s a rule.”
“A rule?” A smirk touched the edges of his mouth, and Abby realized with a jolt she wanted to see him smile. Even though she hardly knew him, she didn’t want him mad at her.
“Yeah. I get a free pass. You know, it’s a bereavement rule. I’m allowed to be spacey.”
“Uh-huh. So, first you break park rules, then you try to kill me with your vicious yellow car, and then you stand me up for our date. Now you want me to pretend none of that happened because your grandma died?”
“Exactly. Minus the date part.” Abby’s nerves twisted in her stomach. “I never said it was a date.”
“Fine. We can go out. You don’t have to beg.”
Abby frowned. “I wasn’t... I didn’t...” she trailed off as Kaden beamed, clearly amused by riling her.
With a sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So, are we good?”
