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He barked out a laugh, almost choking on the bite of eggs he’d just forked into his mouth. He swallowed some coffee before nodding at me. “Yes, baby girl, I have money. I live on a farm. My dad pays me like a regular employee every single week for helping out.”
“Oh,” I whispered, suddenly feeling stupid. “And you have time for that with football?”
He nodded. “Early mornings. Late nights. Weekends. Always time and things to do,” he said with a shrug. And I could tell he really didn’t mind. He enjoyed helping his dad out.
I definitely looked at him in a different light. I mean, he had always been different because he’d been one of the few people to be nice to me, but knowing he still kept up good grades, played a sport, was a decent person, and had a job?
I didn’t understand how he did it, but man, he was pretty put together.
“You look confused.”
I shook my head. “Not confused. Just amazed,” I told him honestly.
He cracked a grin but didn’t say anything else. I managed to eat all my bacon, a little bit of toast, and most of my egg before pushing my plate away, letting him know I was done. He scraped the food into the trash and washed the dishes, even drying them before he put them away into the cabinets.
“Think you’ll be ready to go by the time I’m done cleaning up in here?” he asked.
“I can help—”
He shot me a slightly scolding look that left my cheeks burning. “Not what I said, baby girl. You need to relax. Let me take care of you. All I need you to do is make sure you’re ready for school so we can go once I’m done cleaning up.”
Suddenly feeling extremely emotional because he was taking such good care of me and I hadn’t had that in so long, I just nodded, trying to swallow down the large lump in my throat. He smiled softly at me as if he knew and understood what I was feeling.
Feeling too open and raw, I slid off the barstool and quickly made my way back upstairs to put my pain medicine in my bag and make sure I had everything I needed for school.
Today was probably going to be a long day, but I knew it would be a bit more bearable with Drake by my side.
“Yo!” Kaleb called as we made our way across the parking lot. Drake gently tugged me to a stop and looked over his shoulder, watching as his best friend jogged his way toward us. He arched a brow at Drake. “No thank you for covering for me, oh-so-amazing-bestie?” he taunted.
Drake rolled his eyes and gently tugged on my hand, resuming walking again. “With the number of times I’ve had to cover for your ass when you snuck out to go sleep with some random girl while your parents were home? No.”
Kaleb snorted but dropped it. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
I looked up when Drake remained silent, only to find him looking down at me. I tripped, stumbling a bit, but Drake quickly tugged me against his side, wrapping an arm around my waist to hold me up. “Me?” I squeaked, my cheeks reddening.
Kaleb nodded, not teasing me. “You okay? Yesterday was pretty bad.”
I winced at the memory, and Drake’s arm tightened around me. “I’m okay. Broken nose. Probably going to have a headache for a few days. Drake’s mom said my throat might be sore, but I think the pain meds are keeping that away.”
Kaleb winced. “You’ll feel the throat later when it starts bruising—trust me.”
“Yay,” I sarcastically muttered.
Drake grabbed my hand in his and gently squeezed my fingers. “If you start feeling too bad, we’ll leave; I promise,” he assured me.
Kaleb pulled open the door, allowing Drake and me to walk through together before following in behind us. “If I skip too much, the school will call my parents,” I told him. “I’m honestly surprised they haven’t already been contacted about yesterday.”
Drake rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. “I might have gotten Mom to ask them not to call,” he said quietly.
My heart skipped a beat in my chest, and tears welled in my eyes. “You did that—for me?” I choked out.
He nodded, stopping next to my locker and pulling me into his arms. People were staring. I could feel their eyes on us, but he paid them no mind. “Baby girl, I’d do anything for you. And if you don’t know that yet, one day, I promise you will. And I’ll make sure you also never forget it.”
My lips trembled, too many emotions swelling in my chest for me to deal with. He cursed and tugged me across the hall. I squeaked when he pulled open the janitor’s closet and tugged me inside, nodding once at Kaleb, no doubt, before the door shut, shrouding us in darkness.
