Blind Love (The Complete Box Set Romance Series) (4 page)

Was this the first
time these girls were doing this?

“We’re tired,
Taylor,” Bailey said. “Can’t we quit for today.”

I looked around.
“Is that what everyone wants?”

“It’s almost six.
We’ve been doing this since three,” Barbie whined.

They did have a
point. “Okay. We can call it a day, but I expect everyone to work twice as hard
on Saturday.”

“The SATs are on
Saturday.”

“Not all day,” I
said.

These ladies were
not the fierce competitors I wanted them to be. I glanced back at the parking
lot as Cole drove out. Dylan was in the front seat of the car. Guess they were
friends.

“I think you’re
jealous that Dylan has made a friend,” Bailey said in my ear.

I spun around. “I
don’t care what Dylan does.”

“I think you do.
Come clean, Taylor. You like him.”

“I don’t even know
him,” I told her.

I didn’t. We
really hadn’t talked. Bailey left as I cleaned up our
pom
poms
. I called my dad. He arrived fifteen minutes
later to pick me up.

“So, Dylan went
out with friends?” he said when I climbed in the car.

“Cole, a guy on
the baseball team.”

“So, you were
keeping track of him today?”

I rolled my eyes.
“No, Daddy. He just came up to ask me if he should let you guys know.”

“I’m glad he’s
making friends. Didn’t he have friends before?”

“I don’t know. I
never noticed him until you brought him home. Why did you bring him home?”

“Because we have
so much and he has so little.”

“Where did you
find him?”

“That doesn’t
matter, pumpkin. I just wish you would try to be nice to him. He’s had a rough
life.”

“I was impressed
that he tried out for baseball,” I said.

I didn’t want my
father to know that I’d actually ignored the boy all day. I really didn’t know
what to say to Dylan.

“That’s good. I
did ask him to find an activity. I think doing those activities keeps you out
of trouble. You have to budget your time better when you have things going on.”

“Is he taking the
SATs on Saturday?”

“I don’t know,
honey. I’ll have to ask him. He should. That would leave his options open.”

I nodded. He’d been
preaching my whole life about keeping options open. I wanted to believe that if
I chose something other than college, my dad would be okay with it, but I
wasn’t sure. My mother wanted me to go to college to meet a man. How
old-fashioned.

***

My homework
awaited me after dinner. Dylan came home from burgers with his friends and
disappeared into his room. He was at the other end of the second floor. My
parents’ room was on the third floor.

I liked having
that much privacy.

My father poked
his head into my room. “You need anything from me, cupcake? I’m going to bed. I
have to be out even earlier than usual tomorrow.”

“No, Daddy. I’m
fine. I might get some ice cream later.”

“Don’t stay up too
late.”

He kissed my cheek
then left me. As I turned back to my computer, I heard a knocking on my door. I
turned to find Dylan in my doorway.

“Hi.”

“Hi,” I said back.

We were still
strangers, and I have to say it was awkward to have a guy across the hall, even
if that hall was very long.

“I left my math
book at school. Can I borrow yours?”

“Uh, okay. Did he
give us homework in that class?”

“Yes. He did.
Chapter twenty three.”

“Yikes. Good thing
I brought it home,” I said.

He nodded, then
smiled. “Do you want to do the homework first and I’ll come back later?”

I reached into my
backpack. “No. I’ll do the homework later.”

“I’ll get this
back to you in fifteen minutes.”

I looked at him
with wide eyes. “It only takes you that long to do your math homework?”

“Yeah. To me, it’s
easy.”

“Wow. I will have
to get you to help me this weekend. I can’t seem to grasp it.”

“Were you
recommended for this class?” he asked me.

“No, but my mother
wanted me to take it for college.”

“Well, there’s
your problem. You weren’t ready for it.”

“My stupid grades
reflect it,” I said.

This was
comfortable. I could talk about school with him. Then the silence fell, but I
kind of didn’t want him to leave. “Uh. Did you get on the team?”

He frowned. “No, I
didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry,
Dylan.”

He shrugged. “It’s
okay. Your dad was right. I need to put myself out there and try things.”

That might mean he
wouldn’t be friends with Cole. That would be okay. “You did that.”

“I’ll have to see
what else I can get involved with.”

“How’s your
mother?”

Another frown.
“She’s out of the hospital, but in a rehab center. She’ll be there for a few
days.”

“Was it drugs?”

His face fell. I
should have asked that.

“Forget I asked.
I’m sorry, Dylan.”

I really was. I
didn’t want to hurt his feelings. He was turning out to be a nice guy.

“It’s okay. It was
almost an overdose.”

“I’m sorry,
Dylan.”

“Not your fault.”

His face wasn’t so
open anymore. I had tread on personal ground and I had to bring things back
around. “Uh, are you taking the SATs on Saturday?”

“I’m signed up,
but I don’t know if I’ll bother.”

I shifted in my
chair to get more comfortable. “Why not?”

“Not like I can
afford college.”

“You haven’t
applied anywhere?”

“No. I couldn’t
visit.”

“You could start
at the local community college,” I said. Part of me wanted to go there for
nursing, but I knew my mother didn’t want me to go into that field. It was a
fight we had often.

“I can’t pay for
it.”

“Financial aid.”

“But that has to
be filled out by a parent, and that’s not going to happen.”

That was a bind.
“There must be something you can do.”

“I can be
emancipated.”

“But we’re
eighteen. Aren’t we considered adults?”

“Not in terms of
financial aid.”

“Then get
emancipated. What does that mean?”

He leaned against
the door frame. “It means that I can take care of myself. That I’m not under a
parent’s authority.”

“Do it.”

“It costs money
and I’m not working,” he said.

“Maybe my dad
could help.”

He shook his head.
“Your father has done enough for me. I can’t ask him to do more.”

“I could.”

“No, Taylor.”

It was only the second
time he’d said my name, and I liked how it sounded in his mouth. That was odd,
for sure. I wasn’t usually attracted to the bad boy and with his longer hair,
scruff, and tattoos he was definitely a bad boy.

“Why not? He’d do
it if I asked.”

“I know he would,
and I’d owe him even more that I do now.”

“It’s okay to ask
for help, Dylan.”

“Not for me,” he
said.

I didn’t
understand. I asked for help all of the time. Was it a guy thing? Maybe. My
father helped me all of the time.

“Is it because
you’ve never had anyone to help you?”

“Why are you
trying to analyze me?” He pushed off the doorframe. “I’ll get this book back to
you in fifteen minutes.”

He spun then
walked out. I’d pissed him off. I ran to my door. “Dylan?”

He stopped in the
hallway then turned to me. “What?”

“I’m sorry for
whatever I said wrong.”

He pressed his
lips together. “
It’s
fine, Taylor. You don’t have any
idea.”

“No, I don’t. So,
if I do it again, please tell me and know that I don’t mean it.”

He studied me, and
I wasn’t sure what he was thinking. I told myself to never play poker with
Dylan. Certainly not strip poker. Now, where had that idea come from? I’d never
played strip anything with anyone.

“
It’s
okay, Taylor. You don’t know any better.”

“But I’m not a
child, so tell me when I insult you. I don’t want to.”

He nodded. “Okay.
Deal.”

I smiled, but he
didn’t return it. Instead, he turned back around and left me alone in the
hallway. What an odd person this Dylan was. Would I ever understand him?

Chapter
Five

Dylan

Cole greeted me
outside of school after Taylor’s mom dropped us off. I wasn’t sure if he’d even
notice me since I didn’t make the team.

“Tough break, not
making the team,” he said.

The email had
landed in my inbox only minutes before I arrived home last night. It had been
nice to be out with kids my age as if I didn’t have a care in the world. The
reality of my mother in the hospital didn’t creep in until I woke in the middle
of the night.

I had been
disoriented, not sure where I was. The bed was too soft. The room too big.
Then, I remembered. I wasn’t able to sleep any more with worry for her. I
should be worried. She is my mother.

Taylor poured me
some coffee when she saw my face that morning. Maybe she wasn’t such a bitch
after all.

“I’ll be okay.
Guess I have to try something else,” I said as we walked into the school.

“How’s everything
else going?”

Part of me wanted
to take a step back. Why was he asking? “Uh, okay, I guess.”

“How’s your
mother?”

I had told him
about my mother last night. I don’t know what I had been thinking, but I guess
I needed to unburden myself. Now, I wish I hadn’t. “Uh, she’s okay. I’ll go
visit her this weekend.”

“Is it better
living with the Deans?”

“Yeah, it is.
They’ve all been nice.”

We walked toward
by locker. I opened it and pulled out what I needed for the next few classes.

“Even Taylor?”
Cole said.

“Even Taylor. She
isn’t so bad.”

Cole shook his
head. “Not so sure I’d trust that.”

“Why not?”

I had nothing to
lose by trusting Taylor. It wasn’t as if she could kill my reputation in
school. Everyone already thought of me as a thug or bad boy. How could it get
any worse? Taylor had nothing on me. I was pretty sure that Mr. Dean hadn’t
told her what I’d been doing when he found me. Even if he had and she spread it
around, no one would care.

Sadly, they
wouldn’t be surprised by it – that’s how everyone thought of me.

“She’s not all she
seems to be. I’ve seen her screw a few people over.”

“Well, I’m all for
giving everyone a chance. Especially since I don’t ever get one,” I said.

Cole shrugged. “I
think you’ll be sorry, man.”

“What has she done
to you?”

He put a hand on
his chest. “To me? Nothing. I keep her at a distance. I’m firmly in her friend
zone.”

“If you’re her
friend, why are you talking trash about her?”

Made me wonder
what he would say about me behind my back.

“I’m not talking
trash. I’m just warning you. Friend to friend. That’s it. Don’t kill the
messenger.”

I bit my tongue.
No need to make an enemy of Cole. Being friends with him could keep some people
off of my back. “Okay, no problem.”

Cole flashed a
winning smile that would open doors for him in life. I didn’t have a winning
smile. Instead, I had an off-putting scowl which Cole hadn’t seemed to be bothered
by.

It hadn’t bothered
Taylor last night, either. I’d reserve judgement on her. She deserved a chance.
Not that she needed one from me.

She was currently
surrounded by what I thought of as her groupies. As Cole and I walked by, they
all checked him out. I can’t imagine they were checking me out. When I looked
at Taylor, though, her gaze was on me. She smiled.

That was the most
recognition she’d ever given me in school. I smiled back, then moved on to my
first class. I could have walked her there, but I doubted that she would like
that. No reason to push my luck.

We had a pop quiz
in math and I could tell that Taylor wasn’t doing well. She kept huffing and
groaning. It might be fun to help her out later. She wasn’t bad to look at, at
all. She wasn’t my type, but that’s okay. It was just homework help.