Bad Boys & True Love

I smiled. An “okay” was on the tip of my tongue but my lips held it in like a dam. It didn’t matter that he was the boy I’d been waiting for…I was dating Drew. And I refused to break any sense of trust for just a kiss.

“No,” I said with all the simplicity in the world even though it killed me a little. I hated it when my brain won over my heart.

Sean’s face fell and it took him a second to collect himself. He rolled away to put more distance between us and any romance in the air withered away. “Okay then.” He cleared his throat.

“I mean…I want to…” I murmured shyly, looking up at him from underneath my eyelashes. “But I can’t.”

He sat up and I tried to ignore the disappointment I felt. “Why not?”

“Because if we ever do kiss, I want it to be honest. Not like your just sneaking it in when you feel bored,” I explained meekly.

Sean looked at me. “I don’t think of you like that. You’re...you’re not something for me when I get bored at all.”

I shrugged and felt my face flush. I was already regretting saying no to him. It was just a kiss anyway. “Will you still stay with us?” I stared at his bare back that faced me. How had I noticed how sexy back muscles could be? They just looked so delicious under his warm tan skin.

Winston jumped on the bed where Sean had just been laying and Sean reached over to scratch the top of his head. He sighed. “Yeah, I guess. But I don’t think we should share a bed—your boyfriend wouldn’t like that.”

“He’s not my boyfriend yet,” I muttered. “We just had one date.”

I rolled out of my bed and walked over to my dresser, pulling out a pair of booty shorts and a tank top. “Be right back,” I told him and left to go change in the bathroom. I swapped clothes quickly and brushed my teeth and all that junk. When I was ready I just stared at myself in the mirror. My hair was a disgusting mess—God, sometimes I just wanted to cut it all off—but my little hazel eyes were sparkling. They finally looked more like Mike’s more than just a jumbled blend of colors. Brighter. That in love look that I envied all the time. I smiled at my reflection. Who would have thought that I could convince Sean to spend the night with me? Hell, a month ago, who would have thought that I’d be even talking to Sean?

I hurried back to my room and jumped into my bed theatrically. Sean watched me from his place on the floor. “What a warm and comfy bed…” I taunted and shot him a sly grin.

“What a warm and comfy floor,” he retorted dryly. I giggled.

“I have some blankets in my closet. Here,” I got out of bed again and got out the blankets I was talking about, flinging them on top of his lying body. “Better?”

He arranged them, one under him, on over him, and adjusted the pillow under his head that be stole from my bed. “Your stuff smells good.”

“Why thank you.” I laid at the end of my bed and peered over at him. “If you ever feel uncomfortable, I have a queen-sized bed…”

“You’re killing me,” Sean groaned and I giggled.

“Okay. Nighty night. Sleep tight.”

“Don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

*

“Stella Frances Preston! Get your ass over here right now!”

My eyes bolting open and I winced in the bright light. I discarded the burly arm around me with a yawn and jumped off the floor.

Wait, what?

I looked down at Sean’s sleeping form crashed on my floor to my bed, solely occupied by Winston. Then I snickered because I remembered Winston stretching and kicking me out of bed, just forcing me to sleep with Sean.

Then I saw my mom standing in my doorway and I stopped snickering. There was fire in her eyes and I knew I was standing in purgatory, right between Heaven and Hell. I took a step towards Hell, my head hanging.

“Sorry mommy,” I mumbled innocently.

She glared down at me and I shrunk. “How stupid are you, Stella, to have a boy spend the night with you in your room?! If it had been your father to come and get you, I can assure you that this situation wouldn’t be handled quite so calmly!”

“But it’s just Sean! We didn’t do anything!” I objected. “We’re both clothed and Winston’s in here.”

“Not the point! Send him home now!” she growled.

I sighed. “Yes ma’am.”

The air stiffened and I knew Sean was standing behind me before I even turned around. It was ten times more awkward than I had ever felt at any point in my life. He touched my elbow and I watched my mom's lips tighten.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Preston. It won’t happen again,” Sean promised earnestly. Even in my scared state, his promise hurt me. Maybe I just hoped that he wouldn’t let anything keep us apart or that he’d stand up to my mom for me.

Mom nodded and offered him a tight-lipped smile. She moved out of the way to let him pass and Sean did so, looking over his shoulder from the hallway and meeting my eyes for a moment. I broke eye-contact.

“Where’s that boy’s shirt?”

“We gave Winston a bath last night and it got really dirty…” I told her meekly and she actually cracked a smile. A laughed followed. I’d be lying if I said that it didn’t surprise the hell out of me.

“If I was younger…”

“Mom, ew!” I shrieked and covered my ears. “He’s barely eighteen!”

Mom shrugged and let her smile fade. “Don’t let me catch you again. And clean your room.” She winked at me and left. I shook my head after her.

*

“Come pick me up,” I whined into the phone at Christina.

There was crackling the other end and I held it away from my ear for a moment. I hated that sound. “Stella, I’m busy…I’m over at Mike’s.” She giggled.

“What happened to chicks before dicks?”

“Stella! Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” she scolded even though I knew my potty mouth didn’t bother her. Hell, she cursed like a sailor sometimes too. She was hardly in a position to judge.

“Nope,” I replied happily, “just Drew Buchanan!”

She snorted. “You brag like you think I’m jealous of you.”

“Oh, don’t lie, it’s killing you inside,” I teased. I picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, not paying a smidge of attention to what I was watching. I don’t even know what I bothered turning on the TV. I never watch it.

“Yeah it is,” Christina muttered back. I’d bet she was covering the receiver with her mouth so Mike wouldn’t hear.

I smiled. “Yeah. So come pick me up.”

“No.”

“Pleeeease,” I begged. “It’s important. Kinda.”

“What could possibly be so important, Stella?” Christina asked dubiously.

I sighed into the phone and changed the channel again. “I’m giving my hair a boob job.”