Page 26 of Key Of Dreams
I gulp and nod. He takes another step. “And bought my favorite Danishes.”
“Yes,” I whisper.
“Took care of me.”
I tilt my head to one side, trying to size up what he’s thinking. “I-I—” I stutter, at a loss.
“Wrote me notes so I wouldn’t worry.”
By this time, he’s standing directly in front of me, and my head’s tipped all the way back to meet his gaze. I inhale deeply. His hand cups my cheek. He lowers his head to brush his lips over mine. “Thank you, baby.”
Of course, it’s Calvin who clears his throat and makes a snide remark. “I didn’t know we were in sex ed,” he says. The class begins to snicker, but not for long. Bull turns his attention to Calvin, who shrinks into his chair at the sight of the massive man glowering down on him.
“What did you say? Wanna repeat that?” he asks, his voice low and eerily scary. “You’ll respect your teachers, and you’ll respect me. You give, you get. That’s the way it works.”
“I’m not the one who came in and started smooching Miss Randall,” Calvin says.
“Yesterday, Miss Randall took the time to come out to help to find a young boy who was kidnapped. She stayed up all night waiting for word that this kid was safe and back with his parents. Then she took care of me,” Bull says.
“Bull, honey.” I shake my head. “You did the hard part.”
He ignores my words and keeps going. “But this morning, with only a few hours’ sleep, she got up anyway and came here because this is where she needs to be. For you.” He points to Calvin, then moves to the student next to him. “And you. And you.” He continues down the row. “Your attitude isn’t warranted. And let me give you a quick life lesson: don’t judge ifyoudon’t want to be judged.”
Calvin sits up straight. I can see that something’s changed. Something has clicked, and there’s a glimmer I haven’t seen before today.
“What do you do?” Calvin asks.
“You gotta earn the right to ask me that question,” Bull answers. He turns to me. “Let me know when he does, and I’ll come back and tell him.” He takes a step closer to me, kisses my cheek and whispers, “I’ll be home early. Pizza and movie night. I’m picking it up.” And then he’s gone.
I turn back to my class. The girls are practically drooling, and the boys watch him leave in awe. Mrs. Heckly, the school administrator, is doing her best to contain herself when I know she really wants to get me alone to ask the million questions that are popping into her head. She’s sweet, but she’s nosy.
“Let’s get back to work, shall we?” I say, pulling them out of their stupor. I walk over to Mrs. Heckly. “I’m sorry about that. Bull can be intense, but he’s very sweet.”
Mrs. Heckly has been with the school for over ten years and has been married to Mr. Heckly for over twenty years. She’s a kind woman without a hint of malice in her. She’s also an incurable romantic. So the scene that unfolded in front of her is probably like out of one of her romance novels.
“I want details,” she says with a giggle. “I’ll meet you in the lounge during lunch period.”
“Please, let’s keep this to ourselves,” I plead.
Mrs. Heckly looks at the sea of faces and the kids whispering among themselves. “I don’t think that’s an option,” she says. Regretfully, I know she’s right.
Bad news: people know I have a hot boyfriend. Good news: I have a hot boyfriend who came down to give me the kiss I craved.
The rest of the time in class is remarkably uneventful. We continue with the poetry chapter and have a great discussion on the interpretation of lyrics. Calvin and Josh didn’t act out once and instead seem interested in the material.
After the bell rings, Calvin comes to my desk. “Miss Randall?”
“Yes, Calvin.”
“That guy’s your boyfriend, right?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Is his name really Bull?” he asks.
I chuckle. “Nope. But all his friends call him that.”
“He said I need to earn the right to know about him. What does that mean?”
