Even I didn’t know this about her. She’s right about me not taking the time to learn a damn thing about her. I have to step up my game if I will ever impress this girl. The old Kane tricks won’t work on her.
“I thought so,” Taylor says. “You look the same as your picture online. I read your last article about the ‘Top Ten Ways to Stay Ahead of Your Assignments.’ It was brilliant. I started using all of your tips, and they work.”
Sam smiles. “Thank you. I didn’t think anyone read The Gazette.”
“I read it, too,” Jamie says. “You’re a very talented writer. Tuck lucked out getting you as his tutor.”
I love that my friends are taking a liking to Sam, but they are making it apparent that Sam was right about me. I should have known, at the very least, that she works at the school newspaper. Have I ever asked her a single question about herself? We discussed the past and how she could help me graduate, but the focus has never been on her.
I brush my fingers along her arm and whisper against the shell of her ear, “I should have known that about you.”
She glances at me. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”
Her tone doesn’t carry its usual irritation or condescension. Instead, it’s level and soft.
“I plan to fix that,” I promise. “Starting this weekend.”
A smile touches her lips. “How do you intend to do that?”
I don’t know, but I will figure something out before Saturday. “It’s a surprise.”
“I’m not a fan of surprises.”
She’s so damn stubborn, but that’s also what I like about her.
“I’ll make it worth your while.”
She drags her teeth along her bottom lip, and I fight the urge to kiss her.
“Okay,” Sam whispers, holding up her index finger. “You have one shot. Don’t blow it.”
I flash one of my boyish smirks.
Challenge accepted.
Chapter 20
Sam
I stare out the limousine window, my eyes wide in shock, when the driver pulls up next to a private jet. “What are we doing here?”
“You ready?” Tucker ignores my question and slips his fingers between mine.
I turn to face him, confused. “Why are we at the airport?”
He smiles. “I told you it’s a surprise.”
“I’ve never been on an airplane,” I admit, feeling somewhat stupid. “I haven’t even left Pennsylvania.”
“Are you afraid of heights?”
I shake my head. “No, I don’t think so. But I’ve never tested the theory.”
My father never took me on vacation. He was barely functional enough to get his drunk ass to work.
Tucker squeezes my hand. “You have a better chance of dying in a car accident than on a plane.”
A pang of nerves tugs at my chest. “Well, when you put it that way…”
