The Return of the Bad boy

Chapter 5: Cam

I've been called many things the past couple of weeks.

A "chicken" should be one of them because I was leaning against the side of the school building trying to work up the nerve to walk by Summer and get to my bike.

She's seated on one of the benches across from the parking lot. Her backpack rested in her lap, helping her prop up the book she was reading. The sun was pelting down on her, but she doesn't seem to mind. I guess when you're named Summer, you naturally liked the sun.

I could easily slide right by her. Maybe she wouldn't notice if she's super into that book as I thought she was.

I sighed deeply, mentally cursing. All this overthinking because I was scared of a little conversation and clearly terrible at avoidance. Okay, it the universe's fault for that last one. I saw her everywhere I went, and I was going crazy.

With any luck, her mom would pick her up soon, and I could go about my business. I waited five minutes. Then it turned into ten until I realized I was borderline stalkerish. I told myself I was looking out for her, not that there's much danger on school grounds, let alone this quiet town.

But having that knowledge didn't make it any easier to leave her. Then again, I think I was making excuses. I spent nearly three months without seeing her face, and now, I couldn't get enough of it. I found myself living for those little glimpses she's thrown my way during class and the short encounters we've had.

Oh, man. If I thought I was confused on how to handle this situation before, I was dead wrong. Implementing my plan sucked, and it was backfiring on me.

I knew Summer was stubborn, but damn. I didn't think I could chase her off only to have her do the opposite of what I told her. I saw the look in her eyes when she scurried to class after our little chat. She was determined. She wanted to learn the truth, and I knew there would be nothing I could do to change her mind.

I'd be lying if I said that personality trait wasn't hot. Her persistence was one of the reasons I fell for her. But I couldn't think about that now. When I made my decision months ago, I hadn't known that it would impact our relationship.

It shouldn't have, but it was out of my hands. So all of this was for the best.

AGH. No matter how many times I repeated those five words, they still wouldn't sink into my brain properly.

I palmed my forehead repeatedly.

A few seconds later, I saw a car pull up in front of Summer, and she jumped to her feet. I recognized her mom's face as she rolled the windows down and said, "Hey, sorry. I'm late."

"It's okay," Summer replied, opening the car door and sliding in.

I waited until they drove off before slipping out of my hiding spot and jogging to my bike.

By the time five o'clock rolled around, I had dinner prepared for mom and I. Nothing special, just a simple taco casserole and homemade lemonade.

"You cooked?" mom said, closing her eyes to take a big whiff of the aroma. She was holding a flower arrangement in her hands, and they weren't from me. When she had walked in with the biggest smile on her face, I thought it might have been the smell of my food. I was wrong. Mom was smiling because of the person who gave her those flowers.

I pointed at the sunflowers. "Who are those from?" I had a suspect in mind. "They look awfully familiar to the flowers growing in Mr. Arnold's garden." I quirked a brow, giving her a knowing smile.

Mom's cheeks actually turned red.

"Busted," I teased.

She raised the flowers like she would hit me with them, but they didn't go flying. Instead, I got one of those stern finger waggles. "Don't tease your mother!" She tried to put on that hard tone, but I was too busy grinning at how funny it was to see my mom smile like a school kid with a crush.