The Bad Boy's Dance by Vera Calloway Read Free Book Online Page A

her standing at the foot of the stairs. “What’s up, Mom?”
                  “Honey, Paul is coming over on Sunday, so make sure you have no plans that day, alright?” she checked, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Behind her, I could see my Dad grumbling as he vacuumed the carpet. Tonight was the baseball game he was anticipating, and if Mom let him, he’d be sprawled on the couch with Spencer eating us out of house and home.
                  “Sure, Mom. I’ll get everything taken care of on Saturday. I can’t wait to see Paul!”
                  She sighed happily. “Me too. Go on, it’s not polite to keep Dana waiting.”
                  Dana was sitting upright when I found her. She beamed at me. “Paul’s coming home?”
                  I hid my smile. Dana had a huge crush on Paul, although you’d have to drag her through the gritty part of a barn to get her to admit it. Dana was a girl of many tastes, and many crushes.
                  “Yup. Sunday, according to my mom.” I was excited. Paul was older than me and Spencer, and he was finishing graduate school in Colorado. We hadn’t seen him in months.
                  “Hmm, guess that means you’ll have to spend the entire day with Asher then, if you want to free your Sunday,” Dana snickered. Dang, and here I thought I’d distracted her!
                  I hauled my laptop to my knees and chose a movie on Netflix. “Shut it, Dana. I love you and all, but I have no problem duct-taping your mouth closed.”
                  “Okay, okay! Just be careful, Ives,” she said with concern. “Asher Grayson is dangerous.”
                  I frowned at her, and defended Asher. Why? No clue. But it didn’t seem right that she was judging him based on his reputation. “He’s not going to hurt me, Dana. He’s not an animal.”
                  She clicked ‘Play’ on the movie I’d chosen. “That’s not what I meant by dangerous.”
                  And that was all she said about that.
     
     
                  My alarm was currently my favorite song, but if it kept blaring every morning, I was going to start hating it.
                  I switched my iPod on and hummed along as I brushed my teeth and dressed in a turquoise hoodie and faded jeans. Dana had slipped out sometime during the night. She claimed that the worst part of a sleepover was the morning, so she’d vanish before I woke up every time.
                  I grabbed my favorite polka-dot tote bag and slipped the book I was reading into it, along with my phone, wallet, and gum. After some thought, I unplugged my iPod and stuck it in there as well.
                  Saturday always put me in a good mood. Not even the thought that I was going to be spending the glorious day with a certain guy was enough to rain on my parade.
                  Dad and Spencer were already eating while Mom tended to my little sister. Jodi was adorable, with baby blonde curls to her shoulders and plump cheeks, but she was like a mini- Godzilla, destroying everything her chubby little hands touched.
                  “Ibbeee!” Jodi butchered me name, but she was too cute to resist. I scooped her onto my lap and ate my cereal one-handed. Jodi pushed her palm against my nose like she was paying Jeopardy and my nose was the buzzer.
                  “Where are you going?” Dad asked, scribbling something on a sheet of paper. He hated Saturdays because the agencies he worked for wanted the paperwork in before Sunday.
                  It was pretty unusual for me to be up before the afternoon on a Saturday. Spencer had tried to rouse me several times, and each time had resulted in a heavy object sailing towards him.
                  “Um…I’ve got a project due Friday.