Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95421 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 477(@200wpm)___ 382(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Dances in the gym are stupid.” She looked away. “I don’t want to go.”
Bailey’s mom caught my eye and shook her head, silently telling me to leave it alone. Not long after, the nurse came to disconnect Bailey from the IV drip, and we were on our way home. It had been drizzling when we came in, but it was pouring by the time we walked back outside. Bailey sat up front, staring out the window while her mom drove, and I sat in the back.
“Dawson?” Mrs. Anderson looked in the rearview mirror as she turned into our neighborhood. “Are you coming to our house or going home? I can drop you if you aren’t coming over so you don’t get soaked. I think it’s supposed to rain all night.”
“I don’t have much homework, so I can come over.”
“Actually,” Bailey said. “I’m really tired. You should probably just drop Dawson home.”
Mrs. Anderson caught my eye again. She smiled sadly but neither of us said anything else.
Later that night, it was bugging me that I seemed to have upset Bailey about the dance. So I sent her a text.
Dawson: Hey. I don’t have to ask Allie to the dance. We can all go together.
A few minutes went by before the dots started jumping around.
Bailey: Go with whoever you want. It doesn’t bother me. I don’t want to go.
Dawson: Are you sure?
Bailey: A hat with a dress would look stupid.
Dawson: So don’t wear a hat.
Bailey: The only thing worse than wearing a dumb hat with a dumb dress to go to a dumb dance is being the only person in the gym who is bald. No thanks.
I sat for a long time, unsure how to respond. Then something Bailey had said when we first met gave me an idea. Actions count more than words. For now, I texted back.
Dawson: Okay. See you in the morning.
***
As usual, Bailey was at the bus stop before me. Her eyes widened when she saw me coming down the street.
“Oh my God. What did you do?”
I rubbed my hand over my newly smooth head. “You like it?”
“You look like a cancer patient!”
“But a hot cancer patient, right?”
Bailey just kept shaking her head and staring at mine. “Why would you do that?”
“You said the only thing worse than going to the dumb dance was being the only person in the gym who’s bald.” I shrugged. “Now you won’t be the only person who’s bald.”
“Everyone is going to stare at you.”
I grinned. “They already stare at me because I’m so handsome. What’s the difference?”
“I think the vibration of the buzzer you used might’ve rattled your brain. What if Allie doesn’t like it and doesn’t want to go to the dance with you now?”
“I changed my mind about asking her anyway. She’ll want to hang out with all her girlfriends, and I think it’ll be more fun to go with friends anyway.”
Bailey stared at my head. “I can’t believe you did this.”
“It makes showering so much quicker. Who knows? Maybe I’ll keep it this way.”
She smiled. “You’re nuts.”
This morning when I looked in the mirror, I’d also thought I was nuts. But the smile on Bailey’s face right now made me sure I’d done the right thing.
On the bus, the guys busted my chops about my new hairdo. Though I was bigger than ninety-nine percent of them, so no one pushed too far. Bailey sat two rows in front of me, wearing a bright aqua bucket hat today. She didn’t turn around, but she couldn’t have missed all the jokes. I hoped what I’d done didn’t backfire and upset her. When we arrived at school, we all stood and waited our turn to get off the bus. When Bailey’s came, she stepped out into the aisle and started to walk. But before she got off, she stopped, turned around, and took the hat off her head—something she never did at school. Tossing it to me, she smiled. “I guess I was wrong when I made your bracelet after all.”
Chapter 26
* * *
NAOMI
I wasn’t sure what to expect at work the next day.
Our date had been perfect, and the nearly twenty-four hours that followed were spectacular. And it wasn’t just the sex. Dawson had opened up, shared a vulnerable side that made me feel close to him. But I had been burned by men before. One minute you’re happily engaged, and the next you’re being dumped because you might soil his reputation. So my self-protective mechanism had me on guard as I walked into the office.
Dawson’s door was already open, and his light was on, so after I settled in, I stuck my head in the doorway. “Good morning. I’m going to make coffee. Would you like some?”
“Sure. Thanks. I have an early meeting in fifteen minutes. New client—kid’s only sixteen. He’s coming in with his mother and another kid they charged as an accessory.”