Page 101 of I Don't Need Your Protection

“Sort of.” I angrily scratch my pencil on my scrap paper. “It’s just a lot. My teacher is under the impression that her students are robots.”

I hear a soft chuckle.

My eyes spring to his and I try not to gape when I catch the teeny weensy amused smile on his face. It’s gone so fast, but Isawit. I hide my smile as I continue to study.

About ten minutes later, he gets up and lowers himself next to me at my desk with his laptop. I raise my brow as he starts whacking away at the keys.

“No,” I gasp with exaggeration.

He looks at me.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me, or am I actually witnessing Caleb Foster do homework?”

“I do homework.”

“Never out in the open like this. I wondered if you secretly had superpowers. Like maybe you have the ability to snap your fingers and your homework magically gets done.”

He’s quiet for a beat and then says, “Maybe I do.”

I try to hide another smile. Caleb seems to be in a good mood. Actually, now that I think about it, he’s been in a good mood ever since I ended things with Warner.

“If you need help, just let me know,” he says.

“Tempting, but I think I need to do this on my own.”

After about another twenty minutes, Caleb completes all of his homework. He closes his laptop and sits there with his eyes on me. I’ve gotten used to him watching me over these past few weeks, but for some reason, my cheeks and neck heat up. Maybe because ever since what happened at the sleepover, things have shifted between us? He looks at me differently than he did before. Like I’m even more precious to him than I wasbefore. And from his eyes, I can tell that he sees a strength in me he missed in the past. It seems like he’s in awe of me.

I see him differently, too. He’s come to mean so much more than my bodyguard. He’s also come to mean so much more than a friend. I mean, I’m not sure if he considers us friends because I’m his charge, but I see us as friends. Well, more than that. And all I want is to know every little detail about him.

“I have a question,” I announce.

“Go ahead.”

“What got you into this whole bodyguard thing? I mean, I know you said it’s a family business and you were trained for this, but did you have a say at all? Or were you just recruited the second you were old enough?”

“My parents would never have forced me into this. It was understood I would follow in their footsteps.”

I rub my pencil’s eraser against my lips. “Why, though? Why risk your life saving strangers’ lives?”

“You can say the same thing about police officers and firefighters.”

“Hmm…I guess that’s true. Is Foster your real last name?”

He shakes his head.

“Yeah, I figured. What about Caleb?”

“That’s my real name.”

“Good,” I say with a relieved sigh. “Because I like Caleb. I can’t imagine calling you anything else. Like, ‘What’s up, Jimmy?’ ‘How you doin’, Josh?’ ‘Check out those muscles, Tom!’ ‘Oh my gosh, Kyle, you totally swept me off my feetwith those romantic lips.’” I twist my nose. “So not you.”

He gazes at me for a moment and then bursts out laughing. Yes, Caleb whatever-his-real-last-name-is is rolling on the floor and laughing his butt off. Okay, not really, but I’ve never seen or heard him laugh like this. A true belly laugh.

I just stare at him as every part of me fills with warmth. He looks so free and happy when he laughs. As though he’s finally lowering his guard and allowing himself to have a good time.

“What?” I ask as I join in the laughter.

“Kyle with his romantic lips?” he says with another laugh.