Breaking His Rules

🏈15🏈

Kayla's POV:

My heart pounds in my chest as I let go of Aaron's hand and watch him walk away with his parents. I stand rooted to the spot for what feels like minutes before I finally have the presence of mind to walk away from the locker room, across the football field, to the parking lot. Of course, Aaron's car is no longer there. He is probably already halfway home, his parents yelling at him, threatening to ground him till he's married.

I get in my car, but I don't start the engine. Instead, I let my thoughts run wild. I lightly touch my fingers to my lips recalling the kiss we had shared before his parents had interrupted us. Heartfelt. That was the right word to describe the kiss which both thrilled and scared me. When he lifted me up and placed me against the wall, I realized at that I wanted more with him.

I wanted it to be real.

I shiver at the thought. This is Aaron. Nerdy Aaron, class captain straight A student. I am Kayla Barnes, the bad girl who is barely pulling a C because I couldn't give less of a frick.

And Aaron has someone he loves.

The thought washes over me like cold water. Aaron is only fake dating me to get back with Alicia. That's our deal.

Still, I can't help but think of the fear that Aaron must have felt when his parents saw us. I have never been scared of adults, bit at that moment I had understood why Aaron was such a good kid. He has parents that push him, parents that he aims to please all the time. I realize that if my dad expected a lot from me, I would probably do a lot just so that he would be proud of me.

I don't know how long I sit there lost in my thoughts, but the ping of my phone brought me back to reality. I quickly checked it, expecting it to be my dad since I was out late.

Instead, I saw that the text was from Aaron.

Aaron: Hi Kayla. This is Aaron by the way.

I feel my blood rush and my breath quicken. He's texting me. That means he didn't get into too much trouble. Right?

My fingers fly over the keyboard as I type out a response.

Kayla: OMG. Aaron you're alive. What happened with your parents?

There is a moment of anxious panic as I watch the three dots which show that he is typing. And then the three dots disappear.

What happened? Did his parents take his phone? Is he banned from talking to me?

And then my phone starts ringing, requesting me to join a video call. Instantly, I accept the request, and I see Aaron's face pop on the screen.

"Hey", he says.

He looks a bit sad, his features tired. I guess he must have had an argument with his parents.

As if reading my mind, Aaron gives a weak smile. "My parents were pretty pissed off"

I place my phone in a comfortable position so I can talk to him easier

"Why were they so pissed?", I ask, and at that moment, I realize that I don't want Aaron's parents to be pissed at him just because he is dating me. "Is it because of... me?"

Aaron shakes his head immediately. "No, they don't even know who you are.", he winces a bit at that, and I sense that he has more to say, so I wait patiently.

"Look, my parents really liked Alicia because she's... well... perfect, according to their standards. So when we broke up, they weren't really happy."

"But that's not fair", I break in angrily. "She broke up with you, not the other way around."