What You're Not | ✔

42. Rule Breaker

When Mom found out about Miles and I being official she was happy. More than happy. She was practically setting a wedding date. Excted that I was, in her words, acting like a normal teenager.

As thrilled as she was, she did have one rule: No boyfriends in the house while she was away. That rule had been broken three times that week. Four if you count the time Miles was there while Mom was blissfully unaware as she binged her favorite soap operas down in the living room.

I didn't like going behind her back and lying to her. I also didn't like the fact that Miles's only other alternative to sleeping in my closest—it was the only place he wouldn't get caught—was sleeping in his car.

It was now December and the temperature was steadily dropping. I'd rather risk Mom's wrath than wake up to news that my boyfriend died a frozen Popsicle.

"What'd you get for number eight?" Miles asked, from his spot on my bed.

He laid on his stomach on top of my dark blue comforter, chewing the end of his pencil. His brow furrowed as he concentrated on the math problem in front of him. The harder he concentrated, the cuter he got.

"Staring at me again, Mermaid?" He looked up, a smirk gracing his face.

I rolled my eyes, refusing to admit that I'd been checking him out. His ego didn't need any more stroking.

"I'm still stuck on number seven," I answered, glancing down at the poorly erased answer that I realized was wrong after double checking the math.

"I skipped that one," he admitted, letting out a sigh. "I think we both need Cam's tutoring."

"True." Unfortunately, today he was teaching Physics. A subject I miraculously passed. Maybe it was because the teacher just made us watch re-runs of CSI most days.

Miles pulled out his phone and from the periodic glances at the worksheet in front of him I guessed that he was texting Cameron for answers.

"It's 4:34," I pointed out. "Tutoring is in session. Which means his phone is off and you won't get a reply until 5."

"Then we'll need to do something to pass the time." He wore a sly smile as he rolled into a sitting position on the edge of the bed, pulling the desk chair I sat in closer to him.

I leaned in, kissing him and suddenly math formulas didn't matter. It was easy to forget about the rest of the world when I was with him.

My bliss filled bubble popped when I heard the front door shut. Miles and I broke apart, staying as still as statues as we listened.

Mom wasn't supposed to be home yet. Maybe she forgot her wallet or something and would be leaving again soon.

"Loren," she called out, her voice muffled by my closed door.

"You can't be here," I whispered in a panic.

"There was a package for you on the porch." Her voice was getting closer as she ascended the stairs.

Miles rushed over to the window, getting ready to climb out. There was no time for that, she'd see him before he was out of view.

I yanked back over to the closet and pushed him in. As soon as I slid the closet door shut my bedroom door opened.

"I think it's from Beauteen," she said, too busy with her nose in my now opened package to look up.

Good thing too. I'm sure she would've seen the guilt on my face.

"Opening other peoples mail is a felony," I said, sitting back down in my desk chair.

"My address, my mail." She sat on my bed, where Miles' worksheet and phone still were. Luckily she was too busy going through the contents of the medium sized box to notice.