Effortless (Thoughtless, #2)(79)

hated him or anything, they just didn’t know him yet. All they knew was what he did, and for my dad, that was enough. While he didn’t say it directly, I think my dad was expecting an STD-carrying, crack-smoking, foul-mouthed hooligan to show up. He always had been a little overprotective.

After throwing on a pair of comfortable jeans and the warmest sweater I owned, I bundled up in a thick jacket and grabbed my bag. Then I headed out to Kellan’s second baby. I’d started calling her Babe-ette. Kellan asked about her well being almost as much as my own. Starting the muscle car, I let the sound take me back to his smile. I couldn’t wait to see him again.

Once at school, I quickly found a seat and pulled out my notes. I had some spare time, so I prepared for a quick study session before my ethics final. I waved at some of the people that I’d gotten to know in group discussion periods. After Kellan had made it look so seamless and natural, I’d started speaking up in class. Surprisingly, people listened to me.

Even more surprising, many people agreed with me. It was exhilarating, in a way, and I’d found myself piping up more and more. As a result, the girls that used to ogle my boyfriend every morning, while eyeing me speculatively, now gave me warm smiles of greeting. Some had even asked about Kellan. Like the girl currently sitting on my right, Cheyenne.

Perky and blonde, she was the sort of girl that men noticed. But she had a way of talking that made you like her, regardless of how attractive she was. Nearly every girl in the class was her friend, but she always tried to sit by me. She said just being around me boosted her test scores.

“Hey, Kiera. Think you’re going to ace this?” Cheyenne had a slight southern tang to her voice that made it even more adorable.

Smiling in the self-assured way that I’d often seen Kellan smile, I shrugged. “Sure, no problem.” Then I grimaced. “I hope.” She smiled as she pulled out her own notes. “I’m sure you’ll kick my butt.” Glancing over at the chicken scratches on my papers, she asked,

“You heard from Kellan recently? How’s he doing?” 220



I sighed, trying not to think too much about those deep blue eyes that I missed, the impossibly sexy mess of hair. “Yeah, he called last night.

They’re doing good, working their way to the east coast. He’s somewhere in Pennsylvania, I think.”

Her eyes widened as she shook her head. “Pennsylvania? I’ve always wanted to head over there, see the history.” Leaning back in her seat, her eyes got a little dreamy. “Lucky guy, he’s getting to see the world.” Tapping my pen against my notebook, I nodded. “Yeah…yeah he is.” Chuckling softly, I added, “Well, this country at least.” Students around us filtered in as Cheyenne and I went over what may or may not be on the test. Candy and her friends came in, sitting as far away from me as possible. I still wasn’t sure what Kellan had said to them, but she’d certainly backed off after he’d said it. I knew Kellan had a temper sometimes; I’d been the recipient on an occasion or two. Maybe Candy had never been snapped at before.

As I was debating it, Candy twisted in her seat. Spotting me, she glared, then rolled her eyes. Twisting back to Tina, she said something that made them all laugh, then Tina twisted to look at me. I flushed deep, coming up with a list of insults that she could have said. I guess she hadn’t backed off as much as I thought. Maybe Kellan had been gone for long enough that her confidence had boosted back up. Oh well, didn’t matter. Candy could like me or hate me, it didn’t change my relationship with Kellan.

Noticing the look, Cheyenne commented. “Candy sure has evil eyes for you. What did you ever do to her anyway?” Leaning in, she smiled.

“You’re far too sweet for anyone not to like.” I smiled at Cheyenne warmly, thinking that she should have seen me last year. I was anything but sweet then, constantly betraying Denny, breaking Kellan’s heart over and over. Shaking my head to clear away the memories, I shrugged. “She wanted to be the one dating the rock star.” Looking over at Candy, I smiled even wider. “But the rock star wanted to date me.” Wishing my dream had been real this morning, I sighed.

221



Cheyenne laughed and muttered something about Candy needing to get over herself. A burly guy walked down the aisle in front of us. He sat in the seat directly in front of me, making the entire thing squeak a little.

As he shifted to get comfortable, I noticed something at the bottom of the chair. It was a scrap of paper, oddly stuffed into the edge of the seat, nearly invisible.

Smirking, I wondered if Kellan had shoved it there, one last impossible note for me to find. On a whim, I reached down and pulled the paper free. It took a second to jiggle it out of where it had been jammed.

Cheyenne watched me curiously. When I finally had it, she pointed at it.

“What’s that?”

Shaking my head, I sighed again. “Probably nothing.” Probably just my overactive imagination.

Unfolding the wadded-up paper, I busted out laughing. I had to slap my hand over my mouth to not cause a scene in the starting-to-get quiet room. It was from Kellan. On the tiny piece of paper he’d written, ‘Quit thinking of me naked and study, it’s the ethical thing to do.’

Still chuckling, I shook my head. How did he know I was having erotic dreams about him? Releasing my hand from my mouth, I trailed a finger over the words he’d created. Sighing, I wondered if he was having erotic dreams about me, too. I sort of hoped he was.