Romance: Young Adult Romance: The Perfect Game (A Highschool Football Romance) (Bad Boy Nerd New Adult Romance) Read Free Page B

conclusions.”
    “No.” He said, bluntly. “You shouldn’t have.”
    She pulled in a quick breath and held it for a second. He was mad at her. But could she blame him?
    “I want to say how sorry I am. I know that…I know about your grandmother, and I’m sorry you are having to deal with that…”
    “It doesn’t matter.” He cut her off.
    She shook her head. “It does matter, Dallas. I was rude. It shouldn’t have made a difference what reasons you had for…for being…”
    “Lax in class?” He supplied.
    She nodded. “Yes, for that stuff. I shouldn’t have been rude either way. You don’t owe me an explanation for why you do the things you do or any of that. I was rude. I am so sorry.”
    He stared at her for a moment. “I can accept your apology, Rachel.” He paused. “I guess…actually, I guess being someone like you; I would have reacted the way you did, too.”
    She raised her eyebrows. “Someone like me? What do you mean?”
    He gave her a teasing look. “You know, someone like you. Someone who is always reading, gets good grades, a goody-two-shoes, you know. A church-going Christian. A nerd.”
    “You equate going to church with being a nerd?” Rachel had to giggle. She was grateful that he smiled back at her.
    “No, I mean, only you , you know. You are…” He paused and tried not to laugh.
    “A goody-two-shoes. You know I’m not that much of a goody-two-shoes.”
    “Oh yeah? When was the last time you smoked a cigarette?”
    “How can you say that?” She was amused. “You don’t smoke either. Does that make you a goody-two-shoes?”
    “No, I’m a dumb jock, right?” She blushed furiously, and he laughed. “I’m teasing ya. And I’m far from that, in fact, I think the guys on the team might say the opposite.”
    “You aren’t a bad boy, are you?” He didn’t have the reputation for being a lady’s man; she knew that. In fact, when she thought about it, she hadn’t heard any rumors about Dallas. She’d only been going on her own observations of him in class. Rico got more negative attention in that area than Dallas did.
    He held up his hands. “No. I’m not really a bad boy. I know what you’re thinking. Jock gets all the ladies he wants and all that. But not me.”
    “You could have any woman you wanted.” She couldn’t believe she was talking about this with Dallas.
    He nodded and looked at her very seriously. “Yes. I am that good.”
    They both laughed.
    “No, seriously, I just…well, I’ve got standards, you know? I know what I want to do with my life, and I don’t have time to let someone else dictate any of it. I don’t let my parents tell me what to do. I’m not going to let a girl do it either.”
    “Well, dictating isn’t really something that works well in a relationship anyway . What about your grandmother? I don’t mean to bring up a sensitive subject…Bree said that you take care of her.”
    “I do. And all I have to do is keep on what I’m doing until she passes away. It’s not easy, but it’s something I have to do.”
    “I understand.”
    “What about you? You have a boyfriend I don’t know about ? I don’t think Bree has mentioned one.”
    “No. I don’t have time either. I’m always busy.”
    “With what?”
    Rachel shrugged. “The usual. School. Church. Family.”
    “What family do you have? They live here?”
    She shook her head. “My folks and my little sister live in Houston.”
    “Really? Mine too! What part?”
    “The outer edge, out near the airport. Not too close but the mall is, like, ten minutes walking distance.”
    “You aren’t serious. That’s a pretty affluent area. My folks are out that way, but they aren’t as wealthy as some of the homeowners there.”
    “Really?”
    “Yep.”
    “Cool.”
    They stopped talking when Bree and Rico came back. Bree gestured to Rachel with her head because she was carrying two trays, one in each hand. “Get up and slide in next to Dallas, Rache. I see you guys have