Shattered: A Salvation Society Novel Bella Emy (best ebook reader for laptop .TXT) 📖

been thinking about this moment for a while, but like I said before, I never really thought seriously about doing so until Kalen told me he wanted to introduce me to his dad.

“Well you see, there’s this boy named Kalen… he just moved into town this past summer. He’s from upstate New York and a senior. I met him over the summer with Erin and Jason Delaney.”

I take a break from speaking a hundred miles a second, and she cuts in. “Oh, I see.”

“Yeah, we became really good friends at first and then ended up spending a lot more time together. We really like one another…” I break the news to her lightly. I don’t want to tell her we’ve been dating and have already told one another we love each other. I can only imagine the speech I would be getting were that the case.

My mother smiles. I guess she’s not upset with me. She tucks a strand of her dyed blonde shoulder-length hair behind her ear and then reaches out to grab my hand. “Sweetheart, I’m not mad. You’re a smart, gorgeous girl with her head on right and a good heart. I knew it was only a matter of time until the right boy noticed and stole your heart. If he makes you happy, then that’s all that matters.”

I let out a sigh of relief and almost reach out and throw my arms around her. “Oh, mom, he does! He really does and I—”

She holds out her index finger, cutting me off. I knew it was too good to be true that it would be that easy. Nothing is that easy with her. “That being said, I want to make sure you’re careful, if you know what I mean.” She raises an eyebrow at me.

Sex.

She’s talking about sex.

Eww. I don’t want to talk to my mother about sex. Anything but that.

I shake my head. “We haven’t gotten there yet.” Okay, not a total lie, but how can I tell her that I had asked Kalen to go there with me just days ago? So yeah, not a total lie, but not the entire truth anyway. There’s no way I’m going to tell my mother I wanted to give him my virginity. No way, not a chance.

Her shoulders relax. “Good, but that wasn’t the only thing I was referring to.”

“Oh?”

“I want you to be careful with your heart… be careful because it’s the most fragile thing you can hand over to someone else, trusting they won’t shatter it, but knowing they have the ability to do so. Do you understand?” She adjusts the hem of her skirt just below her knee and then looks back up at me.

I swallow thickly. “I do.”

“Good.”

My eyes land on the half of the Persian rug sticking out from under my bed for only a split second before I gaze back at her. “I’m going to see him tomorrow at the game, and then he’s taking me to his house to meet his father for the first time.”

Her eyes widen. “Well then, this boy, Kalen, must really like you.”

I want to jump up and down, screaming from the tops of my lungs that he does, he loves me, and I feel the same way, but I try to contain my excitement. “He does… I do, too.”

Again she smiles. “I’m glad. Why don’t you also invite him here. How about Sunday brunch? I would like to meet the young man who’s stolen my daughter’s heart.”

I nod. “Okay,” I say softly. This would be great, her wanting to meet Kalen and all… but what if daddy isn’t back home by then? I don’t want to tell Kalen my father is God knows where. I don’t want anyone to know my parents are having problems.

She lets out an audible breath and pushes onto her feet, rising. She walks over to me and places a kiss on my head. “Okay, sweetheart. Just be careful. I don’t want my little girl hurting from a broken heart. It’s too painful.” She turns on her heels before I have a chance to say anything else, but her last statement makes me believe that even though she’s never told me, she must have gone through her shares of broken hearts in the past.

Chapter Sixteen

“Mmm, I love those… I never get enough of them,” Kalen says with a smirk as I pull away from our latest lip-locking session, smiling at him. Our fingers remain entwined.

“Is that so?” I tease, giving him another quick one. Yum. His lips are so tasty.

He nods. “Yes, Miss Alderidge… that’s very much so.” This time he pulls me into him, making our lips crash into one another’s once more.

“Come around on this side, boo,” I say.

Kalen steps back and walks over to the other side of the field, where he meets me on the edge of the sidelines.

My arms wrap around his neck as I stand on the sidelines of the field while he’s standing against the banister, separating it from the bleachers.

“Babe, what do you want to do to kill some time before I take you home to meet my dad?” he asks.

I raise my eyes to the sky, biting my lower lip. As my gaze goes back to him, I say, “Well, I do have something in mind.” I smirk devilishly.

“What’s that?” he says as I lick my lips. “Damn, Lexi. You’re making it so hard for me to contain what I want to do to you.”

Giggling, I reach up onto my tippy toes and whisper in his ear, “Good. Because I want you to touch me.”

His eyes widen as the heels of my feet plant on the ground.

“Did I hear you correctly? I think I have, but holy shit, I can’t believe you’ve said those words.” He swallows thickly.

I want to laugh. He’s so cute about it. But I’m not kidding. Lately, I’ve thought about him touching me everywhere and more ever since our first kiss. But damn, actually speaking those words, seeing