“I’m not trying to be a dick. I just want to offer you a fair deal for helping me out. I cannot fail this class. Coach warned me. There are already some NFL teams who are serious about picking me up at the draft this year, but I need the degree.”
“Don’t schools take athletes who haven’t finished college all the time?”
“Not in football. They can’t have underdeveloped kids on the field playing the sport with grown men. We’d get crushed.”
“That’s a lot of pressure you’re putting on me.”
“What about I sweeten the pot?”
“I’m not taking your money and that’s final,” I insist as I worry about how much this lunch is going to cost me. My bank account didn’t plan on me ordering this grilled cheese platter. I was only going to order fries.
“This is different. No one knows my cousin better than me. I can help you get a date with him. Better yet, it will be a date that he asks for.”
“I don’t need to be set up or anything like that. I know I said I like him, but it’s just a small crush from afar. I never said that I wanted to date him. I was supposed to be tutoring him today. That’s it.”
“Listen to me, Teach. You’re halfway there. The fact that I was sitting with you today in this restaurant when he was supposed to be the one sitting here has already put you on his radar. Do you really think he knew your name until today?”
Okay, my curiosity is peaked because he’s made a point. Now that Aaron knows who I am and what my name is, I can no longer hide in plain sight. He will see me, which is what I’ve always wanted. I’ve just got to take advantage of this moment.
Be brave, Willow.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
“You will?”
“Yes, you get me that date without making me look like a fool and you’ll not only pass your class, but you’ll get a good grade. When would like to start?”
“Pork chops first, then we’ll talk strategy.”
I take a bite of my grilled cheese.
“Deal.”
Willow
A loud thump at my dorm room door startles both me and my roommate Kia.
“Who the hell is knocking at our door like the goddamn FBI?” Kia complains as she rolls over in bed.
I wipe some drool from the corner of my mouth and check the time.
“Who is it?”
A familiar bass heavy voice answers back.
“It’s Freak.”
“Wait, a good goddamn,” Kia whispers excitedly. “Did he just say Freak as in Jackson Freak Jennings? Is that who’s on the other side of that door?”
“Yes,” I say in an exhausted tone. I don’t know if I have the energy for the big personality knocking on our door. I was up late studying last night.
“You knew he was coming here, Willow?” she asks in an accusatory manner, snatching the covers and her head wrap off as she frantically looks for something clean to put on. It’s actually quite amusing to watch.
“Don’t you dare let him in until I’m decent,” she says. “Where the hell is my black eyeliner?”
“Calm down. I don’t even know how he got up here. Our front door person sucks.”
I crack open the door and inhale slightly when I see the charismatic smirk on my new student’s sweaty face.
