Okay cool. She had work to do. I respected that.
By the time she comes back out again, my ass is incredibly sore from sitting on this bench and the sun has fully set. I managed to finish my homework, which was a step in the right direction, though I couldn’t say whether any of the answers were right. I haphazardly throw my belongings in my backpack and follow her out of the building, holding the door open.
She looks up at me, startled as if she didn’t expect me to trail behind her. “Jake? What are you doing?”
“Well you see, I was wondering if you knew any tutors who were willing to take a struggling student on.”
“I told you to reach out to the tutoring center if you didn’t hear back from them soon.” Eliana shifts into a brisk walk, likely in an attempt to ditch me. Unfortunately for her, I had a solid foot on her which made it easy to catch up.
“Ah you see, I did that. It seems as though all of the current staff are fully booked for the rest of the semester. Well everyone except for?—”
She turns to look at me and misses the lip in the sidewalk, causing her to spiral forward. My arms are out in an instant to stop her from hitting the concrete. She’s still a little wobbly, so Ituck her firmly into my side and give her a moment to gain her composure.
It takes her a few seconds to catch her breath and release the vice-like grip that’s clutching onto the back of my coat. “Thanks for catching me.”
“No big deal. You alright?” My eyes lock with hers and for the first time since we met, I notice the small smattering of freckles dusted along her cheeks.
“Y-Yeah, thanks for not letting me eat shit.” She gives me a sheepish grin, slowly pulling away from me, and it’s only then that I realize I still have one of my arms wrapped around her waist. I remove it quickly before she misreads my good intentions.
We continue walking, Eliana clearly on a mission to get somewhere. “So back to the tutoring situation.” She keeps her head forward, but I can tell she’s listening to me. Or at least I hope she is. “Any chance I can get you to reconsider taking me on?”
“I can’t.”
“Listen, I know I messed up. But I’m really desperate here. I tried to find someone else, but you’re it.”
“I wish I could help, but I made a promise to myself not to rush to help everyone else before I take care of my own needs. I hope you can understand.”
Shit. I definitely understood and respected her for setting boundaries, but without a tutor, I had no chance of getting my grade back up. We come to a halt in front of one of the student housing buildings, and I realize I’ve followed her all the way back to her apartment. I may have gotten nothing out of this, but at least I know she got home safe.
“I hear you.”I just need you to change your mind,and I’m not planning on backing down without a fight.For as headstrong as she’s coming off right now, I can already see thecracks in her armor. She feels bad for me, and all I need to do is keep that going for a little while longer. A rush of shame fills my gut at that thought. I’m not particularly proud of the fact that I’m trying to guilt-trip Eliana into this. But my hockey career was dangling by a thread, and the level of desperation overrode the shame I felt. “Well I guess I’ll see you around then.”
She gives me a small nod before heading inside.
Chapter 11
Eliana
Ihad resorted to sneaking in through the back entrance of the psychology building to avoid seeing Jake. It wasn’t a perfect plan, seeing as he beat me inside the building a few times and I ran into him camped outside my lab door. He had spent the past few days “working” outside my lab for the better part of the morning. The first day he had tried to play it off casually, like he was surprised to see me at his new study spot, then he’d shifted the conversation back to whether I would reconsider being his tutor. I slammed the door in his face.
On the fourth day, he came armed with one of my greatest weaknesses — a mocha Frappuccino with extra whipped cream from the Beanery, one of the best coffee shops on campus. It nearly killed me to push past him without taking the bribe. The night before I was woken up at 3 a.m. to the sound of the fire alarm in my building going off so the sweet treat would’ve definitely perked up my morning. But I cannot be bought. I’ll buy my own damned coffee.
When I entered the lab, I saw April, fellow researchassistant, happily sipping on her own drink from the cafe. She confessed that Jake had offered to buy her a drink if she told him what my order was. I called her a traitor and spent the next three hours silently coding participant data while trying to ignore the small voice in my head that begged for caffeine.
After 2 hours of staring at my screen wide-eyed, I decided to take a break before I needed a trip to the ophthalmologist. I left the lab to use the restroom and on my way back, I couldn’t help myself. I stopped around the corner and dared to glance at Jake. His eyebrows were pinched together as he nervously ran his hands through his hair, biting his bottom lip. I watched him scan the same textbook page three times before pulling out his worksheet, reading the page again, and letting out a frustrated noise. He slammed the book shut and leaned back against the wall, rubbing his temples with his fingers as he let out a heavy sigh. I look down and see my forgotten coffee, likely melted by now. I shake my head.What a travesty.
Aside from being the recipient of his determination, I knew nothing about my new stalker. I’m not entirely sure what possesses me, probably my drive to understand the human psyche, but I walk over to the bench and sit down next to him. “Hey.”
He startles slightly at the sound of my voice, opening his eyes to look at me. “Hi.”
“How’s it going?”
“Oh. Super. It’s really starting to click, and I might even consider changing majors. Me and psychology are like this now.” Jake crosses his fingers.
“That’s…great. Glad your little stalker study sessions in the hall are paying off.”
“Eliana?” My name is barely a whisper from his lips.
“Yeah?”
