“What if things aren’t going well? What if things are really, really bad? Even though I’m trying really hard to fix them.”
It sounds more like a confession than another attempt at bribery. “I’m sorry to hear that. I really hate seeing people struggle with school. That’s why I became a tutor in the first place. I’m sorry I can’t offer the help you need.”
He drags a hand over his face, “No I’m sorry. I put all my eggs in your basket and then shit all over it. Or whatever the saying is. My headspace is a mess right now and feel like I’m in a hole I can’t dig out of. I also can’t talk to anyone about how hopeless I feel because my teammates are all relying on me and I don’t want to freak them out.”
Jake’s uncharacteristic vulnerability intrigues me more. There appears to be a lot more to the hockey captain than I’ve gotten to see, “Well, if you ever need a friend, just someone to talk to or be around to help the weight of life not feel so heavy, you can call me. Just because our tutoring relationship didn’t work out doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”
“Thanks. My friend hours are before practice from the hours of 6 am to 8am. Beyond that you’re officially invited to all the keggers at hockey house.”
I snort “Not sure if I have the upper body strength to do a keg stand but, if you bring the mocha fraps, you can always come by at 6am. It’s my quiet time in the morning to prep for the day. I’m not committing to looking over your homework but if you happen to have a psych question, I might happen to have an answer.”
His eyes fill with hope, “Holy shit. Yeah. I’m down. Should we plan to meet at the library?”
“It’s not open that early. We could meet at my place?”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Cool. I’ll email you my address. I guess I should probably get going.” I nod my head towards the lab.
“I appreciate this. More than you know. Friend.” He winks, sliding off the bench and bringing me in for a small hug and the scent of mint and soap consumes me. “See you Thursday, bright and early.”
“Looking forward to it.” I pull back and finally enter the lab.
The first person I see is April. “So you finally caved huh?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m a pushover who can be bribed with sweet treats. What’s new?”
“I can’t say I blame you. Who wouldn’t want to spend time with Jake Keeley? He’s sooo hot.”
“We’re just friends.” Or at least we would be soon.
“Sure, sure Ellie. You say that now.” She giggles to herself and I let it be. Jake and I had only started our friendship all of a few second ago, we were a very long way from being anything more than that.
Chapter 12
Eliana
Iwas half awake and half delirious when I opened the front door to find Jake Keeley standing on the other side of my door holding a large mocha frap with extra whipped cream in one hand and a regular coffee in another. “You’re early.”
“I figured I’d make up for all the times I was late. Nice pants by the way.” He smirks and I look down at my pajama bottoms, which have sleeping koalas all over them. At least I had thrown on a bra before I opened the door.
“In the interest of being honest I’m a little surprised you’re here. The library at 6 p.m. was too inconvenient, but I guess 6 a.m. in my apartment does the trick?”
“I guess I never knew how lonely I was in the mornings, until I was up at 5 a.m. looking forward to seeing you in an hour.”
My heart warms at his words, not expecting him to be so sweet. “Have a seat at the table. I’ll go grab my laptop.” I take the coffee from his hand and chug it down like it’s my lifeline. The sugary concoction hits my tongue and I can’t help but letout a small moan of delight.Coffee gods, thank you for this sweet blessing. Please let this caffeine carry me through another hellish day.
When I come back to reality, I catch Jake’s eyes focused on my mouth as I lick away the bit of whipped cream left over on my lip. A wave of unfamiliar heat comes over me, and I realize I’m blushing. Since when do I blush like a schoolgirl when a guy looks at me? It’s been a while since I dated a guy, but I didn’t think I was this starved for attention.
Whereas I’m still learning about Jake, I’m surprised to find he’s quite chipper in the mornings. He seems completely comfortable as he unpacks his bag and prepares to start a friendship(?) in a strangers home.
I head into my room and grab my laptop along with some of the psych study materials I prepped for him for our first study session. I’m still not tutoring him, but good boys who make an effort get treats. When I return to the kitchen, he’s already reviewing what looks like a homework assignment.
I casually slide over the forms before plopping myself across from him and getting to work on my to do list for the day.
He thumbs through the forms before looking at me with a sly grin. “What’s this?”
I give him a casual shrug. “Don’t get too excited. I prepped those before I even met you. It’s a schedule detailing the material you should focus on over the next few weeks to prepare for your final two exams. There are also some practice quizzes in there. I may not be tutoring you but I refuse to let good practice quizzes go to waste.”
