She took a deep breath and looked up at him through her thick, curled lashes.
“Tristan if I had a boyfriend, I wouldn’t be here with you right now.”
“Fair,” he said biting his lower lip.
“Do you have someone you left back in Pennsylvania?”
“I don’t see why that matters,” she said curtly. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to be rude but, really, why does that matter? You seem so fixated on if I have a boyfriend. I’m just tutoring you, so I don’t see the significance.”
He sat and contemplated her words for a few moments. The way she spoke and swirled words together sometimes took him a few seconds to process, and he loved it.
“Well, I don’t really know,” he said simply, with a one shouldered shrug. “I guess I just...I’m intrigued by you. And I’m just curious if there’s anyone who gets to know you intimately. I don’t really know how else to put it.”
She felt her skin heat up under his gaze, his words rushing through her ears and down to her core. She reached for her drink to try to snap herself back into reality but didn’t take a sip.
“I’m very single,” she said in a whisper. “I’ve had boyfriends and I was with someone for a while in high school but nothing that has ever lasted long or really been very meaningful.”
“What’s your family like?” He asked, his eyes closely examining her beauty.
She sighed happily at the thought of her family and was grateful he was changing the subject.
“They’re great. My mom is like my lifeline. Being away from her is so hard. My dad’s a bit more traditional and strict in a sense but he really loves me, and I look up to him a lot. And then I have a younger brother, August. He’s about to graduate high school and go to U Penn which my dad is stoked about.”
Tristan smiled at her and hummed quietly to himself. Of course she came from a good family – it radiated from her.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Yeah, well, my parents are both back in Ohio. They just divorced last year but our family doesn’t feel that different. My dad is a huge goofball and is a big reason Jordan and I love sports so much. And my mom is just great. She’s everything a good mom could possibly be.”
Tessa smiled and felt her heart skip at how he talked about his mom. A good midwestern boy who appreciated and respected his parents – it was a big green flag.
“And Jordan?”
“Yeah, you already met him,” he said with a nervous laugh. “He’s the only reason I’m here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I just always wanted to do everything that he did. I always looked up to him and wanted to be like him. And he played football, so I wanted to play football. He moved to Nashville to play at Vanderbilt, and I did the same. I almost didn’t get the scholarship. They said my character was questionable. I don’t know what he told them but whatever it was they changed their minds.”
“What does questionable character mean?”
“My grades were low in high school. I had gotten a few suspensions for fighting and one minor consumption ticket for getting caught drinking. Jordan whipped me into shape though. He made sure I didn’t get mixed in with the wrong kids and stayed focused on football. Once I did that my skills really started to take off.”
“It sounds like he really loves you,” Tessa said with a smile.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Excuse me kids,” the shop owner stuck his head out onto the patio and signaled to their coffees, “Go ahead and finish up, we’re closing soon.”
“Oh shit,” Tristan said, looking down at his watch. “I had no idea it was so late.”
“Me either,” Tessa said, giving the owner an apologetic smile before gathering her things and helping throw away their leftover trash.
“Will you please let me drive you home?” Tristan asked, his eyes desperately searching hers. “It’s late. I’m uncomfortable with you walking.”
She thought for a second and heard her own mother’s voice in her head about walking alone at night.
“Yeah thanks, that would be really nice.”
