Page 64 of Arctic Titans of Northwood U: Volume 1

Long after the workout and the rest of the day consisting of matches of table soccer, I lay in my bed and stared at the ceiling. Avery was deep asleep, snoring every so often much to my chagrin. And I tossed and turned, unable to keep my heart still. I’d thought that scoring a tutoring session would be the solution I needed. But it was only the first step.

As for the rest. Well… There were a few more steps along the way. But it couldn’t be that hard, right?

I had to actually learn all the shit Wallaby had failed to teach me for half a year.

I had to do it quickly, all the while outdoing myself on the ice in drills and in matches.

And, on top of it all, I needed to teach a nerd how to get laid as effortlessly as me.

Great. At least I put all these impossible challenges in a nice, bulleted list.

Chapter Four

NOAH

I was making a horrible mistake.

I was wasting everyone’s time and this was going to be a disaster.

When I saw Matt on Sunday afternoon, I told him as much. What I failed to mention was the intensity of the blush that remained on my face long after Sawyer Price had walked out of the library and left me wheezing in the scent of his cologne. I also didn’t tell Matt how Sawyer’s scent reminded me of spring in the mountains and nature welling with life, bursting with new energy, and the world turning green with hope.

“Um, I thought I was your wingman,” Matt said.

“I hate to fire you, but I haven’t exactly gotten much action,” I said. “Besides, the guy’s got experience with other guys. Maybe that’s the difference.”

Matt, over the top, rolled his eyes. “I’ve got experience with guys, too,” he muttered.

“Practicing kissing me when we were thirteen doesn’t count,” I said. We’d both walked away disappointed from that one. I’d hoped to be into him when it had happened, but I most definitely hadn’t been. And Matt had hoped the same, but soon realized that me being a boy was actually a deal-breaker. It had felt like kissing an inanimate object that you loved a lot. He was my best friend, but he was absolutely not someone I wanted to kiss.

He raised his hands in surrender. “Very well. I’ll clear my desk.”

I crumpled up a piece of paper I’d been reading old notes from and tossed it across my room at Matt, who was sprawling on my bed. “I was hoping you’d help me cancel Sawyer,” I said after a moment of silence.

“Hmm.” That was it. Matt narrowed his eyes in thought and tapped his lips with his index finger.

“What?” I asked. “It’s obviously a silly idea. I don’t know what got into me to say yes. He’s really fucking good at convincing people to do shit for him.”

“Language, young man,” Matt said.

Neither of us laughed at that anymore. We’d had that joke going on for ages. My parents were very stern about the way I spoke and were the examples of politeness. I’d once said ‘damn’ in front of them and Matt had witnessed the reprimand. He hadn’t let go of it since. And I never thought twice about the language I used so long as I was out of my mom’s earshot. “Seriously, he’s good. He wouldn’t let me pass until I said yes. And then he kept badgering me with doing anything it takes in return. Fuck. How did I let this happen? I’m supposed to be smart.”

“Not people smart,” Matt said offhandedly. “But if he’s so good, maybe you really should give that two-way tutoring thing a chance. We could all learn a lesson in getting what we want.”

“He’s gotten to you, too,” I said in despair. When I checked the time, I realized we were a mere hour away from the dreaded meeting. “Any chance you’d go to him and find an excuse for me? I’ll let you bring your next three dates to my room.”

Matt rubbed his chin in a grand display of mock temptation. He’d asked me once to do that and I had. My room was approximately three million times more impressive than any in this dormitory. The date had gone all wrong when the girl turned out to be a big sci-fi nerd like me and asked Matt all about the posters and stacks of novels, to which Matt probably just went cross-eyed because his interests were firmly set on everything but science fiction.

“I don’t think so, buddy,” Matt said. “You’ll just have to face him and tell him that yourself. And because I know you can’t possibly do that without falling through the ground, I’ll rest assured knowing that you’ll learn the lessons he teaches you. Then you’ll teach me, too, and we’ll rule the whole wide world.” His hand moved through the air in his field of vision like he was showing me the wonderful future in which he had all the power of the entire planet. I shuddered at the thought of mandatory tacos for breakfast every Tuesday and beer pong replacing democratic elections.

I sighed. “Fine. It’s too late to cancel, anyway. He’ll be here in an hour.”

“And you’re supposed to teach him all of physics?” Matt asked with a doubtful tone.

“Sort of.”

He nodded and pondered that. “An aggressive hockey goalie and a temperamental genius who’s actually scared of strangers in the same room. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.” He laughed out loud as I pointed to the door.

“Get out.”