“I don’t want to hurt you either, Bennett. I like you.”
Bennett gaped at her. “You do? Why?”
Katie laughed. “Um, you’re brilliant and you’re actually really funny sometimes. Maybe you just need to find more people who share your interests? Like, I don’t know … another scientist?”
Bennett gestured around them. “Look around. I want more than just this in my life. All I do is work and sleep and then wake up to work some more. But the only thing I know how to do is approach problems logically. Getting a tutor seems logical to me. I know this is unorthodox, but will you help me?”
Katie was pretty sure this entire thing had a high probability of being a terrible idea. But she discovered something about herself in that moment. She had a really hard time saying no to a handsome face and a sincere request.
“I’ll help you. On one condition.”
“What’s that?” Bennett looked wary.
“You have to actually listen to what I have to say. If we’re going to do this, it’s not going to be easy and you’re probably going to hate the things I suggest but I have to know you’re serious about this.”
He shrugged. “I dabble in genetic engineering of organic compounds. If I can do that then I should be able to handle this, right?”
?
Bennett watched Katie set up the workstation for his very first lesson on being normal. After she’d agreed to tutor him, they’d gone about the rest of the day as usual. He’d wanted to start right away but Katie said she needed some time to think about how to approach this.
He could underst
and that. Whenever he started a new project, he liked to take time in the beginning to be sure he truly understood the project goals and objectives. Maybe Katie was approaching him like a project. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that but he had a feeling he’d have to get used to various indignities if he wanted to have even a shot of being with Olivia.
Strangely enough, thinking about her right then seemed wrong. Bennett couldn’t pinpoint why but perhaps it was because he didn’t like to think of changing himself for a woman. Like most people, he’d lived for years with the belief that the right woman would appreciate him the way he was. However as the years had passed, he’d come to see how foolish that kind of thinking really was. Women only like you the way you are if you’re naturally handsome, smooth and rich, he thought.
He had two of the three down pat, he supposed. He’d heard many times that he was attractive and he’d definitely saved a lot of money over the years from his salary and the various inventions that he’d licensed to major corporations. But all of that didn’t make up for the fact that he was seen as a bit of a weirdo.
He gritted his teeth, remembering the last time he’d heard that. Jackson’s first wife had been talking about him, not realizing that he was in the next room. He’d never told his youngest brother what he’d overheard; what was the point after all? He couldn’t deny that it was the truth since the person she’d been talking to hadn’t objected to the characterization.
“Okay, I think I’m ready.”
Bennett turned to see Katie standing at his elbow. Her eyes sparkled as she set the tablet he’d assigned to her on the table between them.
“I found a list of conversation starters online. I figured if we go over some ice breakers, it’ll help you learn to make conversation.”
Bennett pushed up his glasses, the first tickle of worry starting. He’d never been great at making conversation but perhaps it was best to start where he was weakest.
“Okay. I’m excited to start.”
Katie touched the screen and then read the first topic. “The first conversation starter is ‘Where did you grow up?’ So you ask me.”
Bennett felt incredibly stupid parroting back the words to her but he was determined to play along. “Where did you grow up?”
“I grew up in Barbados, just outside of Bridgetown.”
When he didn’t say anything, Katie leaned forward and whispered, “You’re supposed to ask follow up questions. Or offer some information about you.”
Bennett crinkled his forehead. “Oh, right. Tell me about Bridgetown. What’s the median temperature there? Barbados is tropical so it must be a relatively mild climate?”
“Well, yes. I guess so.”
“I bet the vegetation there is spectacular. Do you happen to know what the average rainfall is during their growing season? Typically I’m trying to prepare for drought but I’ve been meaning to investigate how our new soil additives would fare in a tropical region.” Bennett patted his lab coat absently, wishing he had his phone or his own tablet with him so he could make a note of it. He must have left them in his office.
Katie reached across the table and grabbed his hand. The shock of her fingers closing over his jolted him out of his musing.
“Bennett! You’re supposed to be thinking about me. Not rainfall.”