4
Claudia Bliss
Icheckmy appearance in the mirror for the tenth time before getting out of my car.Calm down or he’ll think you’re being weird. For him, this is just a tutoring session. He wants to help you with your grade so you’ll get a scholarship. Ease Mom and Dad’s burden.
I apply a fresh coat of lip gloss and smack my lips together so they appear soft and hydrated. An invitation to be kissed.
My heart gallops as I approach the front door of Bram’s apartment. We’re going to be alone behind closed doors. I’ve spent the last two days fantasizing about everything that could happen.Our hands accidentally brush. Our eyes lock. He realizes how much he really wants me.
We accidentally fall into bed together.
I wish I were brave enough to make some kind of bold move. Have a plan of action to make him want me. Take advantage of this time alone. But I already know I’ll probably chicken out after what happened last time.
I was feeling so optimistic, but now my confidence level is a negative twelve.
My mouth waters when Bram opens the door and I see him in basketball shorts and an old T-shirt with the sleeves and sides cut out. I’ve seen him play basketball in this outfit, or one like it, no less than a thousand times. And he never fails to look scorching hot.
I can see his muscular chest and fit stomach through the cutouts of his shirt. And that ass. I can make out the exact shape of it in those clingy shorts. I can’t help myself from admiring it as he leads me through his apartment to the dining table in his kitchen.
“How long have you lived here?”
“Moved in about a month ago. Still settling in.”
“No one told me you had moved out of your parents’ house.” It hurt my heart when I realized Bram had made such an important change in his life and I knew nothing about it. I’ve always been privy to knowing everything about him and it suddenly feels as though that’s been taken away from me. I don’t like it at all.
“You live with your parents for your entire life, and then you move away for college and get a taste of independence. It’s very difficult to come home and return to living under their rules and expectations. As much as I love my parents, I quickly realized I couldn’t live with them. I need my privacy.”
Privacy. I wonder if that’s code for needing a place to bring women so he can get laid. “You like living here?”
He shrugs. “It’s okay for the time being.”
I hope that doesn’t mean he’s planning to leave Lynchburg. “You don’t see yourself staying here long-term?”
“Only as long as it takes to save a good down payment for a house.”
I was talking about staying in Lynchburg—not the apartment—but I’m thrilled to hear him say he has no plans to move away.
Bram is the mature one out of the three boys. Always sensible with money, dependable with responsibilities, accountable for his actions. Owen and River could stand to take a lesson or two from him.
“I know it needs work.”
The walls are white and bare. There’s no kind of style or decor. “It’s very bachelor pad-ish.”
“I have no idea how to decorate. I don’t know where to start.”
He ain’t lying. “I could help you if you want. Give it a woman’s touch.” I’m no interior designer but I’m certain I can do better than this.
“We’ll see.”
We’ll see. That isn’t the response of someone jumping at the opportunity to spend time with me. Sort of like he didn’t jump at the opportunity to tutor me either.
I hang my backpack on the chair and dig out my textbook and binder. “I’m sorry Owen roped you into doing this. I know you have much better things to do than teach me calculus.”
“I don’t mind.”
I place my textbook and binder on the table. I go completely still and look into Bram’s eyes. “Please don’t do that.”
“Don’t do what?”