“No, of course not.” She pops the lid to let some of the heat from her coffee escape. “Is that…?” Claire stares at the floating specks in her drink.
A sudden rush of panic courses through me. Did Bram set me up? Did he give me the wrong order on purpose to make a fool of me? Was that his plan all along?
How would that make any sense? I’m being an irrational idiot.
“How’d you know?” She glances over at me.
“Bram.” I plop the bag between us on the table. “I hope he got it right.”
Claire opens the sack and peers inside. “You like these, too?”
“Mmhm.”
“Interesting.” She hesitates before pulling one out. “Thanks.” She takes a bite and covers her mouth while she chews.
I stare like a fucking idiot and have to force myself to look away. How can someone make a normal function so attractive?
I distract myself with the other donut, focusing my attention on anything except how pretty she is up close. What the fuck is wrong with me? I'm a teenager all over again, smitten with this girl who's way too good for me.
“Have you had a chance to read the assignment requirements yet? I figure we should start there before we get into the whole tutoring thing.” She fumbles through her backpack to pull out the packet our teacher had given us earlier.
“Uh.”
“I'm not surprised. Here.” She holds it out to me. “It's a three-part opinion piece. Basically, we read the text, then write a discussion paper on what we think the author meant, how we interpreted it, and then compare and contrast between the viewpoints. It's incredibly straightforward but will require you to actually pick up a book and put in a little effort.”
A part of me takes offense to her last statement, but considering my track record, she’s well within her rights to make these kinds of assumptions about me.
I've only shown up for two of the classes I have with her, and I was late both times. I'm not exactly setting a model student example.
Old Johnny would be disappointed in the new me.
But old me was the one who decided to sign me up for this fucking nightmare I'm currently living. He's not allowed to hold judgment based on the mess he got me roped into.
“That’s fair.”
“I’ve already read this book, so I’ll be doing a re-read. Do you want to get yours done on your own or together?” Claire’s bright blue eyes burn a hole through me.
Of course, I should do it alone, without her. Far, far, far away from where she is. Keeping as much distance as humanly possible between us. I should only be around her when it’s absolutely necessary. When there is no other choice.
At least, that’s what my brain is urging me to do.
But somehow, my mouth opens and something else entirely comes out. “Together works for me.” The self-control I thought I had fails me completely.
“Okay.” She slides the book across the table. “Here. It’s a fairly quick one. You can go ahead and get started while I finish something else. Read the first three chapters and then we can discuss once you’re done.” She pauses. “Unless you’re in a hurry.”
I shake my head, reaching out to latch onto the book but accidentally landing on her hand instead. “Not at all.”
Her phone buzzes on the table, and when I glance down, I settle my sights on a text message from Griffin. The same name from the nightmare she had in my bed, where she was begging him to leave her alone. The one I saw on her phone the next morning when she had charged it in my kitchen. Could that also be the person who was screaming at her over the phone not too long ago?
She pushes the button on the side and the screen turns black. Not even two seconds later, it lights up again. Three more alerts this time.
“You need to get that?” I ask her, trying to keep my voice calm.
It’s clear this person isn’t a welcomed part of her life with how she keeps blowing them off.
“No.”
The device goes off again, this time a guy’s face appears across the whole thing. He gave up on texting and is now calling her.