The three of us walk out of class, her and Liam leading the way.
She glances over at him, still clutching onto the straps of her backpack like a lifeline. 揑 was thinking about going to University Hall and getting coffee or something.?
揅ool.?He bobs his head. 揑 love the hot mocha.?
Jesus, man, take a hint.
We continue another few steps before she summons the courage. I can see it, and I hold my breath.
Her shoulders lift and, even in profile, I can see how nervous she is. 揥ould you want棓
One big step puts me directly between them. 揌ey, Daisy, can I talk to you for a minute??
I take her by the elbow, and a rush of pure pleasure shoots up from my fingertips.
揧-yeah.?Her voice quivers, but I swear I see relief wash over her.
揑抣l see you back at the dorm,?I tell Liam, effectively dismissing him.
揝ounds good.?He gives me a salute. 揕ater, Daisy.?
揃ye,?she calls after him.
I step back to give her room. The two of us stand in place. My heart is hammering like a drum in my chest.
揑s everything okay??she asks. 揧ou look nervous or something.?
揧eah, everything抯 fine. I just have a favor.?
Her blue eyes bore into mine like she can see into my soul. I抦 waiting for her to call me on my bullshit, but instead she asks, 揂 favor??
揗hmm.?I shove my hands in my front pockets.
She buys it. Of course she does. In what world would I interrupt her and say I need a favor when I don抰？ Fuck my life.
揂re you going to ask me, or am I supposed to guess??
Right. Uhh. Well, crap. I scroll through options quickly and blurt out the first thing that doesn抰 sound totally ludicrous. 揑 need you to tutor me.?
She hesitates. Her pink lips part and then press into a thin line. 揊avors are usually posed as questions.?
揜ight. Can you tutor me??
揑n physics??
揂nd statistics.?My throat is dry, and I clear it.
揑 didn抰 realize you were struggling.?
I don抰 say anything. Outright lying feels shitty, though so is asking someone to tutor you when you don抰 need it.
揑抳e never tutored anyone before. I抦 not sure that I抎 be any good at it.?
I should give her the out. I抳e successfully stopped her from asking out Liam. At least for now. Was that the plan? Fuck, I don抰 know what I抦 doing.
揌ow抯 tomorrow night??
She thinks for a second. 揊ine, I think. I抦 done with classes at two. I could meet you at the library right after.?
The fact that she抯 so accommodating just makes me feel worse for not really needing a tutor.
揋reat.?I start to walk off, then stop. 揙h, fuck. I have film review tomorrow night.?I should have asked her to borrow a damn pen or something. 揌ow about you give me your number, and I抣l text you when I抦 done??
She looks like she might be seriously regretting agreeing to this, but she rattles off her number, and I put it in my phone under Sweet Daisy. 揚erfect. I抣l text you when I抦 done, and I can come to you if it抯 easier.?
She nods.
And I walk away before I say or do any more dumb shit.
11
DAISY
揌e抯 coming here??Violet drops her phone to her lap and sits up on the couch. She glances around at the mess of her and Dahlia抯 sewing stuff around the room.
揗aybe we can move this upstairs,?Dahlia offers weakly. Even if I wanted that, he抎 be here before they got it all moved. Two fashion design majors can accumulate a lot of stuff.
揑t抯 fine. Jordan and I will study upstairs.?
揑n your room??Jane asks, peeking out of the kitchen. Her smile starts slow and builds until I抦 certain I抦 blushing.
揑s Liam coming too??Violet asks.
揘o. I don抰 think so.?
Her brown eyes narrow. 揑t抯 weird that he didn抰 just ask Liam to help him. Don抰 you think??
揗aybe. I don抰 know.?Frazzled, I can抰 think through the strangeness of the situation. Jordan Thatcher is going to be at my house. All weirdness pales compared to that.
A heavy knock on the front door pushes my pulse into overdrive. I smooth a hand down my dress and take a deep breath before I hurry to answer it.
Jordan stands on the other side in his standard backward hat, jeans, and T-shirt. A smile tugs at one side of his mouth. 揌ey.?
揌i.?My voice sounds entirely too breathy.
Instead of making a move to come inside, he points to the house next door. 揧ou live next to The White House.?
揧ep. That抯 right.?
I open the door wider, and he steps through. 揑 didn抰 even know this place was here.?
揥e get that a lot.?Violet waves from the couch.
揧ou remember Violet. And that抯 Dahlia and Jane,?I say, introducing him to my roommates.
Dahlia抯 eyes are wide as she takes him in, but she doesn抰 speak. I forget how shy she is sometimes since it mostly surfaces around the opposite sex.
揘ice to meet you,?Jane calls from the next room. She moves closer, unabashedly watching as Jordan walks in.
I have to say, Jordan in the middle of our living room is a strange sight among the fabrics and sewing machine occupying most of the space.
He nods to my friends and then looks back at me.
揜eady??I ask.
My roommates are so intently staring at him and now me.
揧eah.?He adjusts his backpack and follows me to the second floor. The four bedrooms and the only full bathroom are up here. My room faces the house on the opposite side of us from The White House. This street, as well as the one behind us, are primarily rentals for the university.
As he walks into my room, I feel like I抦 seeing it with new eyes梩he simple metal frame, the light-yellow comforter, the raggedy stuffed bear that I抳e had since I was seven. The only other furniture besides my bed is a desk, chair, and my easel.
揧ou can have the chair,?I say.
The wood floor creaks with his footsteps. He takes a seat and drops his backpack to the floor in front of him, then continues to look around the room.
揇rawing??He points to the easel. 揙r painting??
揗ostly drawing.?
揟hat抯 awesome. I can抰 draw for anything.?
揑t抯 just a lot of practice.?
He nods slowly. 揃ad at taking a compliment.?
揥hat??I ask with a light laugh.
揓ust adding to the list of things I抦 learning about you.?
揟hank you,?I relent with a smile. 揇id you have something in mind that you wanted to work on? I pulled up some study notes from physics that might help.?
揟hat sounds fine.?He brings out a notebook and pencil.
My laptop is on my bed, but I suddenly feel weird about sitting on it in front of him. I perch on the very edge and open my computer.
He slides his pencil behind one ear, and I move so that I抦 closer to him but still sitting on the edge of the bed. He smells like soap again, sans beer. Turning my laptop, I say, 揇o you want to go through the lab questions or??
揝ure.?
I start to read through the first one, explaining as best I can. His brown eyes are pinned on me so attentively my pulse jumps, and my voice quivers. I stop and sit back. 揌ow about you read it and just tell me what questions you have??
He sits forward and stares for a minute. The silence in my room is suffocating. Even my breathing sounds too loud. I try to do less of it, but then I feel like I抦 going to pass out.
揑 think I抳e got it.?
揂ll of it??
揥ell厰 He glances from me to the screen and back. If he expects me to read his mind and magically fill the gaps in his knowledge, he抯 going to be seriously disappointed.
揑 don抰 know how to do this,?I admit.
揗e either.?He sits back in the chair. 揂re you hungry??