揑 didn抰 realize my reputation made me out to be such a badass.?
She rolls her eyes. 揝o it isn抰 true??
揑 didn抰 say that.?I grin.
揇oesn抰 it feel?I don抰 know, shallow or something??
Her face is full of uncertainty and not the judgment I expected.
揘o,?I answer honestly. 揅onnection never feels shallow. Not to me.?
She nibbles on the side of her lip as she studies me. Sometimes the way she looks at me is unnerving.
揝hould we??I motion toward our books.
揧es. You抮e right. We should.?She looks more at ease as she pours her attention on the material. I already knew she was smart, but it抯 reaffirmed every time she jumps into tutor mode.
She breaks down the information for me and takes her time making sure I抳e cemented each point before going to the next. The way her brain works is fascinating. She can take each piece apart, but she never loses sight of the big picture.
If I were struggling, I think she抎 really be helping me.
As we抮e finishing physics and moving on to statistics, Liam knocks on the door and opens it a crack.
揌ey, sorry. I don抰 want to interrupt, but I抦 ordering pizza. Do you guys want anything??
揋rab an extra cheese for the morning,?I say.
揂lready done,?he says. 揇aisy??
揘o, thanks.?
I glance between them for any unspoken communication. Is he still into her? I can抰 tell. He抯 so damn polite it抯 hard to tell the difference with him.
He backs out of the room with a wave.
I can抰 read anything about her feelings for him either. She抯 not flushed like she used to be during lab, but that just might be her getting comfortable around us.
Daisy looks down at her book and tilts it where I can see the page. 揑s this what you covered in class today??
揧eah.?I nod. 揕et me guess. You don抰 like pizza? Or you weren抰 allowed to have it as a kid??
揑 like pizza.?
揃ut??
揘o but.?Her slim shoulders rise and lower. 揑 ate before I came over.?
揥hat抯 your favorite pizza topping??
揚epperoni or green peppers.?
My lip curls. 揑 don抰 understand veggies on pizza. It抯 pizza. It isn抰 supposed to be healthy.?
揑t makes more sense than a plain cheese pizza,?she retorts.
揑 like what I like.?
揂nd what you like is cold cheese pizza in the morning??
揈xactly.?
揑抳e never had pizza in the morning.?She purses her lips. 揙r at least I don抰 think I have. And before you ask, it wasn抰 that I wasn抰 allowed or anything.?
揕eftover pizza in the morning is the best. Especially after a night out.?
揂re you going out tonight??
揘ah. Game tomorrow.?
揙h right.?
揂re you coming??
揚robably not. Violet has a thing against sporting events.?
揂 thing against them? Why??
揊reshman year, she was friends with some of the jocks. Specifically, the basketball team. She and Gavin had a thing briefly. They didn抰 date or anything, but I think she wanted to, then he hooked up with her roommate. After that, she stopped going anywhere she might run into him. That was over a year ago.?
揂nd yet she moved into a house right next door to him.?
揟hat was actually my doing.?Daisy looks mischievous as hell as she grins. 揤iolet had the flu the day we were supposed to go see places with Jane and Dahlia. I fell in love with that house, and we put a deposit on it before she had a chance to see where it was located.?
揑抦 shocked, sweet Daisy.?
揟old you I wasn抰 that sweet. Honestly, though, I thought she was over it.?
揇idn抰 seem that way last night.?
揘o, it didn抰。？
We spend another half-hour reviewing my statistics homework. I抳e studied more this week than I have in my entire life, so when she asks if I抦 getting the hang of it, I can answer without hesitation, 揑抳e never been so clear.?
揧ou抮e a quick study. I thought it would take weeks or maybe months.?
Right. I probably should have dragged this out more. I抦 digging spending time with her. Who knew studying was such a blast?
揗aybe I can convince you to keep tutoring me once or twice a week, so I stay on top of it??
揧eah. I don抰 mind.?She stands next to the bed as she packs up her stuff. Her gaze goes to the nightstand, and she picks up the lone picture there.
揑s this you??she asks with a broad smile.
揧ep. Me and a buddy from high school.?
揧ou look exactly the same.?
揑抦 like three inches taller,?I protest.
揑t抯 your smile.?She looks from the picture to me. 揧ou always look like a cat that got the canary. Is he at Valley too??
I scoot closer and take the picture. The edges are bent, and the photo is blurry where water spilled on one side, but I always keep it next to my bed. 揘ah. College wasn抰 for him. He got a job working for the county. He passed away my first year at Valley.?
揙h.?I don抰 look up, but I can hear the sympathy in her voice. 揑抦 so sorry.?
揌e was always flipping off the camera or turning away. This is the only photo I have of him where I can really see his face.?The familiar pang of sadness hits me square in the chest as I stare down at the two of us, young, carefree, drunk off our asses.
Liam calls that the pizza is here, and I toss the photo back on the nightstand.
揂re you sure you don抰 want to stay for pizza??I ask as I open my door.
揑 should get back. I have some studying of my own still.?
揙kay.?I lead her out into the living area. Ry across the hall is gone, and Liam抯 setting the pizza boxes on the coffee table. The smell of cheese and grease hangs in the air, making my stomach growl.
Liam invites her to stay, too, but she gives him the same answer.
揋ood luck at your game tomorrow,?she tells us.
揂re you coming??Liam asks.
揑 don抰 think so.?
揃ummer.?He smiles. 揝ee you next week in class.?
I walk her to the door. 揟hanks, sweet Daisy.?
揑抦 not sweet,?she says, but she抯 smiling as she does.
When I close the door, Liam asks, 揥hat抯 she helping you with??
He passes me a box of cheese pizza.
揝tatistics, mostly.?I flip open the box and take a slice. 揝he抯 really fucking smart.?
揝o are you,?he says. 揃ut it抯 good to see you studying. You haven抰 even overslept for classes the past couple of weeks.?
揙h, man.?I pause. 揂m I a nerd now??
I bust up laughing, and Liam rolls his eyes.
揘erds are hot,?I say and think of Daisy.
揝he is. You? Not so much.?He laughs it off, but a prick of guilt hits me for being into the girl he likes. I抳e never hooked up with a girl a buddy dated or wanted to date. Never. My friendships are everything to me.
揧ou two looked like you were hitting it off last night.?I struggle to look at him, but I need to read his face and get some idea of just how into her he is.
His brows lift slightly. 揗e and Daisy??
I nod and take a bite of pizza.
揥e were just chatting and getting to know each other a bit.?
揝o you aren抰 going to ask her out??My pulse thrums quickly.
He gives me a weird look. 揥hat is with you lately??
I抳e never nagged him about when and who he was hooking up with, so he抯 rightly confused about my bringing it up. Still, I push a little. 揓ust wanted to know if I should be putting in a good word for you while we抮e studying.?
揚lease don抰。？He barks out a laugh. 揑 can just hear you telling her I have a big dick or something.?
揥ell, I mean you do, but I抎 probably lead with your awesome personality. Or maybe how you pair your socks before putting them away.?