“I have computer lab last period,” he says, tossing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the adjoining classrooms. “I just come in the back way.”
“Oh.” I don’t know why, but I feel like an idiot. Standing around waiting for a guy is not something I like to do.
“My favorite color is blue,” Jonah says. “I know it sounds lame because most people expect that a guy’s favorite color is blue, but mine really is. It’s the color of the sky and the ocean, and both of those things are very different shades of blue all the time.” He reaches up and scratches his neck. “So that’s why I like the color. It’s beautiful in all of the shades.”
“Okay…” I say, giving him a weird look as we walk to our table in the back of the room. “Why did you tell me that?”
“Because you got a ninety-three on your test,” he says, giving me a lopsided smile as we walk. “I promised I’d tell you my favorite color once you passed a test.”
I grin. The graded paper is still in my hands and I almost forgot about it when Jonah startled me just now with his quirky smile and sparkling eyes. I hold it up and show it to him. “How’d you see that so quickly?”
“I didn’t,” he admits, setting his messenger bag down in the chair next to him. “I checked in with your Chem teacher today after lunch. I was dying to know.”
“And he just gave you my grades?” I say. “Just like that? I thought grades were private information.”
He shrugs. “Mr. Greenstein knows I tutor you so I guess he was happy to show off your excellent grade. Great job, by the way. You might be my fastest learning student.”
I sit at our table and rest my chin in my hand. “Does that mean I’ll get a smiley face sticker on my page in your notebook?”
He rolls his eyes. “I don’t use smiley face stickers.”
“Well, you should. You can put it right next to that note you made about me.”
He clears his throat, but he doesn’t blush this time. It kind of annoys me that I can’t get to him like I used to. “So what are we studying today, boss?”
Jonah leans back in his chair. “Anything you’d like.”
I lift an eyebrow. “Really?”
He shrugs one shoulder. “You don’t have any major tests coming up soon so we have some leeway on what to study. Is there any subject you’re feeling the most behind in?”
“Yes,” I say, reaching into my backpack. I pull out the folder with the stack of extra credit papers. “I’m very behind in the subject of Extra Credit.” To prove my point, I let the folder drop onto the table with a thud.
Jonah chuckles. “Want to see how many you can knock out in the next two hours?”
My stomach twists into something that very much resembles butterflies as I watch Jonah. His little grinispretty cute, not that I’d admit that to April. Or to myself. And there is something appealing about a clean cut guy who always smells nice. There’s no caked on dirt underneath Jonah’s fingernails, unlike just about every other guy ever. I have to resist the urge to lean in and close my eyes and inhale the nice scent of him.
I bite down hard on my tongue, trying to make the thoughts in my head go away. “I have a better idea,” I say, putting my hand on top of the papers. “How about we split them and race and see who can do the most in two hours?”
I wink as I slide half of the papers toward him. “I have a feeling it’ll be you.”
“Nice try,” he says, sliding them back. “How about you do your own extra credit work and I’ll supervise and help as needed?”
I drop my lips into a pout. “That’s no fun.”
“I never said it would be,” he says, meeting my gaze with a sultry one of his own.
I clear my throat. What am I thinking? Jonah isn’t being sultry. He’s being nice, that’s all. Get it together, Natalie!
I swallow the lump in my throat and look down at the papers in front of me. “How about a compromise?” I say, trying to summon up that flirty energy I’ve had in the other times we’ve been together. Now, it’s like it’s all been taken away from me, and my body has been overrun with conflicting emotions. I exhale and try to act like I’m not battling thoughts of Jonah being cute.
“How about I do the worksheets, but after each one, you have to answer a fun question?”
He considers it for a moment. “Okay, but I have the right to veto a question.”
“In which case I’d ask another one.”
“Deal.”
