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Despite her similarities in appearance to the masked girl, I could not see Ella at a frat party on a Saturday night. Intellectual types like her probably do whatever it is that smart people do for entertainment. Reading would be my first guess. She’s not a degenerate like me, out partying until the sun comes up. Between Coach and my teammates, I should have my shit together, but I like the college lifestyle too much to slow down. Now, I have no choice but to get my act together.
Ella has given me a new reason to step up my game. If we have to spend time together from now until graduation, it will be hard. It will be worse if she keeps making me hard. I’m like a fourteen-year-old boy around her, unable to control my physical reaction. Good thing we’re sitting down or this would be awkward.
After she finishes taking notes and marks off pages in the Law and Ethics textbook, Ella glances up from the book and locks onto me. “By the looks of it, you’re either not studying or don’t understand the assignments. So, which one is it?”
I shrug. “Both, I guess. I don’t know. I thought I knew what Prof was looking for, but clearly, I have no clue. She keeps giving me D’s.”
“That’s because you earned them.” Her tone is almost defensive. “Have you bothered to do any of the required reading or do you just write the first thing that comes to mind?” She pauses for a second to regroup, her words brewing anger inside me. “I’m sorry. What I meant to say is—”
“Don’t bother. I get it,” I interject. “You are right. I haven’t spent any time reading the textbook or put any effort into the assignments. I should never have taken the law as a major, but now, it’s either figure out a way to pass or take another major and not graduate on time. I have NFL scouts looking at me. Working a day job was never part of my plan. Football is my end game, so I just need to do well enough to get a diploma to make my mom happy and get signed by a pro team.”
“You should give yourself more credit, Shawn.”
I love the way she says my name because it’s not often I hear it from anyone but my mother and grandmother. Even my cousins call me Finch. My last name has taken on a persona.
“I would give myself credit if I put the time into school and was still struggling. The truth is I’m failing because school just doesn’t interest me. Never has and probably never will.”
“If you know you need to study, then I don’t s
ee why it would kill you to take an hour each day so you can pass. The only way tutoring can work for you is if you give it a chance. I can sit here all day long and tell you what you need to know, but if you don’t put in the effort, our sessions are pointless.”
I lean forward, pinning her down with one look. “Maybe I need you to help me outside of these walls.”
Ella narrows her eyes at me. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“We could be study buddies.” I sound like an idiot, but I don’t give a fuck. Ella makes me want to study more than just law. And I cannot help myself.
She seems confused. “Isn’t that what we’re doing right now?”
I shake my head. “Nope, not even close. I think I may need more than a few hours in the library with you.”
Still perplexed, she asks with a slight hesitation, “What do you have in mind?”
“My house tomorrow night. That would be a good start.”
She squirms in her seat, breaking eye contact as she scans the expanse of the room. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
I reach across the table and cover my hand over hers to catch her attention. Her eyes find mine once more, and I can feel her pulse speed up. I make her nervous, even though she’s been trying to hide it from me. She makes me nervous, too.
“I promise I won’t bite.”
She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, causing me to think of other things I’d like to bite, lick, and suck.
“Outside of school hours is hard for me. I have family obligations. I would love to help you, believe me, I would, but I cannot do what you are asking of me. You can have me during school hours.”
Judging by the way she looks away in horror, she didn’t mean to sound so forward. Not that she even meant those words in that way. I wish I could have her while at school. I would like to get to know her better right now.
“School hours. Got it,” I say with a smile to put her at ease.
The corners of her mouth turn up. “How about we get back to your homework, so you don’t fail out of the class?” I nod, and she continues, “Do you understand how the professor structured each lecture and assignment? I want to get that out of the way first, just in case you have any concerns.”
“Each week, we’re supposed to build a case against a fictitious lawyer for potential disbarment. That’s about all I know. I don’t see the point of it all.”
Lifting the syllabus from the table, Ella holds it up to examine the cases. “This week deals with the practice of representing a new client in a matter tied to a previous client who is now deceased. I can’t tell you whether this is right or wrong because it’s up to you to decide if this practice is allowed under the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct.”
“Was that in English?” I mutter, not caring that I sound like a total jackass. Nothing she said even makes any sense to me.
Ella lets out an exaggerated sigh. She must be annoyed with me, and I don’t blame her. I already hit on her, told her I have no desire to learn this crap, and then invited her to my house. What a total fucking frat move. I’m an idiot, an asshole, and one who is lucky to have a girl like Ella helping me graduate on time.
