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Her shoulders slumped as she let out a quiet groan. “I have A/V Club on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ms. Upton, if it’s okay with you, I can talk to Mrs. Hernandez and see if there’s someone in Spanish Club who might be able to tutor him in Spanish. Then someone else can work with him on Pre-Cal.”
My heart immediately sank at the thought of anyone other than Kyler tutoring me, and I couldn’t understand why. I didn’t even know her that well. But I did know that I couldn’t give up this easily. Something was telling me that this opportunity to finally get to know her had fallen into my lap for a reason, and I needed to grab it with both hands.
“I can meet you somewhere after A/V Club lets out,” I offered. “I know the school library closes at five, so maybe at the public library?”
And then I remembered that she’d smiled a little when I’d mentioned not having enough coffee this morning, and inspiration struck.
“Or at a Starbucks close to where you live? Coffee’s on me. It would just suck to have to work out a schedule with two different tutors since football takes up so much of my time.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “Starbucks on 119thand Renner, by Bass Pro. Is five okay? A/V Club gets out at four-thirty.”
I flashed her a smile, relieved that she’d agreed so easily. “That’s perfect. Can you start today, or do you want to wait until next week?”
“No, today’s fine,” she said, just above a whisper.
“Great.” I took off my backpack and pulled out a notebook and pen, quickly scribbling down my cell number and ripping the paper out. “Here’s my number in case something changes.”
She nodded. “I’ll text you so you have mine.”
I did a mental fist-pump that it was that easy to get her phone number, but forced myself to play it cool. I didn’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong.
Wait a second. Why did Icareabout getting her phone number or coming on too strong? She was tutoring me, not going on a date with me.
Right?
“Cool,” I said with another smile.
“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled as she pulled her cell phone out and started tapping on the screen.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t bother checking it. I was sure it was her text coming through.
“Thank you for being so flexible and meeting him outside school hours, Kyler. I know the kids in the athletic department have busy schedules,” Ms. Upton said, once again reminding me that we weren’t the only two people in the room.
“It’s…it’s fine,” Kyler choked out, her eyes widening a little.
Wait a second. This wasn’t just timidness. Based on her tone and the look on her face right now, it seemed like she was scared of the prospect of spending time with me off-campus. Not just nervous, but genuinely frightened. And the last thing I wanted was to make her feel like she had to do something she wasn’t comfortable with.
“You sure about this, Kyler?” I asked. “I can figure something else out.”
She shook her head quickly. “No, it’s fine. I’ll see you in Spanish.”
Then she turned and bolted out of the room like her ass was on fire, and I quickly thanked Ms. Upton for setting this up before grabbing my backpack and following her. Once I was out of the classroom, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the text that had come through.
Unknown: This is Kyler.
I couldn’t help the shit-eating grin that spread across my face as I saved her to my contacts and replied to the text.
Me: I mean it. I really appreciate this. And I promise you’re safe with me. I’m not my teammates.
Just as I was about to put my phone away, it buzzed again, and I was shocked to see that it was from her.
Kyler: I’ll believe that when I see it.
Jesus. What kind of hell had the kids at this school put her through that she was this scared and jaded?
And, more importantly, how was I going to prove to her that I’d never treat her the way ninety-five percent of this school did?
