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Three seconds later, that one’s gone too. And then the third one a couple seconds after that.
“Alright,” he says, licking his fingers. “Let’s do this.”
“Sure,” I say, trying not to sound nervous. Because suddenly I’m aware of the pressure of this undertaking, and helping Sebastian get his grades up. Like,way upfrom where they are now.
Also, the fact I’m about to be alone with Sebastian Murdoch for two solid hours.
Chapter Twelve
Seb
Igrabmybackpackfrom beside the counter and motion with a jerk of my head for Caroline to follow me up the wide concrete staircase just off the kitchen. “Alright. See you guys later,” I call to my folks. “We’re heading upstairs to—”
“You’re not working in your room,” Dale cuts me off.
I halt in my tracks. “What?”
“You heard me,” Dale says calmly.
I’m really hoping I didn’t. Because if so, this is a whole new level of micro-parenting I’m not at all thrilled about. “Seriously?” I can feel Caroline hovering just behind me, presumably waiting for my cue on which direction to head.
“Yes, seriously,” Dale says, and I can tell he means business. He’s usually the lenient dad.
“This is bullshit,” I scoff.
“Your grades are bullshit,” he deadpans. He points to his left. “Use the dining room table. There’s way more space there, anyway. Nice clear flat surface to work on.”
I turn and brush past Caroline, eyebrows raised at Dale as I head toward the dining room. “I mean, as long as you’re sure you trust me not to boink the tutor on the dining room table, since you obviously think I’m—”
Graham reaches across the counter and smacks the side of my head playfully with a rolled up napkin. At least, I assume he does it playfully. It’s an embroidered napkin: how serious can you be smacking someone upside the head with an oversized doily?
“Don’t be a smart-ass,” he scoffs. Then, to Caroline, he says. “Please know this has nothing to do with you, Caroline. And everything to do with Seb’s track record of getting distracted at the slightest opportunity. Let’s just say he can be—”
“It’s totally fine,” Caroline rushes to cut him off, like she’s embarrassed by the whole exchange. But also like she’s relieved that Dale is keeping us from going up to my bedroom alone.
Which—come on. Seriously? Does she think I’m gonna pounce on her the second we get within a couple feet of a bed and a closed door?
I glance behind me in time to catch her eyes dart from my dad, back to me and then to the ground as she follows behind me like a skittish mouse.
Yup, that’s exactly what she thought.
Fucking wonderful. Seems like everyone, including my parents, thinks I’m incapable of being alone with a girl for ten minutes without trying to get in her pants.
Caroline goes back to craning her neck and ooh-ing and ah-ing as we enter the dining room, which is basically a giant glass box perpendicular to the kitchen, with views of the ocean on two sides, a large outdoor seating area on another side, and a view back into the rest of the house from the other.
I set Caroline’s backpack on the table for her, and she starts unpacking it right away, hauling out a couple of textbooks and a pencil case. She glances at me almost wearily as I unpack my stuff and set it on the table. A bunch of crumpled pieces of paper and old assignments and energy bar wrappers fall out, too, which I stuff back in my bag.
Way to make a great first impression, Murdoch.
I pull a chair closer to where Caroline is sitting, and she shifts uncomfortably, totally avoiding eye contact.
“You okay?” I ask, studying her as I fish my phone out of my pocket and place it on the table between us.
“I’m fine. Why?” She still won’t look at me.
I shrug. “You seem really nervous or something.”
Actually, she legit looks worried I’m gonna mug her. But she whips her head around now to face me, and her eyes go from distressed to offended to self-conscious in a span of maybe two seconds flat.
