AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His blue-green gaze was unreadable. “I have no idea why she knocked on my door in the first place,” he said, “I just know that I wasn’t going to let her in.”
I gave him a big grin. Yes, it didn’t really matter why Holly came. Zander had control of the situation and he wasn’t going to jeopardize what we had going because some ex-girlfriend knocked on his door. He could have easily opened it, let her in, and did something with her, without me knowing. I trusted him. This was just the reassurance that I was looking for, the confirmation that he didn’t want anything with her.
I waited to talk to him about this in person, because his eyes, told me the truth.
Chapter Fourteen
“Surprises create excitement. Always aim to be surprised.”
Sedona
Zander and I fell into a comfortable routine.
A text greeted me every morning, “Mornin’ my hot stuff.” On the mornings, when I had no clinicals, he usually stopped by my place with a steaming hot mocha, cinnamon rolls, and banana muffin from Yany’s Donuts before he went to class.
I sent him an electronic copy of my schedule so he had an idea of what I was doing. His schedule varied, plus he said he wasn’t as organized as I was so he couldn’t send me one. I didn’t understand how a person did not a schedule. How could they know what and how to go about their day? Kieran was like him so maybe guys just generally ‘went with the flow.’
Zander and I saw each other every other day on weekdays and on weekends. Whenever he slept over, he slept way past midnight but he managed to stay quiet in bed while I slept. In the beginning, it was not easy having him in my bed or me sleeping in his bed. He took up most of the space in my bed and he liked to put his arms around me. I had to recite Pi to its 30thinteger to actually fall asleep the first two weeks he stayed over.
He was a spontaneous guy, full of surprises. For someone like me who liked to plan and wasn’t into surprises, it was a constant battle between him and me.
I was scheduled to tutor 2 students on a Wednesday afternoon after my Critical Medical Surgical III class. I looked at the schedule and saw unfamiliar names –Tariq and Shaun. We were already in the middle of the semester so I had become acquainted with students who came in for regular tutoring services.
Tariq and Shaun were new names. Maybe, these guys failed an exam in Physiology so they needed tutoring. Anyone could come in for tutoring. All they had to do was sign up at the Information Desk.
Tariq, the first one my list, was a giant. He was like a wrestler with his towering height and bulging biceps. When he spoke, I hinted a Canadian accent. He asked me to explain the structure and function of cell proteins.
Was this guy in some advanced class? The students that I tutored in Physiology were barely learning the names of the cell proteins. I asked him if he failed an exam and he nodded his military-cut head. He listened attentively when I showed him the formula for the cell protein and how the body systems worked according to the biochemical reactions in the presence of proteins.
His eyes would glaze multiple times and he asked weird questions like, “What is your favorite food and what types of movies do you like to watch?” I answered because I thought it would get him out of his bored look. I replied with “Japanese and action-sports hero movies.” He did not take up the 45-minute tutoring time. He politely left at 4:15 PM because he had a group study to go to.
Shaun was scheduled for 4:30 PM. He came in 5 minutes after Tariq left. He had a lazy, cool, Southern California look to him. His facial profile reminded me of Tanya’s. He was blonde while Tanya was a redhead but with their deep, emerald eyes and high cheekbones, people might think they were related. Shaun said he had trouble learning the structure of the nervous system; he needed to find ways on how to study better. I gave him some pointers on how to study and he graciously nodded. I was in the middle of explaining the function of the nervous system, when he asked a question that was so out of the blue.
“What makes you nervous?”
“Huh?” I asked, completely sidetracked by his question.
“Well, we’re talking about the nervous system,” his eyes intently focused, “So, what makes you nervous?”
Maybe he wanted to take a breather off the topic, I sighed, “Being out of my comfort zone makes me nervous.”
“Oh yeah?” His eyes encouraged me to go on.
“Yes, like being asked by a total stranger like you about what makes me nervous, actually makes me nervous” my tone, challenging.
“You’re funny,” he snickered with a laugh.
I went back to explaining the nervous system and he gave me curious glances. I was about to hand him a mini-test to evaluate what he learned, when he inquired, “Where is your favorite place?”
It was a completely inappropriate question for a tutorial. I looked at him, ‘Was this guy for real?’ He put out a very friendly demeanor. He really could be Tanya’s brother, if she had a brother. Juggling work, school, friends, and Zander was taking a toll on me. So when Shaun asked that question, tranquility swept over me, thinking of favorite place, I replied, “The beach. Where the surf and sand meet. I could stare at the waters for hours and never move. Just listening to the waves as they rush to the shore, the beautiful panorama created by the water, sky, and sand, and the stretch of miles and miles of nature at its absolute beauty….that is my favorite place.”
He stared at me as he said, “Wow.”
His voice broke into my daydream and I let out a dry cough. This day was getting stranger every minute. I was always focused when I tutored. I didn’t know why I was being asked random questions by strangers. The stranger thing was that I kept answering their questions. Before I got back to the actual anatomy topic at hand, he excused himself to catch an appointment. He thanked me for my time and left.
I told Zander about the strange tutoring sessions while we were lounging on his bed. He was all ears as I described to him what had happened. He was nibbling on my palm, as I replayed the scenario, “So after Tariq, this cute guy named Shaun came in and needed tutoring for Anatomy.”
The nibbling stopped, his sharp gaze zoomed on me.
