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My mind was reeling, and every time I tried to focus, I couldn’t.
Hazel pushed a piece of paper over to me, smiling. “I think you’re going to be proud of me.” Her voice was full of high hopes and eagerness, and I felt a little bad that I was so distracted when she was working so hard.
“I’m already proud of you, Hazel. You’ve come so far.” Now that was a truth I could get behind, because she was doing amazing, and I was almost certain she’d progressed to a point that I felt like she might not need my help anymore.
Hazel grinned. “Thanks, but really, I think you’ll be impressed.”
I nodded, ready to be a better tutor, but as I looked down at her paper, I couldn’t see the words she’d written. The only thing I could read was ‘Tanner, Tanner, Tanner, Tanner.’
Blinking a couple of times, I hoped that would bring my sanity back, but nope. All I saw was Tanner’s name written in Hazel’s writing.
Was this what it felt like to have a crush? My stomach was rolling. And for some crazy reason, everything led back to Tanner. He’s somehow stolen my concentration, and I didn’t know what to do about it.
“You know what? I’m going to mark this at home and send you feedback via email. Is that okay? Hazel couldn’t hide her disappointment, but she bit her lip and nodded. “Why don’t we have a conversation in French? Can you tell me about your plans for the weekend?”
“Sure.”
Unfortunately for Hazel, I’d zoned out again and only picked up the last few words of her sentence. It was something about a canoe. I smiled and nodded, gesturing her to tell me more because I couldn’t exactly ask questions. She kept talking, and my mind kept drifting back to the best kiss of my life.
Tanner kissed me, and it was all I could think about since he did it.
Hard and demanding, it all felt a little too short for how much I’d been thinking about it since. My lips pulsed at the memory, but I tried to keep myself in check.
Tanner didn’t kiss me because hewantedto. He was making a point to everyone in that room. Oh, and did he make a point, alright.
Connor had been calling me obsessively over the last few days, leaving messages about how we needed to talk, and that my new ‘boyfriend wasn’t right for me. What would he know? He was a terrible boyfriend, but I’d rather not give him the dignity of that title.
What the hell am I doing?
It was like Tanner had become my latest obsession and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I wanted to scrub my face with my hand, hoping that would scrub away his memory, but I couldn’t. Not without giving it away to Hazel that I hadn’t been listening.
I closed my eyes in my final desperate attempt to forget about Tanner, but it was a mistake. Now, all I could think about were the photos of Tanner I’d googled, and his abs. Honestly, I’d never watched football, but seeing Tanner wearing a little midriff shirt as he threw a ball sounded more enticing than I liked to admit, and I was regretting declining those box tickets he offered before.
“So, I heard something,” Hazel piped up, and I knew by the look on her face that it was about Tanner, and that night. She tried to hide her smile with pursed lips, but I could see it. “Or at least Alex on the hockey team told me something, and I don’t know if I can believe it or not.”
“What did he say?”
She looked around before leaning over the desk to get a little closer. “He said that Tanner defended your honor at some sorority party last week.” Mhm, that was the milder version of what I’d heard because apparently, Tanner had threatened Connor’s life if he ever uttered my name again, and I was here for it.
I remember his face so vividly at the moment he clutched Connor’s shirt. It was dark and menacing, a look I never expected from a guy like him. And it was because he was defendingme.
I shrugged, acting nonchalant because inside I was screaming. I’d never had a guy become so possessive, and even though I knew it was all an act, that didn’t mean I couldn’t relish in it for a little while longer. “It was nothing. I’m sure any guy would do the same for you if your ex was talking crap.”
Her lips clamped together tightly, and she looked at the table, nodding quickly. “Yeah, I’m sure.” Hazel’s usually light eyes darkened, but any concern was quickly brushed away. “He kissed you too, right?”
“Yeah,” I drawled out, wishing she hadn’t brought it up. I went all of two minutes not thinking about it, and now my lips were pulsing, craving more.
“How’d you do it?”
“Do what?”
Her cheeks tinged red. “Get him thinking you were something more than a geeky friend?”
“I don’t think I did,” I answered honestly. “I think that’s what he likes about me. Really, our relationship is built on friendship.” It was the closest I could get to the truth without explicitly telling the truth. That we were just friends. We’ll always be just friends, but no one except me and Tanner needed to know that.
“Is there any reason you wanted to know?”
Biting her lip, she shook her head vigorously. “No, I, uh, guess I just have this crush on a guy, but he’s never really been interested in me.” She tried to play it off, but I could see it was hurting her. She played with her curly hair and looked away.
