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“If he can’t see how special you are, he’s an idiot,” I said plainly, because I was tired of girls falling for idiots that didn’t know their worth.
“Hey.” Tanner’s smooth voice made me jump. He was close to my ear, and grinning. It was the first time I’d seen him since he kissed me, and my legs trembled a little. When I caught his eye, things got worse. My stomach rumbled with something other than hunger. Well, hunger for food at least. Did this have to do with my period coming? Because I was acting like a dog in heat, panting over a guy that was only talking to me because I was helping him get his grades up. “Sorry for interrupting.”
He backed away. His hair was wet, and as he flicked it over his shoulder, I could have sworn I felt some of the wetness across my chest, but that was physically impossible. He was just too far away. What was wrong with me?
“Oh my god. Are you Tanner Joyce?” Hazel squealed, getting up from her chair. Typical Freshman reaction. She thought the guy was a celebrity. She held her hand out. “I’m Hazel. It’s an absolute honor to meet you.”
Tanner looked over her head and gave me a sarcastic smile before taking her hand and throwing her a brilliant, beautiful smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Hazel.”
She let out a squeal that kind of sounded like a deflated balloon, but I watched on with curiosity because not once did Tanner embarrass her for fan-girling over him. He was so graceful, stoic, even, and it surprised me because I would have thought a guy like him would use this reaction to his advantage.
“I’m sorry to bother you guys. I just wanted to let you know I got here a little early, and I’ll wait for you over in the historical fiction section.”
I gave him a smile, and before I could respond, Hazel looked at the two of us. “Wait a minute. Do yoututorhim now? After he rejected you?” Then she shut her mouth faster than a trap door because she knew I would kill her for that.
Moving her to Kinsey’s study group seemed a lot more likely now. “I didn’t mean. I, I.”
Because I was somewhat of a sadist, I enjoyed watching her tremble with fear over what to say to me next, but Tanner was too nice for it. He immediately chuckled. “I didn’t reject her. Far from it. Isn’t that right, Sweetness?”
“Call me Sweetness one more time and I’ll spray paint your car with bright pink penises.”
“See. That’s why Sweetness works…. It’s ironic.”
“Surprised you know what that means.” I lifted a brow, unable to hold back my smile. Were we making jokes? And enjoying each other’s company? When the hell did this happen?
“I can go.” Hazel pointed her thumb behind her shoulder. “Feels like I’m interrupting something.”
“Don’t worry. Tanner’s here early. He can wait. Sit down. I’ve got to review your answers before you go.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll just be over there if you need me.” Tanner pointed at the empty table.
“I won’t,” I sang.
When I finally finished up with Hazel, and Tanner made his way over. I didn’t know what to do or where to look.
“You ready for me, Teach?”
Pfft. Was I ready for him? No. Of course I wasn’t. Because I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t go near an athlete after Connor. Yet, here I was, making the same mistake again.
“Teach?” I grumbled, looking at his nose instead of his eyes so it looked like I was giving him eye contact. Looking at him would be too much otherwise.
“Well, you didn’t like Boss, so I needed to give you something.”
“And you thought Teach would be good?” I raised a brow, trying to sound nonchalant and disinterested, but it was hard because I found him endearing.
“You, and thankfully you can’t do anything about it. Everyone knows you’re only allowed one nickname veto. You’ve had yours, so now you’re going to have to live with this, Teach.”
I shook my head and blinked a few times because he was giving me mild whiplash. “Fine. You can call me whatever you want.”
He pulled his fist into his stomach and hissed out, “Yes.”
“You didn’t let me finish. You can call me whatever you want, as long as you can talk me through the Sports Marketing class you had today.”
I fully expected his smile to drop at the request, but it didn’t. Instead, his lips pressed together, holding back a smirk. “Okay, Teach. I’ll talk you through it.”
Pushing his books aside, he gave me that devastating smile again. I ignored that my breath caught a little, blaming that on allergies instead of how gooey inside it made me. I would not fall for another athlete I was tutoring. I’d learned my lesson.
