Chapter 7
SEVEN
My new tutor didn’t seem too excited to work with me.
It was our first official session, and I had to admit I was a bit thrown by her cold shoulder. I didn’t expect everyone to bend over backward for me, but I was used to most people being excited to at least be around me.
She seemed like she’d been sucking on a sour lemon all day at simply being near me, which seemed completely at odds with how kind and understanding she’d been when we first met a few days ago.
I discreetly tucked my nose toward my armpit while she was distracted writing down a math problem for me and took a whiff. I didn’t stink.
I rubbed my hand over my chin and then moved it to cover my mouth and nose and let out a silent breath. Nope, my breath was minty fresh.
So why was she acting like I suddenly had the plague and she wanted to be anywhere but sitting next to me?
She’d held her body stiff and her face pinched when we’d first started, but the longer we worked and the more focused she became on the math in front of her, the more her face softened and I couldn’t stop staring at her.
She had walnut-brown hair with lighter shades throughout that seemed natural. It fell in soft waves past her shoulders, although she’d had it up in a ponytail when we first met. I liked it better down.
Her face was clear and looked incredibly smooth. Apart from some mascara, I didn’t think she was wearing any makeup. If she was, it was definitely a natural look. But what captivated me were her big brown eyes. There was something familiar about them that I couldn’t put my finger on.
I was sure I would remember if we’d met, so it couldn’t be that, but I wasn’t sure what it was about her that made me feel like I’d been lost in her eyes before.
She hadn’t been wearing glasses when we first met, but she was today. They were simple, thin, black frames that sat on the bridge of her button nose and made her look nerdy hot.
Like a sexy librarian.
Especially with her curves. She had small breasts, but what she lacked up top, she more than made up for with her round ass.
I’d always been a butt guy, and now that I wasn’t buried under anxiety like I was the first day we met, I was having a hard time keeping my thoughts focused on math and not how she looked in her black shorts that stopped mid-thigh but showed off the curve of her behind followed by smooth, lightly tanned legs.
She didn’t seem comfortable with me, but there was something about her that made me feel safe. Something familiar and warm, like a memory that flickered just out of reach.
But it wasn’t really a memory—more like a dream. Because there was no way I’d forget this girl.
Regardless, the last thing I needed was a crush on my tutor. I needed her help with math, and I needed her discretion which meant I couldn’t piss her off.
More importantly, I didn’t have time to date.
But despite telling myself that I couldn’t be attracted to my tutor, I also couldn’t help but try to get to know her. Unfortunately, she seemed determined to stonewall me at every turn.
If I asked her a question about her favorite color or what she did on her days off, I got nothing but a redirection to a math problem.
If I asked her how her day was, I got a “fine.”
She either took her job extremely seriously or she genuinely didn’t like me for reasons I didn’t know or understand. I decided to ease up on my attempts, considering we’d be working together for the next seven weeks.
I’d have plenty of time to get to know her, especially since she’d recommended we meet three times a week instead of just two.
When she looked at me again, the cool detachment was back in her eyes. “Okay, let’s try this one.”
She pointed down to the paper, and it took more effort than it should have to pull my attention away from her and to the paper on the table in front of us.
I tried to focus, but the numbers jumbled and didn’t make sense.
Picking up on my unease, she walked me through the steps we’d already gone over several times.
I swallowed thickly, stress sweat starting to bead at my temples as I looked down at the page. Under the table, I tried to use my fingers to count.
It was supposed to be a simple sequencing problem—or at least that’s what she said when she put it in front of me—but there was nothing simple about it.
My cheeks heated as embarrassment flowed like hot lava through my body, and I wished with desperation it would burn me up.
There was no point in finding Abby attractive because I had no doubt after today’s session, she’d realize how dumb I really was and never give me the time of day.
Popularity and athleticism probably didn’t matter to a woman as smart as she was.
I was the top hockey player in the state—although a player from Montana State’s team was hot on my heels—and yet simple math made me feel like a complete idiot.
But worst of all, it made me feel like an idiot in front of her.
I’d never wanted to disappear more than I did right that moment.
If I thought she was cold before, I had no doubt she’d get even worse now that she knew my secret shame.
Instead, she surprised me. Her voice softened and she leaned a little closer, close enough for me to catch a whiff of her fresh, citrus scent. “It’s okay, Foster. Walk me through what’s going on in your head.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, keeping my eyes locked on the numbers on the page. The last thing I wanted was to meet her gaze and see the same frustration and disappointment I’d seen a hundred times before from teachers and even my own parents.
But Abby’s voice stayed gentle. “What do you see when you look at the problem?”
I exhaled slowly. “A bunch of numbers that don’t make any sense.” I forced a laugh, trying to downplay the shame pressing in on me, but she didn’t laugh with me. She didn’t even look annoyed.
She just nodded like that was a perfectly reasonable answer. She looked down at the problem, her brow furrowed, and I could practically see the wheels in her head turning.
“I wonder…” she murmured, more to herself than me.
She opened her laptop and started typing something, leaning toward the screen like she was searching for something in particular. Her eyes lit up a little and I guessed she’d found what she was after.
She glanced at me. “Do the numbers move? Flip around?”
I frowned, my heart starting to race with nerves. “What?”
“Do you ever look at a number and it switches places on you? Or maybe you think it’s one number, but it turns out to be another?”
I blinked at her, caught off guard that she’d actually pegged what happened in my head so quickly. “Uh, yeah…sometimes eights and threes get mixed up. And sixes and nines.” I felt stupid admitting it, but she didn’t react like it was weird.
She nodded and then looked back at her computer screen, asking me another question, like what I’d just told her was completely normal. “What about sequencing? Like, if I gave you a list of numbers to put in order, would that be difficult?”
My gut twisted, and reluctantly I admitted, “Yeah.”
She nodded again, completely unfazed. “What about word problems? Do they make more sense than just numbers on a page, or are they just as confusing?”
I hesitated. No one had ever asked me this many questions about how I struggled before. They’d just told me to try harder. Study longer. “Word problems are a little easier. At least then I can try to picture what’s happening.”
“That tracks,” she murmured, tapping her pencil against the paper, her focus still locked on her screen.
I didn’t even know what she meant.
All I knew was she wasn’t looking at me like I was dumb.
She wasn’t frustrated or impatient. She was…thinking. Like she actually cared about what I said and was trying to figure out how to help.
For the first time since I sat down, my chest didn’t feel so tight.
Abby adjusted her glasses and gave me a small smile, the first one she’d sent my way all session. “Okay, I’ve got an idea. We’ll take a different approach next time. Something that might work better for you.”
I stared at her, waiting for the frustration to set in, for her to roll her eyes and tell me I was just making excuses, but she didn’t.
She just looked at me like I wasn’t broken.
Like I wasn’t stupid.
Something in my chest eased, and for the first time in my life, I left a tutoring session without feeling like a total idiot.