Chapter 3 #2
I want to ask her more questions, but I want to be the only one to know the answers. What she likes, doesn’t like. She fascinates me, and I want to know all about her. I want to know her. And lucky for me, I’ll get my chance.
After dinner, Silas went to his room to play video games, and Charlie went to her room to call Beck again.
I know it’s hard on them, being apart this year.
So, I’m sitting on the oversize chair we have in the family room, watching SportsCenter with Casey, Noelle, and Chelsea.
Well, Casey and I are watching, and the girls are talking about something else.
I keep sneaking glances at Chelsea though.
She’s in leggings and a T-shirt that shows a sliver of her stomach.
Her long, dark hair looks a little wild, and her legs are curled under her while she speaks animatedly to Noelle.
But it’s her eyes that mesmerize me. They’re green, and they practically sparkle when she smiles.
Chelsea Sullivan might just be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
She catches me looking at her and smiles softly. When she looks back at Noelle, she leans in for a hug. And I’m jealous.
“I’d better get going. I have some work to do before I get to bed tonight. You’re staying here, right?” she asks Noelle.
“Yes, I’m staying here tonight, unless you want me to come with you.” Noelle stands when Chelsea stands from the couch.
“Don’t be silly. Stay. I’m good, I promise.” She walks toward the door and slips her shoes on.
Seeing this as my chance to talk to her alone for the first time tonight, I get up from the chair before she can leave. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
She stops for a second and looks at me. “Oh, okay, thanks.”
I don’t bother looking at Casey and Noelle. I’m sure they’re wondering why I’m walking her out. “No problem.”
I open the door for her, and she walks out before me.
We’re halfway down the walkway when she speaks. “You don’t have to walk me to my car. It’s literally right in front of the house.” She looks up at me.
“No problem at all. But I do have a reason to.” I glance at her, smirking.
“Oh, yeah? What’s the reason?” She turns to face me when we reach her car.
I clear my throat. “Well, it looks like we’ll be spending more time together, so I wanted to talk to you about it so we could coordinate our schedules.”
She looks confused. “What do you mean? Because I come over?”
“Not that. Um, it looks like you’re my tutor.” I hold out my hands.
“Your tutor? For what?” she asks, shaking her head.
“Well, long story, but my advisor made a mistake, and I guess I needed to take a psychology class my freshman year, but didn’t. So, now, I’m in the class, and it’s not exactly in my comfort zone, so I pretty much bombed the first quiz.” I put my hands in my pockets and look down.
“Oh. Wow, okay. Not what I was expecting.” She laughs.
“What were you expecting?” I ask, hoping maybe she was wanting me to ask her out. Because I want to do that too.
“I’m not sure, but I’m just surprised you need tutoring. You seem like you have your shit together, and I know y’all need to keep your grades up to play.” She shrugs and looks down at her shuffling feet.
“Yes, we do, which is exactly why I need your help.” I bend down to try and catch her eye.
“Just because you want me to be your tutor doesn’t mean I automatically am.”
“Oh. You’re right. Coach gave me your number so I assumed—”
“I have to accept you as someone I’m willing to work with.”
The side of my mouth tips up at the challenge. I kind of like the hard-to-get attitude, even if it’s as my tutor. I give her the California charm. “Well, to start, I’m great company.”
She raises a brow. “You think so, huh?”
“I’m charming, courteous, and an excellent conversationalist.”
Her lips twitch like she’s holding back a smile. “That’s three. Got anything else on your résumé?”
“Plenty. I’m punctual, I listen well, I smell amazing, and I’m very easy on the eyes.” I flash her my most practiced grin.
That finally earns me a laugh. “You smell amazing?”
“Don’t take my word for it.” I lean just a little closer. “Go ahead. Check for yourself.”
She shoves my shoulder with a laugh, cheeks pink. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And fun. Don’t forget fun. I’m basically the full package.”
“Full package?” She folds her arms, smirking. “You realize you’re trying to sell yourself for a study session, right?”
“Hey, if I’m this good at convincing you to tutor me, just imagine how great I’ll be at acing psychology.”
Chelsea looks up and meets my gaze. “All right, Bo Callaway, I’ll help you get your grade up.” She laughs, then turns to walk to the driver’s side of the car, and I follow. “Do you have your phone on you?”
I pull my phone out of my pocket, pushing the Post-it Note with her number off it first. I don’t know why I don’t want her to know I have it. But for some reason, I want her to give it to me. “Yep.”
She tells me her number, and I tap it into my phone while she speaks.
“Got it. Thank you.” I drop my phone back into my pocket.
Nodding, she opens her car door. “Text me so I have your number. When I get home, I’ll send you some dates and times, and we’ll schedule the first session. Does that work?”
I grab the top of the door and hold it open while she gets into the car. “Sounds good. Thank you, Chelsea.” I bend down so she doesn’t have to look up.
“No problem. That’s what I get paid for.” She giggles. “I’m guessing the guys don’t know about it, and that’s why you didn’t bring it up earlier?”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I’m not embarrassed or anything. I just want to take care of it privately, if that makes sense.”
She looks at me for a long second and nods. “I get that. The need for privacy. I won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Thanks, Chelsea. Don’t forget to text me your availability tonight. Coach wants me to get started as soon as possible so I’m ready for the next test.” I mean, it’s not a lie, but also, I want to talk to her some more.
“I won’t forget.”
She reaches for the handle to pull the door closed, but I wave her off and close the door for her.
When she starts the car, I step away so she can pull out of the spot on the street. She smiles at me as she passes, and I raise my hand to wave goodbye.
Once her taillights are gone from my view, I text her a simple, ‘Hi, it’s Bo,’ then walk back into the house. Casey and Noelle must have gone to bed, which I’m kind of grateful for. I don’t really want to answer questions.
I lock the door to the house since it seems everyone is in for the night.
Then I grab a water bottle from the refrigerator before going to my room.
I pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time to see if it’s a good time to call my dad.
The sooner I can get this over with, the better.
I push on his Contact, and he answers on the second ring.
“Hello, son. I figured you might be calling me today.” He chuckles.
“Hey, Dad.” I close my bedroom door and then lie down on my bed. “You did, did you?” I smile.
I get along with both of my parents and my two sisters, Savannah and Caroline, who are still in high school, and generally, their approval makes my life …
easier. I’ve been in some sort of spotlight my entire life, between football and my dad’s career.
But also, my dad’s family is wealthy and fairly well known in California, regardless of his status as a Supreme Court judge.
“I assume you knew about the show before today, right?” he asks.
“We knew at the end of last year that it was a possibility, but since we didn’t hear anything, I thought maybe it was dead in the water. You found out before me, I take it?” I shake my head even though he can’t see me.
He lets out a deep laugh. “I did. But you know that’s part of the process.
It’s a pretty standard media agreement. You know by now what you can and can’t say regarding the family, so I’m not worried about that.
According to the contract, you should be able to have some privacy, but, Bo, they are going to be on you the whole time.
You understand that, right? This is a big year for you, and you have a lot of eyes watching. ”
As if I don’t know. I can handle the pressure pretty well, but when he puts it like this … yeah, it becomes real.
“I know. I’m not worried about it. Hopefully, it will be fun, but for my sake and my roommates’, I don’t want them here at the house.”
“The house is off-limits, so you should be okay. I think you or one of your roommates has to agree to them coming into the house. Just make sure no one allows it.” He laughs.
“Yeah, no. Casey’s pretty private, as is his sister, and Silas already said he doesn’t want them here because his room is messy.” We both laugh, and then I clear my throat. “There is something else I need to talk to you about.”
“Okay … what’s going on?” he asks.
“I know you’ll get notified, but I wanted to be the one to tell you that I need to work with a tutor to get my psychology grade up.
We had one quiz that I didn’t do well on, so Coach has set me up with a tutor so I don’t lose my eligibility.
” I pause. “I’m not worried about it, and Coach isn’t either.
Plus, I know my tutor, so it should be fine. ”
My dad sighs. “Bo, really? Psychology?”
“I know. I’m still annoyed that I have to take it at all.” I sit up in the bed and swing my legs to the side.
“Right. Makes no sense, but you do what you have to. Regardless of where you get drafted, you know we want you to finish your degree,” he says pointedly.
“Yes, I know, and I want to. My football career won’t last forever.” As much as I hate to think it, it’s true.
“No distractions this year, Bo. You hear me?” I can hear him moving papers around. “I have to run. Call your mother later to say hello. She misses you.”
“Will do. Talk to you later, Dad.”
“Love you, son,” he says before he hangs up, not waiting for my response.
That went better than I’d thought it would. I’ve always had good grades, and my parents expect it of me and my sisters. Not doing well in school is just flat-out unacceptable. So, I think that’s why his lack of lecture surprises me.
I stand up from my bed and walk out of my room. Now that the call is done, I’m anxious to hear from Chelsea. Walking into the kitchen, I go into the pantry and grab my secret stash of Twizzlers. I don’t eat a lot of processed sugar, but Twizzlers are something I could never give up.
After pulling off five ropes, I put the bag back in my secret spot and walk back to my room, eating the whole bunch as I go. With my free hand, I grab my bag off the floor and set it on my bed. I need to pull out my practice gear before it stinks up my bag for days.
I finish my Twizzlers, then unzip my bag, taking everything out I need to wash.
I set my phone on the bed beside my bag so I can see when Chelsea texts.
I’m not usually the kind of guy who waits for a girl to make the first move.
When I want to talk to someone, I call or text.
But there’s something about Chelsea that makes me want to let her set the pace.
Maybe it’s because she’s not like anyone else.
She doesn’t fake laugh at my jokes just to boost my ego.
She smirks, then fires back with one of her own, which is usually sharper than mine.
I’ve watched her stop in the middle of a crowded hallway to help a freshman who dropped an armful of books.
I’ve seen her turn down a party invite without hesitation because she had a test the next morning.
And the way her whole face lights up when she laughs?
That’s the kind of thing you don’t forget, no matter how much you try.
Plus, there’s something reserved about her. Like she has a little secret, and I’m intrigued as all hell to learn what it is she hides behind that smile.
I look down at my phone again before I leave my room to go start a load of laundry.
If she doesn’t text tonight before my alarm goes off to signal my bedtime, I’ll text her first thing in the morning.
Or maybe not first thing because I’m not sure if she’s an early riser, like me, so maybe by, like, nine a.m. Totally reasonable.