Page 9 of Surviving You, Scotch and Sammy 1

His eyes snap back to mine. “Hell no. I already hate math. I especially don’t want to do extra and have to talk to a nerd about it.”

Ouch. “Okay. Well.” I angle my body away in an attempt to escape, but his big hands grab onto my elbow to stop me.

“Wait up, Sammy. I haven’t seen you since fourth period. I missed your pretty face.”

And now I remember why I shouldn’t have been making plans with this guy. He already fancies himself in love. I don’t need ties to keep me in this town. “I gotta go, okay? I have things to do.”

He releases my elbow reluctantly and steps back an inch. “Well shit, Ricci. That was your fastest rejection yet.” His words are a soft murmur drowned in disappointment, and if I allowed myself to believe he actually has feelings for me, I’d believe that I just hurt him. “You’re getting better at this. I’m not sure I like that… I’ll see you in home room tomorrow then?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry, Turner.” I step away and fix the straps of my school bag on my shoulders. I’m sorry that I hurt him, even if I think he’s full of shit. “Tomorrow. Have fun studying.”

“Yeah.” He takes a second reluctant step away, then a third. “Sleep tight, Sammy.”

“See you.” I nod toward his books. “Good luck with your studying.” Then I walk away before he can say another word. I squeeze between rows of books in an effort to escape as fast as possible. I’m a nerd, and I don’t have room in my life for distractions.

I pass Angelo on the way out, and his smile vanishes once he focuses on my face. His lips turn up at the side, not in a smile, but in disappointment. “See ya, Sammy.”

“Bye, Ang.” I escape out the automatic doors and into the school courtyard, and I squint as the sun blinds me. I turn left, intending to hide out near the parking lot alone for a while, but I come to a screeching halt as big hands close around my arm and my stupid traitorous stomach flips.

“Sammy, wait.”

I turn and look up into baby blue eyes with disgustingly long lashes. Women would kill for lashes like that.

“Turner?”

“You math.”

I… “What?”

“I saw your test results in class last week.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I was snooping over your shoulder.”

“Oh.” I laugh a little awkwardly. “Okay.”

“You got ninety-seven percent.”

“Yep. Pi screwed me over. I know the right answer, but I messed it up.”

“You could tutor me.”

So close! But that wasn’t a question. “I could?”

“Sure. You got ninety-seven percent. You’re a genius.”

“A genius…” I lift a brow and smile what I hope looks flirty and not constipated. “Or a nerd?”

“Prettiest nerd I ever met,” he murmurs and steps closer to me. “Will you tutor me, Sammy? I could really do with the help, and there’s no one in the world I’d rather spend my time with.”

I frown again as his soft words wrap me up tight like a warm blanket. “Why are you so nice to me, Turner? No one else is.”

“Everyone else is a dumb shit, but that works for me, because I don’t want anyone else to get any bright ideas about asking you out.”

“But why?”

“Because I love you.”

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