Page 16 of Laugh

Marcus: Title?

Me: You Drive a Hard Bargain.

Marcus: I’m giggling.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Three hours of pulling lecture slides, recordings, and reference materials has me absolutely beat. It wasn’t the actual work itself that was draining, because this is what I do almost daily. Instead, it was the constant, active vocal restraint to watch what I say and how I acted in front of Beau.

You’d probably think that the more ‘normal’ I behaved, the easier our conversation would ebb and flow. Unfortunately for me, this wasn’t the case. Beau rarely took his eyes off me while I flitted around the table to work with each of his guys. He has this permanent crease between his brows now from how hard he has been frowning at me.

When Antoine made the comment ‘it’s so hard’, I bit my tongue to hold back my automatic ‘that’s what she said’. It took everything in me to stay silent andnotlaugh when Colton managed the comment a few seconds after I would have.

I’d be willing to bet that my face turned red from the strain. A quick glance at Beau showed narrowed, considering eyes, like he was just waiting for it. Waiting for me to crack another joke, yet again. When I said nothing, instead of him relaxing, one of those muscles in his jaw popped in irritation.

I’ll need to remember to add that to one of my books. It’s sexy as hell.

“Haddie? I don’t think these slides are the right lecture. This is talking about shit we never touched on last semester.” Colton looks defeated as he clicks through them.

Looking away from Beau’s intense stare, I sit next to Colton and grab his syllabus to verify the class number with his professor’s outline. Then I examine the notes and attendance history and see that this was one of the multiple lectures he missed when he skipped class.

Giving him a reassuring smile, I’m gentle with my delivery. “Colton, thisisthe correct one. I’ll help you work through it, but this is one of the first topics you missed when she covered it in class. It looks like it will teach you some of the basic theory foundations, which, if you nail these, should make the rest of the work easier. Don’t feel frustrated by it. I’ll go over it with you, then you can practice by completing the assignment. I think you’ll find the remaining work to be a lot easier going forward. We got this, alright?”

My heart goes out to the kid when he lets out the longest sigh, sounding completely defeated. “I fucking hate this shit.”

Chuckling softly, I pat him on the shoulder. “It’s not so bad. We’ve got all summer. One step at a time, buddy.” Taking the computer mouse from him, I move the slide back to the first one. “Start here. Read through the notes and the corresponding pages in your textbook. Then practice the problems that she demonstrates until you can solve them without looking at the answers. Move through them slowly. I’ll help you with this first one.”

Colton gives me a weary smile and nods his head, pulling his notebook closer and clicking his pen to start writing. Glancing over at Beau, I see him dart his eyes away from me and back to his computer, where he types quickly. He’s been keeping track of everything I’ve set up for his boys, so they’ve now got a written plan laid out as a guide for the next few months.

Tyler calls me to him next, and once I’ve got him situated, I lean back in my chair and rub the back of my neck. My muscles are tight from the stress of the day, and I’m beginning to feel stabby. Hunger can be a torturous bitch.

“Sorry. This is taking longer than we planned.” Beau’s voice was unexpected and I jerk my eyes up to his, noting his worry that I’m upset. “You doing okay?”

Nodding, I force a smile. “I’m all good, Captain.” The boys snicker at my nickname for their coach, and my smile turns genuine when Beau delivers a small kick to their shins.

I’m impressed with Beau’s firmness with them, and it’s clear that even though they push the line with their teasing, they have a ton of respect for him. It makes me curious what his job actually entails. I attended a few games when I went to school here, but not since I was hired as staff. Basic concepts of the game are easy enough to follow, throw the ball around and get it into the end zone. It’s the rules and technicalities that elude me. I want to ask him to explain it all, not because the game is fascinating, but because I’m curious about whathedoes.

“Alright guys. I think we’ve used up enough of Miss Byer’s time this afternoon. Do any of you have any questions or concerns before we call it a day?” He eyes each one of them and probably notices the same thing that I do. They’re exhausted. Both physically and mentally. Practice all morning, then hours staring at lectures. It would be taxing on anyone.

The four of them all shake their heads and look relieved to be done for the day. Teasing them, I elbow Tyler with a smile. “You all don’t need to look so happy to be rid of me.”

The kid towers over me, even with both of us sitting, and when he looks down at me to respond, I notice his eyes drop to my chest. Beau’s warning growl has Tyler’s eyes shooting as far away from me as possible. He clears his throat, but doesn’t answer me.

That was… unexpected. Not that he looked at my cleavage, but that Beau reacted in that way. Probably for no other reason than it’s inappropriate, but it makes me feel good that he felt the need to warn them to begin with.

With an aggressive bite to his voice, he snaps out, “Pack your shit up. Do the work before you all meet up with Miss Byer next week. She’ll let me know if you’re not prepared.”

Surprised, I look at Beau. “You’re not going to be here when we meet again?”

I’m disappointed when he’s quick to shake his head. “No. I’ll check in down the road, but they’re big boys. They know they need to handle their shit and what the expectations are. You ready to go?”

I know he’s not my biggest fan, and that I shouldn’t feel hurt by his dismissal and eagerness to be rid of me, but I am. I’m not sure what I expected, but this is a favor for him. I’m bummed that seeing him isn’t inhisplan over the foreseeable future.

Pushing aside the irritation with him, which I can admit he doesn’t deserve, I’m overly chipper with my answer. “Yup!” I say a quick goodbye to the boys and confirm the next time I’ll meet with them, so we’re all on the same schedule. Standing up, I grab my bag and smile at Beau. “Ready when you are, Cap.”

Eyeing me curiously, he says a gruff goodbye to his team, and without waiting, heads toward the exit of the library. I feel a bit foolish chasing after him and briefly consider just bussing it home, but the next one doesn’t run for another forty minutes and I reallyamhungry.

It’s nice to see that he eventually remembers I’m trailing behind him when he stops at the door to hold it open for me. Mumbling out a “Thank you,” I skirt past him and speed walk to his vehicle. I consider again to offer I take the bus, but I’m selfish. I also don’t think my ego could handle him saying yes.

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