Page 81 of Frat House Fling

“But… but Theo said you were going to give up the housing stipend for me.”

“I was,” he said solemnly, and I squeezed his arm.

“I can’t believe you were going to do that for me when you actually needed it.”

“I’ve grown pretty fond of you, Hailey. We all have.”

I barely heard that, because despite all these revelations, I was still bitter about the housing stipend. But not at him. Not anymore. “I’m sorry you went through all that trouble, only to find out that I was too dumb to make the cut.”

“And that brings us to our next agenda point,” he said mildly. “I’m going to need you to stop saying that.”

“Why? It’s true. I’m struggling in my class. And I barely passed one in the spring.”

“The spring semester in which your grandfather died? Don’t you think that might have had something to do with it?”

I shrugged. “He’s gone, yet I’m still struggling.”

“Because you’re living life on hard mode, Hailey.”

I frowned, unsure what he meant.

“It’s like in those video games we sometimes play. There’s an easy mode where you have all the luck and get supplies and resources everywhere you look. And then there’s also a hard mode, where the deck is completely stacked against you, and you have to fight for every single thing you have.” He picked up my hand and squeezed it between both of his.

“You’re living life on the hard mode, so of course you’re struggling in your classes. You’re working multiple jobs. You have been since your first day on campus. You’re worried about where you’re going to live. Howe you’re going to be able to afford books. Is it any wonder that you can’t spend as much time studying as the other students in your class? I’ve seen your light on late at night. Do you think you’re at your best in class when you’ve only had a few hours of sleep?”

I sucked in a breath. Did that mean he was Night Owl, since he knew how late I stayed up?

Unexpectedly, he brought my hand up to his mouth and planted a kiss on my knuckles. And also unexpectedly, I felt a tear roll down my face.

“Please don’t call yourself dumb, Hailey. You’ve done amazing things with far fewer resources than anyone else I know. You’re smart, hard-working, resourceful, and beautiful. I know that last one’s not something you’ve earned through hard work, but I had to say it because it’s true.”

Ian took the food bag off my lap and set it on the dashboard. He did the same to his and then he unfastened both ourseatbelts. He leaned in, reaching up to stroke my hair. “You’re not dumb,” he said softly. “You’re smart, And beautiful. And amazing, and I really want to kiss you right now. May I?”

It was still so much to process. I’d never dreamed that Ian and I had shared a similar background. I hadn’t known that anyone in that house did. But he’d done what I thought was impossible. He’d made me feel better about myself.

And I really wanted to kiss him, too.

I nodded and he cupped the back of my head, pulling me toward him. We met in the middle, our lips smashing together as I reached out for him. It was an unusual kiss with a gear shift between us and a family of ducks watching us from the pond in front of us.

Yet it was amazing. He took his time, exploring my mouth. Pulling me close. Showing me, this time without using words, that he cared.

When he finally let me go, he smiled and his tongue pushed out between his teeth, the way it sometimes did when he was studying. “You taste like chicken,” he said with a gentle smile.

“Do I?” I smiled back at him. “Are you sure? Maybe you’d better check again to be sure.”

“Gladly,” he said, and he pulled me close again.

He took the long route back, both so we could see the mountains and so we’d have more time to talk. I had so many questions about him—things I’d never dared to ask before.

“Does this—your past, I mean—have anything to do with why your room is so bare?”

He glanced away from the road ahead for just a second. “You’re perceptive.”

“It does?” I’d just taken a shot in the dark.

“Yeah. I do have a little more money to call my own these days. I worked last summer, and I’ve done some tutoring and a few things online, and I apply for every grant and stipend out there. Plus, I don’t have to worry so much about money because my best friends have my back. But I’ve seen other people, when I’ve gone back to visit my mom. Our hometown isn’t in the best shape. And sometimes I’ve seen it happen that when people finally get a little money of their own, after a lifetime of being poor, they go overboard. They buy too much stuff and never get rid of what they have.”

“Because they remember what it felt like to have nothing.”

---