Page 22 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

I drop on my couch with my calculus textbooks. I spent all of last night color-coding the best exercises in there with stickers and Post-its. I need to figure out TJ’s level, and then once I’ve identified the source of his difficulty, I can work on a plan to get his grades back up.

I’m just glad my siblings aren’t coming home from school until later today. I don’t want them to get the wrong idea.

I put my reading glasses on and flip through the pages of the textbook as I wait. He was supposed to be here five minutes ago.

I’m not against giving him the benefit of the doubt, but I’m using my only day off to get his GPA back on track. If he’s not going to take it seriously, he might as well tell me now.

I’m halfway through the book when there’s a loud knock on the front door.

I check my phone as I make a beeline for the entrance of the house and open the door to find TJ standing on my porch, a black gym bag dangling from his shoulder. His dark, messy hair is wet, like he just got out of the shower, and I assume he had basketball practice beforehand.

His brown eyes rake over my body from the moment I open the door, and his lips twitch up as he takes in my attire. My hair is up in a loose bun, I’m wearing a big T-shirt with oversized round glasses, and my sweats are so faded you can barely tell they used to be black.

He bites back a laugh. “Dressed to impress.”

I should slam the door in his face, but a deal’s a deal.

“You’re late.”

“And you’re in a shit mood for a girl who’s got a hot date tomorrow night,” he points out.

I pause, replaying what he just said. “How do you know about that?”

Aaron and I texted a little bit after the milkshake disaster. I agreed to go out with him, but he didn’t answer the text I sent him yesterday asking if we were still on.

TJ shrugs. “The new guy told me.”

“Really? Because he didn’t tellme. He never replied to my text.”

“Probably because he dropped his phone in Heather’s hot tub two days ago.”

Oh.

I have to say I’m relieved he’s not ghosting me. Although he’s not completely off the hook just yet. I’m having a hard timebelieving that, despite all the technologies available to him, he couldn’t find another way to contact me.

It hits me a few seconds later.

“Wait, did you say Heather?”

He reads me loud and clear. “I wouldn’t worry about it. They’ve been on one date.”

If there’s one thing I’m not interested in, it’s competing with another girl for a guy’s attention. I’d rather take myself out of the equation than be one of Aaron’s options.

“Whatever. Let’s get this over with.” I step aside, and TJ breezes past me.

I’ve just closed the door when he says, “Your place is a lot smaller than I imagined.”

His bluntness takes me aback.

“It’s called being poor.” I set out toward the living room. “Follow me.”

“Aren’t your folks loaded?” he asks.

“They are.I’mnot.” I sit cross-legged on the couch. TJ drops down next to me. “We’re going to start with a few basic exercises so I can figure out what’s not clicking for you.”

My words go through one ear and out the other. “Why aren’t your parents helping you out?”

I hesitate to tell him, but then I thinkscrew it.The faster I satisfy his curiosity, the faster we can get started.

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