Page 137 of Study Buddies

I turned back, not wanting to intrude on Jayden’s time with her, but her concern touched me.

“I was worried about you too.”

She reached for my hand. “There was a tornado watch.”

“I know. But it expired.”

Her voice was quiet in the dark. “Maybe you should stay down here. Just in case.”

I shook my head. “It was just a watch, not a warning. All that means is that the conditions were conducive to a tornado forming, not that there was one in the area.”

“But it’s still storming,” she said. “You’ll be safer down here.”

The house was sturdy. It could handle a storm.

Jayden’s sleepy voice interrupted my thoughts. “Dude, she wants you to climb into the bed next to her. So do that so we can all get some sleep.” He nuzzled her hair and settled back into place, apparently considering the matter settled.

Tori, however, was still looking up. “Please?”

I smiled, though she couldn’t see it in the dark. “It’s probably safest. With the tornado watch and all.”

She smiled and lifted the covers. I stripped down until I was just wearing my boxers and slid in next to her.

Jayden still had his arm clamped around her waist, but she pulled me close. She wrapped one arm around my bicep, as if it was her own personal teddy bear, and placed the other hand on my stomach.

If that’s how she wanted to fall asleep, it was more than okay by me.

I saton the porch a day later, listening to the faint hum of the washing machine coming through the open front door. Jayden was downstairs taking care of laundry, but I could still catch some of the rhythmic clunking. Tori and I had just gotten back after her meeting with her advisor, which had run later than she’d expected.

On the drive back, she clearly hadn’t wanted to talk about it, so I dropped the subject. But from the way she was pacing back and forth, it was obvious it hadn’t gone well.

Finally, she settled in the chair next to me, tucking her legs beneath her. She looked tired. “Dr. Mitchell told me there’s no space left in the Adolescent Development and Learning class I need to take next semester. None.” She combed her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. “He kept telling me Child Development and Learning was the same thing, but it isn’t. It’s for elementary ed teachers, and I want to teach high school.”

I reached out, squeezing her hand in sympathy. She was clearly disappointed. “I’m sorry,” I said softly. “No fun to get stuck in a class you don’t want.”

“Exactly,” she said, huffing out a sigh. “He’s acting like it’s just a minor inconvenience, but I know what I want to do. I want to teach older kids—teenagers—and I hate that he keeps nudging me toward the younger grade levels.”

I nodded, letting her vent. In my head, though, an entirely different conversation was happening. I knew Tori was passionate about working with high school students. She’d mentioned it before—how she wanted to get them excited about readings and writing.

But part of me couldn’t help thinking about how small and soft-spoken she was, especially compared to the majority of male high school students. I couldn’t quite picture her being a firm disciplinarian with an unruly class of teenagers. “I think if you wanted to, you’d be great with little kids, though.”

Her eyes snapped to me, and I read the flicker of annoyance there. “I mean,” I clarified, “you’re patient, and you’re passionate, and I just think the younger ones would really benefit from having you as their teacher.”

She shifted on the chair, biting her bottom lip. “Older kids need passionate teachers, too. I don’t want to spend my day making sure my students line up properly or color inside the lines. I want to teach them the writing and critical thinking skills they’ll need in the future.” Her gaze settled on the distant hills. “Like the stuff I’m helping Kyle with.”

“Yeah, but could you handle a whole class of Kyles?”

“That’s the job,” she said. Then she looked over at me and smiled softly. “It would be nice if there were a few Lucases and Jaydens in there, too.”

I smiled back. “I get it. You should teach what you want to teach.“ It was her future and her choice, so I dropped the subject.

We both turned our heads when we heard the low rumble of an engine approaching. Then Kyle’s black pickup pulled up.

My jaw tightened on instinct. Kyle killed the motor, hopped out, and strolled over.

He offered me a curt nod—maybe not even that—then turned to Tori. “How’d your meeting go?

Tori let out a sigh and brought him up to speed. She kept it concise, just the facts about her advisor and the registration drama. Kyle listened, leaning his broad back against the porch column, arms folded like he was settling in for a long story. When Tori finished, he just nodded.

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