Page 38 of Private Tutoring
I shot a look at Delilah when she bumped my knee again. She raised her eyebrows and cocked her head toward Stephen. Her cursor flashed on her computer screen. She’d typedWhat is going on with you?in bold letters.
I raised my shoulder in a casual shrug. “I can’t fail, Delilah. I need to focus.”
Her entire face tightened at the reprimand, but she stopped watching me.
My relief was short lived when Stephen moved on to a new equation that twisted my brain into knots. No matter how long I looked at it, nothing made sense. All my confidence fled when he began the process all over again. The steps I’d thought I memorized failed me at every turn.
He paced in front of the board, tapping the marker against his palm.
I prayed he wouldn’t look at me even as I craved the attention, even if it was nothing more than a blink. As though he heard my thoughts, his gaze drifted over to me. The phantom touch rocked me all the way to my core, and my insides melted into a gooey puddle.
An hour later, Stephen dismissed us with a wave of the marker. Delilah stuck to my side all the way down the noisy hallway and back out into the sunshine. A teasing smile lit her eyes. “Sooooo. How’s tutoring?”
Damn me if my whole face didn’t warm. I swept my hair away from my face and shrugged. The move felt tight and cautious, but I managed to force out a laugh. “Awful. I don’t know if I’ll ever understand what Professor Harding is talking about.”
Delilah rolled her eyes. “Bet it’s hard to concentrate with just the two of you in a room together. Do you study here or what?” She jerked her thumb toward the building behind us.
Red brick glittered in the sunlight, and I thanked the sun for giving my face an excuse to turn red. “We’ve been meeting in his classroom.”
“Lucky you.” Delilah said it with enough sarcasm to show her jealousy. Her crush on Stephen hadn’t abated.
I doubted it ever would, which made my situation even more perilous.
“Maybe I should ask if he’ll tutor me too.” She tossed her head and flounced forward a step, causing her short skirt to fly up, revealing her panties.
I bit back my caustic comment and managed another shrug. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” If Delilah heard the jealousy I tried so hard to hide, she ignored it. Jealousy was against the rules. Jealousy meant I’d caught feelings. Stephen vehemently argued against that.
He wanted nothing to do with emotions. And yet…the way he’d looked at me in class almost made me think he didn’t mean it.
Impossible. It was my imagination running wild. He couldn’t care less about my emotional needs or attachments. The only thing he cared about was having sex with me without getting caught. I had to keep that in mind. If it came down to me or them, they’d all choose to protect themselves.
“This is a safe place.”Stephen had told me that last night. Their home was safe. Nowhere else. If I didn’t pay better attention, I’d give our secret away without saying a word.
“Hey, are you okay?” Delilah touched my arm.
I almost yelped at the sudden contact. I’d gotten so lost in thought that I nearly forgot she walked beside me. “Not really.” It was too easy to let the panic in. “What am I going to do if I can’t pass my classes?”
Delilah scoured my face with a studious look before she sighed and took my hand. “You’re going to pass.”
The weight of her reassurance helped, and I forgave her for being jealous of my tutoring with Stephen. I raised my head and stared across the quad at the building where my class with Roberto was held. A fortifying breath steadied the frantic fluttering in my chest. “I have to get to class. See you later?”
She laughed. “You better. We have a sorority meeting tonight.”
I groaned dramatically. “Not another one.”
“Yep.” She joined me with a tinkling laugh. “And I’m in charge of food this time. I’ll make sure to order something good.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her tight, any hints of jealousy evaporating at her promise. I’d convinced her everything was fine, but it wasn’t enough if I couldn’t figure out how to control myself around my professors.
“You’re welcome. I know how much you hate Thai. I tried to talk them into ordering something else last time. Sometimes I think they do shit on purpose just to keep hazing us.” She patted my back. “Better get to class.” Leaning away, she winked. “A whole day with the Dream Team. I don’t know how you handle it.” Laughing at whatever she saw in my face, she bounced away, waving over her shoulder.
One day into our secret and I’d almost given it away with nothing more than my facial expressions. I had to do better if I didn’t want us to get caught.
I tightened my grip on my bag and marched toward Roberto’s class, determined to keep my emotions in check and off my face.
The length of the quad separated me from his class, and I used every single step to try and build up my control. If I could stop remembering every touch, every look and sound from last night, I might be able to pull it off.
But nothing helped. Every time I thought I had it under control, I’d remember the feel of them inside me. They’d filled me completely, and I still wondered what it would be like to have more.
