Page 47 of Private Tutoring
23
HARMONY
Iwas screwed. I resisted the urge to strangle the strap across my chest and followed Delilah from Stephen’s office. We’d played things off, but I had no idea how much Delilah saw. She’d walked in after Stephen stopped our kiss.
Still.
There was something about the way she looked at me that caused my instincts to take flight. “Why did Leighona change the meeting to tonight?” I shifted the bag around so it rested better on my hip.
Delilah shrugged. “Why does Leighona do anything?”
“Because she can.” I laughed, hoping Delilah would join in. “Seriously, I’m sorry I missed your texts.” How could I ask her what she’d seen without coming right out and admitting the truth?
She waved me off. “It’s fine. I was in the area, and I know you’ve been working super hard on your grades. I hated to interrupt.” She shot a side-eye my way. “You two looked pretty intense.”
“He scares me.” It was easy enough to admit. Stephen intimidated me, even after sleeping with him. He’d admitted he liked spending time with me.
A grin threatened. I held it back, rolling my lips together and shaking my head.
Delilah laughed, shaking her head the whole time we crossed the quad.
Several students sat at the tables lined up beneath the trees. One guy called out to Delilah, and another whistled. She flipped them off, rolling her eyes. “Fuck off.”
They hooted and whistled again. Delilah took my arm and steered me toward the sorority house perched on the other side of campus. I’d walked this morning, hoping to use the time to clear my head.
“How much longer are you going to need tutoring?” Delilah kept hold of my arm, her grip tight but not painful. She looked left and right before we walked beneath the canopy of limbs that cast the sidewalk in complete darkness. A single light shone ahead, the streetlamp illuminating the parking lot where I usually left my car.
I almost shrugged, but chose to answer instead. “I don’t know. But from how things are going right now, it looks like I’ll pass this semester. If I can keep my grades up.” That was the part I worried about. Passing these last few weeks were great, but I had a few months left that could still fail me.
“You’ll pass.” Delilah gave me one of her brilliant smiles as we left the shadows and stepped into the yellow light.
Our sorority house was at the end of the block, close enough that I could see the brightly lit windows from here. “I hope so. I can’t lose my scholarship. This is my chance to make my life better.”
“And you have to do everything you can to make sure that happens,” Delilah said in a rush while staring straight ahead. “I get it. You don’t want the weight of it to land on your mom.”
“I won’t let her try to pay for school. This is my problem, and I’m so glad things are looking up.” I meant every word. I’d worked my ass off for these grades. Yes, I was sleeping with my professors, but none of them raised my grades because of it.
Matthew had even said they wouldn’t hold it against me if I chose to walk away. I had no compulsion to leave any of them. What had made him say that? If they were getting tired of me, one of them would say so.
Delilah stopped and hugged me. “I’m happy for you.” A dry laugh rattled the air when she released me. “You seem to have all the luck.”
I hurried after her when she sped ahead of me. “What do you mean?” My rushing steps slapped against the concrete.
A few guys stood outside one of the frat houses on the other end of the block. I loved this part of campus. It was always alive with activity. The frat boys were annoying as fuck sometimes, but they made afternoons amusing. Especially when they stood outside and pretended not to notice Delilah moving past them.
They never paid me any attention. I preferred it that way. The only attention I wanted came from the three professors I was falling in love with.
Delilah waited until we stood on the stoop, the closed door cutting us off from the laughter I heard inside. “You’re spending all your time with hunky professors.” She winked and threw her head back in a laugh that rippled through her entire body. “Do you have any idea what we’d all give to have any one of them tutoring us? And you havetwogiving you free private lessons.”
I should have a response for that, but nothing came to mind.
“It’s just odd, you know? Why are they giving you free tutoring lessons?” Delilah twisted the doorknob.
As a favor to Matthew. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from admitting that out loud. It wouldn’t help and would only incriminate me further. She was right. It did look bad. I tried to shift gears when she opened the door and led the way to the living room where all the other girls had already taken the available seats. I perched on the edge of the couch in front of Jessica and listened to Leighona drone on and on about the values of the sorority house.
“We’re all in this together,” Leighona said. Her voice had a roughness to it that I’d noticed more often lately. She winced and rubbed her throat. “You’re in this sorority because you agree that your career is more important than anything else.”
“Which means we do what we need to keep on track.” Jessica shifted on the seat, which caused her knee to bump my hip. “Like Harmony. She had a problem with her grades, and she found a way to overcome the problem.”
