Page 36 of Tutor With Benefits

“I do know, and that’s why I think it’s perfect for you and me to be doing this here,” I say. “You aren’t going to have the option to go off to somewhere quiet all the time, and that’s why it’s important for you to be able to tune out the rest of the world and not have distractions get in the way of you and the person you’re focused on.”

“I guess,” she says. “I’m such a recluse, I just don’t see how it would be that hard for us to go somewhere quiet.”

“That’s just it,” I say. “You are the recluse. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, you have to remember that dating is full of compromising. When you’re with someone, it’s not all about you anymore. It’s not all about them, either, but you don’t want to be that girl who’s always making it all about you, if you know what I mean. You want to be willing to compromise.”

“Okay,” she says.

“Think about it. Where do you most often see Johnny?” I ask.

“Out,” she says. “He’s always out with friends.”

“Same,” I say. “He’s a social butterfly, and you’re not. Now, is that going to say that your relationship is doomed? Not at all. It just means that you’re going to have to learn to be out in the real world at times. But at the same time, you don’t want to be out in the real world and focusing on the rest of the world and not him.”

“That’s tough with so much else going on in here,” Tori says.

“But it’s not impossible,” I say. “There are few things that are bigger turnoffs for a man than to take out a girl and have to keep competing for her attention, and that doesn’t just mean that you have to compete for her against other guys.”

“What else is there?”

“Your phone, for example,” I say. “There are so many chicks who bring their phone out and think they’re some influencer that’s going to make the world their platform, so all they do is take pics of themselves and anything they’re doing on the date, but they tend to forget that they are on a date with someone. You don’t want to be that girl.”

“Got it,” she says.

We get our food and walk over to one of the tables. I pick a place where we aren’t going to be bothered by anyone else, but there is still enough going on that it’s going to take effort for Tori to pay attention to me and what we’re doing with our date.

We sit down with the food, and I’m pleasantly surprised at how well she’s able to maintain conversation, especially with how she’s asking me about things I’m doing. It’s nice to have someone who reciprocates, as I haven’t been out with a girl before who really gave a damn about me. I make a mental note to bring it up to Cory later and tell him it was a good thing to tell her to do.

And maybe he can point it out to my next girlfriend that I would appreciate her asking me how I’m doing every now and then, too.

“Oh my god, there he is!” Tori hisses about halfway through the meal.

I look over my shoulder, and Johnny has just walked in. He’s not paying attention to us, but Tori is staring.

“Quit creeping,” I tell her. “You’re on a date with me, not him.”

“Sorry,” she says. “But you know, he’s the one I’m trying to get, so it’s tough.”

“But you’re not trying to get him today,” I tell her, “and you don’t want to be so easily distracted when you are out with him and something else comes up. Remember, the worst thing for a guy is to feel like he’s having to compete for your attention. You don’t want to divide it when you’re with him.”

“Right, sorry,” she says. “It’s you and me right now.”

“You and me,” I tell her.

She fights through the distraction, and it’s not long before she’s back to giving me her full attention. I don’t know why, but I wonder if that was a twinge of jealousy I felt when Johnny walked in. I try to dismiss the thought, but it lingers in the back of my mind throughout the rest of our lunch date.

By the time we part ways, she’s glowing and talking about dinner with Zach, and I grin.

“Remember, tonight it’s the two of you. Don’t go in and be all distracted with the rest of the world. It’s you two and that’s it,” I tell her.

She rises to the tips of her toes and kisses me. “Got it.”

I watch her leave, and try to go about the rest of my afternoon without thinking about the fact that I’m sure I felt a bit of jealousy over here earlier. That’s not how this is supposed to be, and I know that.

So what the fuck happened?

Around dinnertime, Cory catches up with me.

“You coming?” he asks.

---