by Amber Heart
“So you’re an older sister and I’m a younger brother. I guess that explains why you’re the tutor and I’m the student.”
“I don’t think that the ability to do math is exclusive to older siblings,” Claire replied with a smile.
“Is that another one of the things “they” say?”
She nodded seriously. “It certainly seems like “them.” Tell me more about your sister, the lawyer.”
“She works for my parents law firm in family law and she and her husband Eric just had twins.”
“Awww, how old are they?”
Chase squinted upward for a second, calculating. “Six months? Yeah, they were born at the end of March.”
“That’s such a fun age.”
“I guess so,” Chase agreed. “They look happy in the pictures.”
Claire put down the plate she was drying. “You have baby pictures and you’re holding out on me?”
Chase jerked his chin at the table. “The phone’s over there. The code’s 0716.”
“Elway and Montana?”
He did a double take. “Yeah. How did you know?”
“I’m more than math, Chase.” Claire paused in unlocking the phone. “I’m not going to find any weird or dirty pictures in here, am I?”
He pretended to consider the question. “I’m pretty sure that I deleted everything incriminating. Here, let me see it.” He opened up a message thread and two adorable babies grinned out at her. “There they are.”
“Awwwwww!” Claire sighed. “They’re so cute and bald.”
“That’s Thomas,” Chase said, pointing to the one on the right. “And that one is Lucas. And I only know for sure because Sydney tells me which one is which in every picture she sends. She says I better have it under control before I come home for break.”
“Knowing your nephews names does seem like an important part of being a good uncle,” Claire said, scrolling through the pictures.
“It’s pretty much the least I can do,” he agreed. “Now quit gushing over my nephews and get to drying these dishes.”
“Fine, fine.” Claire pushed the last plate he’d handed her into the cabinet. “Speaking of things you can do, we should probably actually get down to tutoring.”
He looked around, hoping for more dishes to appear out of nowhere. “We’re really done already?”
“I’m afraid we make too good a team.” That, she mused, was just the truth. The dishes had gotten done remarkably fast and she hadn’t been at all miserable during the process.
“How about we make a deal?” he asked.
Claire leaned against the sink, her heart beating a bit faster. She didn’t even know why, but she thought that it was probably something about the look in his eyes. It wasn’t quite mischievous anymore, but he was definitely a man with a plan.
“What kind of deal?” she asked warily.
“For every problem I get right, you answer a question about yourself.”
She blinked at him. That wasn’t at all what she’d expected. “Why? What do you want to know?”
He shrugged. “A lot of things. I won’t ask anything weird, I promise. And if you don’t want to answer, you can pass and I’ll think of a different question. And I won’t ask you anything about Logan.”
He’d answered every objection she might have thought of, but she didn’t feel trapped. She actually felt intrigued, wondering what type of things he wanted to know about her. And if maybe she could turn the tables and learn a little more about him too. She chewed her lip in thought. He waited patiently, letting her take her time to make the choice without any added pressure. That realization made her give in.
“Okay, fine.”
Fifteen minutes later, he’d gotten his first correct answer. “Okay. This question is probably the most important thing I’ll ask,” he said. “So I think it’s best if we just get it out of the way.”
She swallowed hard, trying to imagine what he could possibly want to know that would make him look so serious. “Okay.”
“What’s your favorite NFL team?”
Claire laughed. “The Miami Dolphins.”
“Are you joking?” Chase demanded.
“That’s technically two questions, but I’ll let you slide. No, I am not joking. I’ll even give you some additional information and tell you that the Saints are an extremely close second. What about you?”
“I like the bird teams,” he said. “Falcons, Ravens, Eagles.”
“Seahawks?”
He made a face. “Okay, I like most bird teams.”
“What did the Seahawks do to you?”
“Other than break my heart?”
“You took that Super Bowl loss hard, huh?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Then get back to your trig.”
“You are one cold woman.” Chase turned his attention back to the problems at hand. Since she’d started so far back, he was able to ask another question fairly quickly.
“What’s your favorite thing to snack on?”
“Chips and dip,” she answered promptly. “Barbeque and french onion, to be precise.”
“Really? Me too.” It wasn’t the most life changing thing to have in common, but it made him feel good anyway.
“I’m not much of a sweets person,” Claire went on. “I mean, I’ll eat chocolate if it’s around, but for the most part I like salty snacks.”
“I’ll remember that,” he said. “Next time we get together I’ll bring the food.”
“Make sure you bring some paper plates to eat it off of,” she said with a laugh.
He messed up the next problem and they had to work their way through it together. But the one after that, he got.
“What kind of music is your favorite?” To his surprise, her face went red. “Oh, this should be good.”
Claire rubbed the back of her neck. “Super twangy country music is my guilty pleasure.”
“When you say twangy...”
“I mean twangy. I mean, my dog died and my wife left me and took my truck, twangy.”
Chase pulled his phone back out of his pocket and pulled up a playlist. He slid the phone across the table and she stared at the music selection.
“Like that?” he asked.
“Are you kidding me?” she demanded. “You really listen to this stuff too?”
“That information does not leave this table,” he said seriously. “But yes. More often than I like to admit.”
By the time they were done studying, he’d discovered a lot of interesting things about her. And he’d made one more major discovery. He really wanted to kiss her.
Claire’s mouth simply drove him to distraction. And when she caught her lower lip between her teeth as she thought about her answers to his questions, he felt his stomach clench with pure desire. She was smart and funny and sexy as hell, especially in the unguarded moments when she forgot to be wary of him. How could he not want her?
Furthermore, he couldn't see even a hint of the unstable girl Logan had talked about. And wouldn’t he had seen at least a little of that manipulation after he’d treated her so badly when they’d first met? Hell, she probably could have been the final straw with Coach Davis and gotten him thrown right off of the team. But she hadn’t refused to tutor him or done anything other than stand up for herself.
And then she’d given him one more chance and she hadn’t tried to control the situation to her own advantage once. It was almost like Logan was talking about a totally different girl. None of it added up.
“Okay,” she said about an hour later. “I think we’re done for the day.”
“How am I doing?” he asked.
She looked over his worksheet carefully before pronouncing judgement. “You did okay. There are still a few concepts that we really need to focus on, but the foundation is getting a little steadier. Just keep practicing and I’ll see you...”
“Tomorrow?” he asked.
“Oh, that reminds me.” She handed hi
m a new piece of paper. “I made us a new schedule. Go over it really quick and make sure it works for you.”
He skimmed over it. They’d be together a lot. “Tomorrow isn’t on here,” he said after a moment.
“No, I have a meeting with one of my teachers,” Claire said. “So we’ll meet up the day after if that’s okay.”
He agreed, shoved his books into his backpack and left her house, feeling unexpectedly bereft at the idea that he wouldn’t be seeing her the next day. It would have been game day, but now he’d just be sitting in his dorm, praying like hell that the team would keep it together without him. If they lost because of him, he’d never live it down.
He knew that he was going to be tense all day. And if he was going to be tense all day, he’d rather be with Claire. He forced his mind away from her for what felt like the 500th time and walked into his dorm, bypassing the crowd in the common area and heading for his room.
When he got upstairs, he unpacked his backpack and reorganized his desk, trying to think of everything he needed to do. He tacked up the new schedule and looked at how much time he’d be spending with Claire. He’d been right when he’d said that if he wasn’t on the field or in class, he’d be with her. The thought was much more welcome now than it had been.
Chapter 8
Chase paced the hallways of the dorm the next evening. There was no one around to watch him expend all of his nervous energy, because literally everyone he knew was watching the game, so at least he didn’t have to worry about looking crazy. He emphatically did not want to watch the game. If they lost because of him he’d be very tempted to go drown himself in the nearest bayou. If they won without him, he’d only feel a little bit better.
He knew that he needed to find something to focus on, but he couldn’t manage to sit still. If he turned on the television, he knew that he’d end up watching the game. He couldn’t concentrate on any of his homework and he couldn’t figure out the last trig problem Claire has assigned him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Claire’s number. She’d said that she was having a meeting with her teacher, but surely they were done with that now. It was nearly 8 at night.
“Hello?” she asked, her voice cautious as always.
“Hey.”
“Chase?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if maybe you were up for doing something.” That wasn’t the question he’d meant to ask, so he stumbled on. “I’m having some trouble with this question and I’m going crazy sitting around here, so I just thought, you know, if you weren’t busy...”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t really know,” he said, feeling incredibly lame suddenly. “We could take a drive. If you want to get out of the house.”
She was silent for so long that he was afraid she’d hung up on him. Then she said, “Okay. I’ll meet you outside. And bring your homework.”
Chase pushed his phone into his pocket and headed for the door. Then he stopped and glanced at himself in the mirror. He changed his ratty tee shirt for one without holes and dragged his fingers through his hair. It didn’t do a whole lot of good, but it was all he had time for. Claire was waiting.
****
When he pulled up to her house, she ran out and jumped into the passenger seat of his truck quickly. He raised an eyebrow as she buckled up and waved for him to drive.
“In a hurry?” he asked as he put the truck in gear and backed out of the parking space.
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” she said. “It might be better for us not to meet at the house anymore. My roommates can’t really keep a secret.”
“I’m a secret?”
“Have you told Logan that I’m still tutoring you?”
He glanced over and found her looking determinedly out the passenger side window. As the streetlights passed over her face, he thought a saw a shadow of sadness there.
“Okay, no,” he admitted. “But that’s mainly because I haven’t seen him. Everyone was getting ready for the game. I don’t care if he knows.” Chase wasn’t lying. Even if Claire had been insane, he would have stayed with her because it was the only way that he was going to stay on the team. The fact that she wasn’t was just the icing on the cake.
“I care,” Claire said, her voice soft but firm. “So I think it would be better if we kept our study sessions quiet.”
“If you stay quiet, how will I learn anything?”
She looked his way in surprise and saw his grin. “You dork.”
“I guess you’re rubbing off on me. So where do you want to go where we won’t be recognized?”
“How about the mall? We can hang out in the food court. With the game tonight, no one will be there.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Once they’d looked around for people they knew and gotten settled in the food court, Claire flipped open Chase’s notebook. “Okay, so what’s the problem?” When he opened his mouth, she held up her hand. “I know that they’re all problems. Which one is giving you trouble?”
“Joke stealer. And it’s this one.” He pointed and she leaned over it. “Are you hungry?”
“Focus,” she ordered.
“But the pizza smells so good. And I’m a poor benched football player with little reason to go on.”
She looked up at him. “Drama queen. Go get pizza.”
He jumped up before she could take it back. “What do you want?”
“I didn’t bring my purse,” she said.
Chase shrugged. “You’re helping me pass math. I can buy you a slice of pizza if I want to.”
“I guess that’s a good point,” she said. “And I’m a woman of simple tastes. Pepperoni with lots of those red pepper flakes.”
He gave her a salute and got in line. By the time he got back, Claire had written out the solution to the problem and they went over it together while the steaming hot pizza slices cooled down.
“I don’t know how you make it seem so easy,” he said as she began devising a new problem that used similar techniques.
“It’s sort of how you can catch anything they throw at you,” Claire said. “Natural talent and a healthy bit of practice. Try this one.”
He pushed the new problem to the side and slid her plate in front of her. “After we eat.”
She would have argued, but the pizza looked really good. With her roommate situation, it had been a while since she’d had hot food. She took a bite and chewed contentedly.
“What are you looking at?” she asked a few moments later when Chase kept glancing across the food court. To her surprise, he blushed.
“Nothing.”
“Hot girl?” The thought sent a brief stab of jealousy through her, and she worked hard not to let it show on her face.
“No, it’s...” he sighed. “I do this thing where I make up stories about people.”
Claire raised an eyebrow. “What kind of stories?”
Chase gave an embarrassed half laugh. “Okay. Don’t stare, but there’s a woman over there in jeans and one of those puffy vests.”
Claire leaned down, pretending to fix the laces of her sneaker. “I see her.”
“Well, she’s waiting for her lover.”
“In the food court?”
“It’s not a high budget affair,” Chase said defensively. “But it’s all the thrill she gets these days.”
Unexpectedly drawn in, Claire couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“See, she works for an accounting firm, but it’s a total boys club and she’s a glorified secretary. This affair keeps her sane while she plots her ultimate takeover.”
“I like it. Do you think she’ll manage it?”
“Oh yeah. She’s a fighter. In the end, she’ll own the whole place.”
“You’re kind of a feminist,” Claire said in surprise.
“I’m a total feminist,” Chase corrected. “Sydney made sure of it.”
“What about that couple over there?” she discreetly indicated a pair of teenag
ers waiting in line for chicken sandwiches.
“First date,” Chase said after a moment. “He’s been in love with her since freshman year, but she was seeing someone else. Then he had to wait till the right moment to step in after they broke up because he didn’t want to look like an asshole.”
“What does she think of him?”
