Page 6 of So Long, Honey
“No,” my mother shook her head. “That’s not polite. Deal with your guest. You have homework to do.”
Right.My mother wasn’t a cold woman, but she was unbothered and uninterested in every facet of life that didn’t contribute to our wealth or standing in the town. She had zero patience for disobedience and even less for strange men showing up on our doorstep. She’d feed me to the wolves if it meant protecting her sanity and reputation.
I straightened out, standing tall, and walked to the front door, grabbing the handle in passing to close it quickly and quietly. Ryan backed away as I approached like I might mean him harm and stopped about a foot from the stairs that led down the porch.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him through gritted teeth as I fought against the urge to tell him to go away.Again.
“Came to see the love of my life,” He cooed, reminding me that I needed to scold him for doing so when my heart stopped racing at the sound of his voice.
“No one told you?” He looked around, huffing something under his breath before turning back to me. “Mrs. Raymond offered you up to tutor me in English. Apparently.” He smiled, and the urge to shoo him away dulled more. “...You’re the smartest girl in our class.”
“And you’re all bark,” I countered. It was shaky and lacked confidence, but pushing him down a peg felt good.
“She does have a voice,” he smiled brighter. “Alright, Mouse,” he laughed. “It’s true, though…look.” I watched as he dugsomething out of an ivory school brand folder and handed it to me. It was a school-issued letter with the Longhorn logo and everything. Mrs. Raymond had even signed it.
“Told you.” He winked at me.
“No.” I handed the letter back to him. “I don’t have the time.”
“Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but I know you have the time.” He leaned back against the large white pillar. “Landry told me as much.”
“Markus Landry is an idiot,” I said, “just like every person that enters his house.”
“Including me?” He cocked his head to the side.
“Especially you.”
“Ouch, Mouse.” He clutched his chest in his hand and pouted, “That was mean.”
“Please stop calling me that,” I asked him nicely. “I’m too busy to tutor you, but I’ll talk to Mrs. Raymond in the morning and find someone else capable. I’m sure Carlos can help.”
“Cooky Carlos?” Ryan shook his head. “That kid smells like cheese.”
“And you’re failing English, so I’m sure you’ll be able to get past that. He’s smart.” I turned to go back into the house, but Ryan didn’t move from the step.
“But not as smart as you,” he added as I twisted the door knob.
“No.”
“Then I want you,” he said, and I turned to look at him.
“No,” I repeated myself.
“Why not?” He whined, and the sound broke a wall down.
“Because you’re cocky, rude, pushy, and frankly, I don’t think you’d take it seriously, and it’s not worth my time. Which, by the way, I don’t have a lot of despite Mr. Landry’s assumptions.”
His green eyes took in my every word, never blinking or faltering as he watched me speak. His lips pressed togethersoftly, and for a second, I thought maybe I had finally rendered him speechless.
But I had never been so wrong.
“So, would you like to do it here or at the library?” He asked.
I glared over my shoulder at him, ice in my veins that only fueled my annoyance.
“If we study in the library, everyone will see you getting tutored by the Mayor’s daughter,” I said.
He shrugged, “it’s about time you got some attention.”