Page 52 of Tutor With Benefits
“Yes, I’m free,” she says, and I’m surprised once more that she manages to keep her tone steady and even. I would have guessed she would be giddy with excitement, but from the outside she’s calm and collected. Clearly, she has taken a lot of what we’ve taught her to heart. “Where would you like to go? Any preferences?”
“I mean, I love going to the diner on campus,” Johnny says, “but I noticed that you haven’t been there recently. I wasn’t sure if you had reason for that, or if there was something else you wanted to do. I’m pretty easygoing, so if you would rather go somewhere else, I’m fine with that.”
“No,” Tori says with a shake of her head. “The diner is fine. I’ve just been busy, that’s all, trying to get stuff done and eating at home a lot more. If you want to go to the diner, I’m totally game.”
“Great,” he says with a grin. “Then it’s a date. Can I get your number so I can text you when I’m free and we can figure out when to meet up?”
“Sure,” Tori says. She tells him her number, and gives me a glance as he bends over to put it in his phone. I can see the victorious grin etched into her features, and I smile, not because she’s going out with Johnny, but because seeing her so happy does make me happy, even if I hate the reason she’s feeling so happy in the moment.
Johnny slides back over to his desk as the professor walks in, and Tori doesn’t turn back around, though from the way she’s sitting so tall in front of me, I can tell she is over the moon right now.
I’m doing my best to be happy for her, but I feel sick on the inside. I’m pissed off with life right now.
I can’t believe that just happened.
It’s like all my dreams came crashing down at once, and all I could do was stand and watch.
I don’t know what I’m going to tell Cory and Taylor.
But I know they’re going to be just as crushed as I am.
EIGHTEEN
CORY
“You too, huh?” Zach asks as he walks into our apartment and sees me sitting on the couch.
“Taylor wind up going?” I ask.
“Yup,” he says, plopping down in the recliner. “Pretty sure he’s taking out his frustration and aggression on the ice.”
“Probably a better way to handle shit than what we’re doing.” I sigh. “I just don’t have it in me.”
“It’s not like we can’t skip a practice and make up for it later. We’re already the best on the team, what’s the coach going to do? Tell us we better do better?” Zach asks.
“Knowing Coach, probably,” I say. “But I did tell Taylor if he showed up to tell Coach I’m not feeling well and to leave it at that.”
“Same,” Zach says. “Probably part of the reason why he went anyway.”
I’m flipping through pointless TV, not really interested in anything on the screen.
“How long’s it been?” I ask.
“A week,” Zach says.
“That’s it?”
“Yup.”
“Feels like a lot longer than that,” I say.
“Feels like it’s been a month. But then, maybe after a month we’d feel better about it,” Zach replies. “I don’t know. I’m not really one to get caught up in breakups.”
“Isn’t that part of what’s shitty though?” I ask. “That this isn’t a breakup?”
“It kind of is,” he argues. “I mean, what else would you call it?”
“It’s not like we were dating though,” I say. “We had this agreement because we were failing in chemistry and it was the only way we could get her to agree to help us. That’s not dating.”