Page 103 of Tutored in Love

He took his hand off the door and found Jamie on his heels.

“Thanks for saving me back there.”

“Huh?” The garbage pickup hadn’t been that strenuous.

“With the mountain biking?” She glanced over her shoulder as if to make sure they were alone. “I’m not good at saying no to people, and I appreciate you getting Chris to back off.”

Noah smiled. “He’s pretty excited about this trip.”

“Yeah.” She laughed uneasily. “Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks, and I’m glad we’re, um, friends.” With that, she threw her arms around him for a quick hug. He barely had time to clumsily reciprocate before she backed away.

“See ya!” she said, getting into her car.

Noah squinted after her.

Crap.

Chapter 55

Truce

“I’m so sorry.”

It’s noteworthy how surprised I am to hear those words from Alec. We’re sitting in his car in the back of my apartment parking lot, and he’s holding my hand in a way that feels much more sincere than the cloying affection he shovels out at church.

Still, I struggle to contain my anger. My emotions have been all over the board tonight.

When I arrived at the party, I was looking forward to a night off from relationship issues. Then Noah and Jamie showed up together, and I actually felt jealous. Of nothing. Or something. Either way, I have no right.

That dissolved when he joked with me—Noah! Joking!—about the pizza and brownies, only to be replaced with shock when Alec grabbed me.

I’m ashamed to say, I wasnothappy to see him.

Or his net.

As usual, he bulldozed my objections and guilted me into playing when I should have been—wanted to be—with the group.

He did go out of his way to spend time with me. How could I not humor him?

If only he had texted to let me know he was coming, I would have had time to prepare myself—and my objections—before he arrived. Maybe then I would have been able to withstand the force of his personality.

I was furious when the match ended—coerced into neglecting my duties, blamed for nearly every point we lost, condescendingly “instructed” throughout—and when I’d finally worked most of the frustration out on the poor tables, I saw Jamie hugging Noah in the parking lot.

I was still convincing myself I didn’t care, that I was happy for them, when Alec accosted me again, wrapping me up from behind and laying a kiss on my neck.

Sometimes I feel like I’m dating a well-meaning tornado. I wouldn’t mind if he occasionally opened with “Hey” instead of trying to sweep me off my feet. He was pretty shocked when I didn’t just melt into his arms after that.

But apologizing? Completely unprecedented.

“It was selfish of me to give you a hard time about not getting the day off, and I wanted to make it up to you tonight.” He watches someone get into their car a few slots away from us. “I thought volleyball would be fun—itwasfun! You’re a good partner!” He looks at our hands with a sad smile. “But I let myself get too into the game.”

“It’s okay,” I say.

“You’re still irritated.”

I’m working on something to say that isn’t cutting. It’s difficult.

He sighs heavily and stares out his side window, his free hand wringing the steering wheel.