Tutoring the Player (Campus Wallflowers #1)(53)

“Christmas Day?”

“Yeah. I’ll wait until the afternoon, but we do most of our celebrating on Christmas Eve anyway.”

“I’m jealous. I’m already bored.”

“Come back this weekend. We have home games, and I’m sure there’ll be a party or two happening somewhere.”

I laugh it off, but my brain runs with the possibility of it. I never considered going back early, but it does sound pretty great.

The noise from inside is louder, and Jordan lifts his beer and chugs.

“It’s cold out.” His shoulders lift around his ears.

“Even colder here. There’s a chance of snow tonight.”

“Fuck that,” he says.

I can tell he’s antsy to get back inside.

“Are you going to be okay? Do I need to come take care of you like you did for me?”

His deep chuckle seems to have a direct connection to the butterflies in my stomach.

“I can probably manage to find a bed or couch to pass out on, but if you want to come strip down in your white cotton panties, you’ll hear no objection from me.”

“Night, Jordan.”

“Night, sweet Daisy.”





Violet finds me in my room when she arrives the next night.

“Hey.” She peeks in from the doorway.

I rush to hug her. “I missed you.”

“Same. It’s weird not seeing you every day.”

I love that college has brought Violet and me closer. And she’s right. I’ve gotten up to go talk to her so many times since I’ve been home only to remember where I am.

“I was thinking of going back to Valley this weekend.”

Violet laughs. “Has it been that bad?”

“No. They’re just busy and… you know what they’re like. And I miss our house.”

“Same.” She links her arm through mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “Hey, your parents adore you. I know they don’t show it the same way mine do, but they are always bragging about you. My dad is all, ‘Daisy’s parents said she’s taking eighteen credit hours this semester. How come you’re only taking twelve?’”

Laughter escapes my lips. Being quiet, being smart, and being an overachiever are the things that make my parents happy. Like it or not, they shaped who I am. And I like myself.

“Thanks for telling me.”

“Of course. And, hey, at least your parents haven’t spent the entire break asking why you’re no longer interested in seeing your old friends from high school.”

“Vi, not all jocks are shitty.”

“I know.”

I tilt my head to the side.

“I know,” she repeats. “But I’m not the same person I was in high school.”

We settle on my bed, facing one another.

“What are you going to do in Valley?” she asks.

“I don’t know. Reorganize my closet, clean out our fridge, go to a hockey game.”

“I knew it,” she says, eyes widening. “You’re going back for Liam.”

“No.”

She grins like she doesn’t believe me. “Have you been talking to him this break?”

I hesitate, and she gasps. “Oh my gosh, you have!”

My phone lights up with a text, and my cheeks heat because I know it’s Jordan. Just my freaking luck.

We both glance at it. It’s too far away for her to read the name or text. She lunges for my phone. It’s locked, but I still swipe it and hold it up to my chest. “I haven’t been talking to Liam.”

“Then who is it, because you are blushing so hard. I know it isn’t Dahlia or Jane.”

She tries again to free it from my grasp.

“Vi, stop,” I say when she’s nearly worked it out of my fingers. “It’s not Liam. It’s Jordan.”

She pulls back and goes quiet.

I nod to confirm it because I can tell she’s trying to decide if I’m joking or not.

“Jordan Thatcher?” The way she says his name speaks volumes.

“Yes. Jordan Thatcher. We’ve been spending so much time together while I tutored him, and things just sort of… happened.”

“Daisy.”

Okay, I like the way she says my name right now even less than the way she said Jordan’s.

“I really like him. I know he has a reputation, but—”

“He’s slept with half of the Valley population. That isn’t a reputation. It’s a fact.”

“I don’t care about his past.”

“Past?” Her voice softens. “Honey, I say this with love, but you don’t really think that he’s only seeing you, right?”

I squirm under her scrutiny. “We haven’t set any boundaries.”

“So he could be with some other girl right now?”

“Would he text me if he were?” I unlock my phone to read his text and then show the image to Violet.

She stares blankly between the screen and me.

“Fuck the Dealer. It’s this card game where—”

“I know the game. So?”

“So he’s out and texting me. Therefore, not with another girl.”