The Deal (Off-Campus #1)(23)
“I swear to God, Wellsy, if you…” He trails off as he reads the message.
This is Garrett’s tutor. You’re annoying me. We’re done in thirty minutes. I’m confident you can keep your pants zipped until then.
Garrett meets my eyes and laughs so loudly I can’t help but smile.
“That ought to be more effective than your half-assed leave me alones, don’t you think?”
He chuckles again. “Can’t argue with that.”
“Hopefully that shuts your girlfriend up for a while.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. She’s this puck bunny I hooked up with last year and—”
“Puck bunny?” I echo in horror. “You’re such a pig. Is that actually what you call women?”
“When the woman is only interested in sleeping with a hockey player so she can brag to all her friends that she bagged a hockey player? Yeah, that’s what we call ’em,” he says with a bite to his voice. “If anything, I’m the one being objectified in this scenario.”
“Whatever helps you sleep better at night…” I reach for the binder. “Let’s move on to utilitarianism. We’ll focus on Bentham for now.”
Afterward, I quiz him on the two philosophers we’ve discussed tonight, and I’m pleased when he answers everything correctly, even the curveballs I throw at him.
Fine. So maybe Garrett Graham isn’t as dumb as I thought he was.
By the time our hour is up, I’m confident that he didn’t just memorize the information and spit it back at me. There’s genuine comprehension there, as if the ethical ideas have truly sunk in for him. It’s a shame the makeup exam isn’t multiple choice, because there’s no doubt in my mind he could pass it with flying colors.
“Tomorrow we’ll tackle postmodernism.” I sigh. “Which, in my humble opinion, is probably the most convoluted school of thought in human history. I’ve got rehearsal until six but I’m free afterward.”
Garrett nods. “I’m done with practice around seven. So how about eight?”
“I’m good with that.” I shove my books back in my bag, then duck into the bathroom to pee before I hit the road. When I come out, I find Garrett scrolling through my iPod.
“You went through my bag?” I exclaim. “Seriously?”
“Your iPod was hanging out of the front pocket,” he protests. “I was curious to see what was on it.” His gray eyes remain glued to the screen as he starts reading names out loud. “Etta James, Adele, Queen, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha, Beatles—man, this is wicked eclectic.” He suddenly shakes his head in dismay. “Hey, did you know there’s One Direction on here?”
“No, really?” I ooze sarcasm. “It must have downloaded itself.”
“I think I’ve lost all respect for you. You’re supposed to be a music major.”
I snatch the iPod from his hands and stuff it in the bag. “One Direction does some great harmonies.”
“Strongly disagree.” His chin lifts decisively. “I’ll make you a playlist. Obviously you need to learn the distinction between good music and shitty music.”
I speak through clenched teeth. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Garrett’s tone is preoccupied as he heads to the iMac on his desk. “How do you feel about Lynyrd Skynyrd? Or do you only like bands where the guys coordinate their outfits?”
“Good night, Garrett.”
I’m ready to tear my hair out as I march out of the room. I can’t believe I agreed to a week and a half of this.
God help me.
8
Hannah
Allie calls the next evening as I storm out of the music building fuming over another disastrous rehearsal with Cass.
“Whoa,” she says when she hears my curt tone. “What’s up your ass?”
“Cassidy Donovan,” I answer angrily. “Rehearsal was a fucking nightmare.”
“Is he trying to steal all the good notes again?”
“Worse.” I’m too pissed to rehash what happened, so I don’t bother. “I want to murder him in his sleep, A. No, I want to murder him when he’s awake so he can see the joy on my face when I do it.”
Her laughter tickles my ear. “Shit. He pissed you off good, huh? Want to vent about it over dinner?”
“Can’t. I’m seeing Graham tonight.” Another appointment I’m not keen on keeping. All I want to do right now is take a shower and watch TV, but knowing Garrett, he’ll hunt me down and yell at me if I dare to cancel on him.
“I still can’t believe you caved about the tutoring thing,” Allie marvels. “He must be very persuasive.”
“Something like that,” I say vaguely.
I haven’t told Allie about my arrangement with Garrett, mostly because I want to delay her inevitable teasing when she finds out how desperate I am to get Justin to notice me. I know I won’t be able to hide the truth from her forever—she’s definitely going to have questions when she finds out I’m going to a party with the guy. But I’m confident I can come up with a good excuse by then.
Some things are too embarrassing to admit, even to your best friend.