I immediately dropped my phone on the desk and turned around.
Fuck!
Of all the people, why the fuck should it be him?
I mentally groaned in frustration and squeezed my eyes shut. After a few seconds, I fluttered my eyes open as I realized that he doesn't know it is me yet. I picked up my phone and started to type him a message.
'This won't work out. Sorry.'
I lifted my gaze to see his expression and his lips twitched into a smile as he looked down at his phone and then he started to type.
'Drop the act and come over here, Adams.' - Unknown number
Fuck!
Was I that obvious?
I took a deep breath and walked over to his table while he kept staring at me with a sly look on his face. I just wanted to run for the hills rather than face him.
God! This was so humiliating.
"How did you find out it was me?" I hissed in anger and he raised his eyebrows.
"Well, this isn't rocket science, Adams. You were on your phone since the moment I stepped inside. I noticed your face go pale when I texted back what I was wearing and our eyes connected automatically," he smirked and continued, "Also, our entire class, including me know how good you are at math. I put two and two together," he shrugged casually and I let out a defeated sigh. I never thought he would know that about me.
"Man, this is going to be fucking lit." He stated, leaning back against his seat and I noticed his shirt roll up a bit, showing a hint of his abs. I quickly diverted my eyes no matter how tempting he looked.
"What makes you think I would agree to tutor you? You make me sick, Tristan. This is not going to happen." I sneered and was about to walk away.
"Look, just sit down, and let's talk like adults." He stopped me and I turned around to look at him in confusion but pulled the seat opposite to him to sit down instead of creating a scene at the library.
"I don't understand. I thought you hated me. We broke each other's phone. Why do you want me to tutor you? We both know this is going to be a disaster." I whisper yelled almost jumping from my seat in annoyance.
"Aren't you a feisty little thing?" He smirked, while I maintained a straight face, "Look, I need to score well in math to graduate and I'm failing miserably. Football can only get you so far. I really need this, Adams and it needs to be a fucking secret. No one can know about this. It's embarrassing enough for me already." He gestured between us as if we were trying to have a secret relationship or something and for some reason, it stung.
Was I that embarrassing to be seen with?
"What makes you think I'll keep this a secret if at all I'm willing to do this?" I asked, trying to act as if I wasn't offended.
"What if I say I won't annoy you anymore if you do this?" he asked almost immediately and I kept staring at him, trying to figure out if he really meant it or not, "I will not get back at you for breaking my phone." He added in a serious tone since I was eyeing him suspiciously.
"Pfft, Tutoring you is going to be so much worse than that," I muttered under my breath.
"Look, I didn't expect you here, okay. I'm surprised too but I think you are what I need, Adams." He spoke, looking straight into my eyes and I almost stopped breathing for a second, "For teaching me." He cleared his throat and added, slowly. I was lost in that beautiful ocean green eyes and unconsciously, chewed on my bottom lip, his gaze flicked down to my lips and I immediately looked away. I know I'll be playing with fire if I agree to do this.
I can find someone else other than him, right?
"I don't know, Tristan. I'm sorry." I stood up from my seat immediately and started to walk away, feeling breathless and I could sense my heart racing wildly against my chest.
"What if I pay you double?" He yelled, making everyone stare at us. My eyes went wide in shock.
Wow! Double?
Was he that desperate for good grades?
It was a pretty good offer but my only problem was him. I was in mental turmoil. Finally, I took a deep breath and walked back to him.
"Shut up. It's not going to happen." I whispered and rushed to my desk, without looking back. I wanted to talk all about this with Lucy.
'Need to talk to you. ASAP!'
'Shit! I'm coming over right now to pick you up from the library, babe. Okay?'- Lucy.
'Yeah, okay :('
I texted her back and covered my face with my hands. My peace was interrupted by a loud thud on my desk and I already knew it was Tristan.
"What now?" I asked without looking at his face.
"I'm returning this book. Don't need it anymore because I have a tutor now." I jerked my head at his response to look at him, adorning a sexy smirk and he was about to walk away.
"I didn't agree to it, asshole," I called out but he paid me no mind. Just then, my phone buzzed with a notification sound. It was a message from him.
'Yet ;)' - Unknown number.
Well, not an unknown number anymore.
Oh dear God! What the fuck do I do?
"Are you fucking serious?" she asked with wide eyes as soon as I told her about the whole Tristan encounter.
"Yes, Lu and he said he would pay me double. I don't know what to do. I really need the money but I don't think I can teach that arrogant asshole," I kept whining, sitting inside her car. We were parked in the McDonald's driveway and kept munching on our burgers and fries.
"I mean, it's not like he is paying you for free right and he should pay you double for tormenting you all these years and he did say he would stop annoying you, right?" I nodded, taking a huge bite from my burger.
"I think this is a win-win situation for both of you. Why don't you give it a try for a week or so?" she suggested and I kept chewing on my bottom lip, pondering over that thought.
"I could give it a try but I'm scared, Lu." I stated honestly and she just smiled at me.
"He needs you to teach him, Ri. You have the upper hand now. Do not let him see that you scared and show him how strong you are." She tried to motivate me and I kept listening to her patiently.
"Fine. I'll text him and probably set some ground rules."
"Now, that's my girl." She hugged me sideways and after hanging out for a while, we drove back home.
At around 10 pm, I kept typing and erasing back the text, contemplating what to reply to.
'I'm willing to do this under certain conditions. Let me know when we can discuss them.'
Seems decent and professional.
I hit send and threw my phone. God, why was I acting all flustered now? What if this was all a prank? I started thinking of all negative scenarios and made a note to sort it out clearly with him.
'About time, Adams. This is great tho, let's discuss it now.' - Asshole.
Yup, I saved his number as Asshole in my phone and it seemed appropriate. I started to type my rules and conditions one by one.
' 1. You should stop bugging me at school and this includes your friends too.
2. You should pay me double.3. When you said, this should be private that doesn't include my best friend, Lucy. 4. How do I know this is not a prank?5. We keep it completely professional.6. You do as I say when we are together.7. I can tutor you after my working hours at the library and that is after 8 pm on weekdays.'I hit send and smirked internally, knowing he will definitely be taken off guard. I didn't receive any reply for a long time and wondered if he didn't want to do this anymore. I let out a huge sigh and decided to call it a night. Just when I was about to sleep, my phone buzzed with a response from him.
'1. Agreed, Ma'am.
2. Yes, of course.3. I hope your friend can keep her mouth shut or you will be in deep trouble, Adams.4. Trust me, this isn't a prank no matter how much I love to prank you. I can show you my test grades if you wish. 5.What else did you expect Adams? ;)6. Fuck, why does this sound dirty?7. I'm okay with weekdays. We will discuss weekends tomorrow.' -- Asshole.My jaw was hanging open at his reply yet I couldn't wipe the stupid smile off my face.
Ew!
No, I can't be smiling at his dirty replies. I felt my insides tingling as I kept reading his text over and over again.
Fuck, he was cocky as hell.
'Stop being a pervert and meet me at the library with your test grades tomorrow.'
I put my phone to charge and kept twisting and turning in my bed, trying to sleep but I was distracted by a certain arrogant jerk and his pretty green eyes.
Man, little did I know that my entire life was about to change by a simple decision that I took that day.
"So what did he say?" Lucy asked again right in the middle of our class. I tried to ignore her question as I didn't know how to explain it to her."He agreed to meet me at the library." I tried to keep it short and crisp but she knew me better than that."Come on, there is more. I can see your face. You are blushing," She whispered, making my eyes go wide."What? No!" I immediately touched my cheeks and she tried so hard not to laugh out loud."You should have seen your face." She sniffled in laughter beside me, earning us both glares from our professor."You better tell me now before I snatch your phone," she whispered again."Oh my God! You are so annoying, Lu." I handed over my phone to her before the professor could throw us both out."That's much better." She grinned and started looking over at my texts. I tried to observe her expressions from the corner of
The next day as promised Tristan picked me up at 8 pm sharp from the library and we were on our way to his house. I couldn't help but steal glances at him from the corner of my eyes. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt under his black jacket followed by his black jeans which were sexy as hell. I noticed his chiseled jawline which had a hint of stubble that made me lick my lips automatically.Ugh! Why can't he be ugly like his personality? I remained silent through the ride and he kept his focus solely on the road ahead of us. He pulled over inside a driveway and I looked outside the window and saw a huge classy-looking mansion.What else did I expect? "We are here." He unbuckled his seat belt and we both walked towards the front door. We were immediately greeted by a short elderly lady who had a warm smile on her face inside the living room."Good evening, Tristan. Can
For the next two days, things between me and Tristan were too professional that even I was getting annoyed by it. We spoke only about Math and there wasn't a single conversation other than that. He used to pick me up from the library, I used to teach him, and then he drops me off at my house. It was like teaching a lifeless person and I found it really hard to focus."Okay, enough of this! Why are being an extra Asshole for these past few days?" I broke the silence in the middle of teaching and he gave me a surprised look."Awww, are you missing our playful banter?" he smirked, leaning back against the chair and I pursued my lips into a thin line.To be honest, I did kind of miss it. "More like annoying banter. I mean, seriously, I'm the one who should be angry with you." I burst out in frustration, making him raise his eyebrows."Why are you angry with me?" he asked in a serious tone
"I look so funny, Lu. I'm just going to wear my jeans and some t-shirt." I whined, trying to pull down the short black dress to hide my knees. The dress was really pretty with a sweetheart neckline and reached just above my thighs. We were currently in her house, getting ready for the party, and Andrew was supposed to pick us up at 7 pm."Are you kidding me? You look smoking hot. I don't know why you hide behind those baggy clothes." She mumbled, making me sit down in front of the mirror forcefully. After doing my hair and make-up that took around an hour, she finally let go of me. I opened my eyes and let out a small gasp.The girl in front of me looked so different but in a good way. My hair was curled at the ends, giving it a nice bouncy look. She gave me a smoky eye effect with a soft nude shade of lipstick that looked subtle and beautiful. I couldn't believe my eyes. I actually looked pretty and wondered why I never put this effort in t
Let me tell you something, I have been kissed only once in my life before and I was thinking that was how a kiss was supposed to feel like but this, Tristan kissing me, the way he brushed his lips softly against mine as if waiting for me to deepen the kiss anytime which only made me want him more, this was exactly how a kiss was supposed to feel like.My eyes went wide in shock at first but then I felt fireworks explode inside my body and I wanted it more. I didn't care that I was kissing my enemy. I didn't care that he was a player. All I wanted to do was to grab his shirt and deepen the kiss and that's what I did. Maybe it was the drink I had earlier or maybe it was me, I had no idea why I was kissing him back.He immediately wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me steady while his other arm cupped my face, nibbling on my lower lip.Woah! Is this how a proper kiss is supposed to feel like?I le
Tristan's POV:'This is over. I'm done teaching you.'- RileyI kept staring at the message on my phone, not knowing what to reply to. I didn't want to fucking end this. Heck, I just had the best kiss of my life and I know for a fact that she enjoyed it too. I could see it from the way she responded. I didn't want to scare her but God help me, I just couldn't control myself when I saw her at the party in that little dress.Christ, she was fucking amazing!I've waited for so long and I was so not ready to give up now. I smirked and threw the phone aside, making up my mind to deal with her in person tomorrow.The next morning, I woke up at around 10 am and decided to pay her a visit at her house. My dad came home yesterday to see us and I guess he was already back on his business trip. I sighed and got out of my bed."Good morning, Tristan." Mrs. Waters, o
I immediately jumped up from his lap and adjusted my clothes. God! This was so humiliating but I was thankful it was just Lucy and not my dad instead."Oh my God! Riley Adams, you have a lot of explanation to do." She yelled, still in shock, trying to process the whole thing."And you, Tristan Harris?" she pointed her finger at him."One moment, ladies." He chuckled and got up from my bed, adjusting his pants before turning around to face us with a proud smirk plastered on his face."Don't you know how to knock?" he glared at Lucy, collecting his books from my study table, and kept walking towards the door.Aww! Was he leaving?"Well, you are one to talk." I scoffed in response and he turned around to look at me with raised eyebrows."I don't see you complaining now, Adams." He winked and opened the door wide, "I'll see you tomorrow then." He left, shutt
"Thank you so much," I smiled at the little kid who was returning the book that she had borrowed two days back from the library.My stomach was already in knots as the clock kept ticking closer towards 8 pm. Tristan would be here any minute and I was freaking out. I knew he had a test today and I really hoped he did well.Besides getting paid, I wanted him to do well and a small part of me wanted to end this whole tutoring as it felt a bit weird to be teaching him and kissing him but at the same time, I was worried he wouldn't want anything to do with me outside of tutoring. Last night's conversation literally left me speechless and I didn't know where we stood exactly. It was like we were having our own private world between the four walls of his room. My thoughts were interrupted by the loud honking of his fancy-ass car and I collected my things to leave immediately.After closing the library, I walked towards his car an
The next morning, I woke up with a smallfrown as the bright rays of sunlight hit my face. I covered myself with the duvet immediately and reached out for Tristan but he was missing from the bed. I woke up in an instant, covering my body as much as I could. Memories of last night came rushing back to my head and I smiled widely. I've never been happier and being with him just felt right.If this is what I would be signing up for, I wanted to be with him forever. I had already made up my mind. I was ready to leave Phoenix with Abby for him. That is, if and if we were going to talk about the future. I noticed my phone on top of the bedside table and picked it up. It was 7 am and I let out a soft sigh.Where was he?"Morning, sunshine." I heard his deep husky voice and turned to my side to find him standing outside the bathroom in just a towel that was hanging dangerously low on his hips, his hair was all wet fr
Tristan's POV:I kept tapping my feet furiously waiting to reach the hotel as soon as possible. Even though I wanted to make love to her right now, I had another stuff planned for tonight.Dammit!"Are we there yet?" she asked, biting her lips andI glanced at her. She looked absolutely breathtaking in that smoking hot red dress. Fuck, she was just perfect and I still saw that cute little girl from high school in her, despite the makeup and hairdo."Impatient, are we?" I let out a small chuckle and kept driving. We were almost there and once we reached the hotel. I gave the car keys to the valet and took her hands, guiding her through the glass doors."Holy Fuck! Are you staying here for the week?" she asked in shock and amazement. I looked down and found her admiring the interiors of the hotel. She was totally mesmerized by it and almost forgot why we were here in the
My phone kept going off constantly, distracting me from doing my work at the officethe next day and I knew exactly who it was.Man, he never gives up.I picked up my phone with a small smile and saw a dozen text messages from Asshole.Of course, it was him.'I want to take you and Abby out for dinner tonight. Please don't say nooooo' -Asshole.I let out a small chuckle and typed out my reply.'Like a date?''Of course, baby.'- Asshole.'You need to get through my dad first.'My phone started to vibrate in my hands as he chose to call instead of responding to my text."Did you tell him already that I'm in town?" he yelled as soon I attended the call. I took my phone a few inches away from my ears, trying to hold back my laughter.
"You are awfully silent. Everything okay, babe?" Tristan asked while driving back to my house. Abby was fast asleep on my shoulders and I kept patting her back softly. I was still in shock with my discovery and couldn't even meet his gaze all evening. I mean, it was unbelievable that he kept the carnival ticket from our first date even after all these years. I was literally blown away and my heart was thumping against my chest wildly."I--I'm fine," I spoke after a few seconds but he wasn't convinced and kept giving me sideways glances now and then."Iknow you better than that. Do you...Ummm...regret this evening?""What?" I asked immediately and gave him a 'are you crazy' look, "Of course not, I'm just so glad that it went well and it wasn't awkward at all. She warmed up to you so fast.""I am her father, Duh! And, yeah, she is amazing. I want to be with her, Riley. I want to get
"Leaving early, I see." I heard a deep voice from behind, causing me to jump from my seat."Jesus Christ!" I shrieked in fear and turned around to meet a pair of familiar crystal blue orbs."Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He raised his hands in defense and I let out an embarrassed chuckle."It's okay, Mr.Reed and yeah, I'm leaving early today," I replied with a small smile and grabbed my things. He was still standing at my desk behind me and I was feeling a bit awkward. I wasn't the type to make small talk and I had no idea why he was still standing right there."Ummm... Is there something I can do?" I asked, trying to keep myself distracted by arranging random things on my desk."Oh yeah, I wanted to ask if you submitted the documents and how do you feel about working here?" he asked, smiling down at me warmly and I let out a soft sigh."I submitted the documents this
"I will bring her to the park tomorrow because it's not safe for you to come to my house right now," I explained through the phone as I settled on my bed, pulling the covers over my body. I was so tired because of the jetlag and just wanted to fallasleep already."Why not?" came his response almost in an instant and I rolled my sleepy eyes."Well, if you want my dad to kill you, you are more than welcome, Tristan," I uttered, earning a deep chuckle from him that made me feel warm on the inside.God, I missed that chuckle so much."I think I can handle him, babycakes but we can meet at the park tomorrow, you know just to be safe." He sighed and I remained silent, trying to suppress my smile.Apart from me wanted to lose my ego and just forget everything. I could understand why he pushed me away and he was really dumb to think that I would want a kid more than being wit
Tristan's POV:I kept driving my car aimlessly that night as my mind was completely fucked up. I was shocked beyond anything when I came to know that Riley had a kid but when shetold me that the kid was mine, I almost had a mini heart attack. God, the reason I pushed her away became the opposite ironically and I still couldn't believe that we had a kid.I was a father.Never in my life, I thought I would father a child. I wiped away my tears and hit the brakes, running my fingers through my hair in pain and frustration.I put her through hell because of my immature thinking. She was right. I should have told her the truth and made her decide for herself. I fucked up big time and the fact that she raised our kid all alone was too much for me to bear. I should have been there with her through every fucking step of it. I should have taken care of my girl.
I kept pacing around in my hotel room, feeling all kinds of mixed emotions. Rage and anger dominated everything else. I wanted to kill him but at the same time, my grandmother's words and Lucy's words haunted me. Abby needs her father and he deserves to know about her no matter howbad and evil he might be. I wouldn't get another chance like this.Seeing him today at school broke me all over again and it was like trying to forget about him all these years made absolutely no sense. He still looked annoyingly handsome and even more hot if that was even possible.Ugh! I hated him so much.Why did I run into him? Of all the places, he had to work at our high school.Un-fucking-believable!I sat down on my bed and picked up my phone slowly. I went through my contacts and there his number stared right back at me.Asshole!
Tristan's POV:"Alright, boys. You may leave for the day and I expect to see you all at 6 am sharp tomorrow. Now go hit the showers," I announced to my team and watched them disperse immediately. I let out a huge sigh and made my way towards my office, wiping the sweat off my forehead. Being a football coach was fun yet exhausting attimes but I loved my job nevertheless. I felt proud to be coaching my team at my own high school.I threw my sports bag on my shoulder as I was ready to leave for the day. Just as I was about to lock my office, my eyes glanced briefly at the hallway and I noticed a woman, taking to the principal with her back facing towards me. It was a very familiar back and there was a sudden curiosity in me to see this woman's face. She was wearing a wine red dress that hugged every curve of her body and her chestnut brown hair fell below her shoulder in waves. I kept walking towards them, trying to be as casual as