Trust your tutor, p.1
Trust Your Tutor, page 1
TRUST YOUR TUTOR
by
LILITH GREY
Amber Quill Press, LLC
http://www.amberquill.com
Trust Your Tutor An Amber Quill Press Book This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or have been used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
Amber Quill Press, LLC
http://www.AmberQuill.com http://www.AmberHeat.com http://www.AmberAllure.com
All rights reserved.
No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.
Copyright © 2010 by Lilith Grey
ISBN 978-1-61124-004-7
Cover Art © 2010 Trace Edward Zaber
Layout and Formatting
Provided by: Elemental Alchemy
Published in the United States of America
Dedication
For Rob. I keep you in my heart.
Thank you to my friends Catherine, Laura, and Dannie.
TRUST YOUR TUTOR
Gabriel sighed and shut the laptop, gazing at the lazy ripples in the pool before him. His online course started that very day, and he had yet to buy the books he needed--and the bookstore would be closing soon. He should have done that earlier. He'd had the list for weeks, but it wasn't like people actually went to the course site on the very first day. Well, maybe they did. He didn't.
He thought about calling his mom and asking her to grab his books on her way home from work, but he could predict her reaction and knew it wouldn't be worth it.
His head fell back against the cushion and he sighed again, half-wishing someone was around to ask him what was wrong. All of his friends were still in the city, living in apartments while he still lived in residence despite being in his fourth year. As long as his parents were paying for his school, Gabriel had to live by their rules. He was probably the only twenty-two year old in the entire town.
At least I have a car, Gabriel thought, getting up with a vocal stretch and walking around the side of the house. His dad had gifted him with the dependable four-door sedan--"second-hand until you prove yourself."--on his eighteenth birthday, and it had served him loyally since. He got in and made the quick drive down Main Street.
The moment he pulled into the parking lot, he remembered why he had so desperately not wanted to go. Jessica Hampton was working--the other twenty-two year old in town.
Jessica had been nursing a crush on Gabriel for years, despite the fact that he was, in bolded letters, Not Interested. She was pretty and sweet and if she'd had better gaydar, she could have been well on her way to a happy relationship with someone who wasn't Gabriel. As it was, she had her sights set.
"Gabe!" she cried when she saw him. She abandoned her work and rushed to meet him. "I didn't know you were coming home."
He let her pull him into a hug, but he made sure to keep a few inches of distance between them--contact would only encourage her. "It's the last summer before the real world," he said, smiling. "How are you?"
She pulled back but kept her hands on his arms. "I'm great. I love working here. I'm not using my degree or anything, but what good is an English degree, anyway?"
Gabriel shrugged. He was hoping his would do more for him than Jessica's had for her since she'd graduated. He loved reading and, perhaps naively, had thought that would make him a brilliant English major. It turned out there was as much writing as reading, and he wasn't so good with the former.
Jessica's presence was good for one thing, though. He handed her the list. "Do you mind finding these? I'm on a real time crunch. My class starts today, and I need the books before I can log on."
She grinned and took the list. "Always leaving things to the last minute, Gabe." She tutted at him and walked off, grabbing a basket to fill.
While he was waiting, his phone rang. Another novelty paid for by his parents, which meant that his parents completely controlled it. There was no surfing the Internet for Gabriel. He could barely text. Glancing at the number of the incoming call, Gabriel rolled his eyes--it was his mom.
"Yes, Mother?" he answered, just to annoy her. She was always so surprised when he was able to predict it was her on the line. Caller ID was not in her vocabulary.
"Sweetie! I'm so glad I caught you." Like the cell phone wasn't portable or something. "I need you to be back home by seven."
"Why, what's up?"
"Oh, nothing." Translation: he wasn't going to like it. "Just make sure you're back, all right? What are you doing, anyway?"
Jessica chose that moment to call across the store that she didn't have a certain edition but that she would order it and give him a different one for the time being.
"Jessica?" His mother's voice was disapproving. "Gabriel, you're not going back there, are you? Didn't you tell us you were--"
"Yes, Mom," Gabriel said, smiling because to get mad would be an exercise in futility. "Still gay. Not getting back with Jessica. Ever. I'll be there by seven." And because he knew there wasn't enough time but to ask would get him brownie points, "Need me to pick anything up on the way home?"
As predicted, his mom gave the happy sigh of a parent whose child was halfway decent. "No, no, just get home. Drive safe! And tell Jessica I said hello. But don't make it sound like I want you two back together, okay? Love you."
"Love you, too, Mom." Gabriel hung up. He wasn't sure how to handle his mom's request about saying hi to Jessica without giving her hope, so he said nothing.
Jessica rang up the purchases and gave him her employee discount. He was grateful for it, or at least his parents would be when he gave them the bill. There was another person in line behind Gabriel, so he was able to slip out with a half-hearted agreement to "keep in touch."
He stopped for a quick bite and was home just after seven.
"In here, love!" his mom called from the dining room. They hardly ever used the room so as he walked in, he was instantly suspicious. His mom and another woman around her age, though rougher and sterner looking, were sitting at the table across from a young man, younger than Gabriel.
"Um, hi?" Gabriel said, confused. He greeted his mom with a kiss on the cheek and shook the other woman's hand. She introduced herself as Monica Freely, and then gestured toward the young man.
"This is my son, Justin."
Gabriel's eyes were drawn toward him. He was tall; Gabriel could tell even though he was seated. He had wavy dark blond hair and blue eyes with crinkles at the corners as if he smiled a lot. His entire being radiated easy relaxation.
"Gabriel." Gabriel extended his hand again.
"I know," Justin said with, indeed, a smile. He shook Gabriel's hand, the touch lingering for just long enough to make Gabriel wonder.
"So, what's going on?" Gabriel asked, turning toward his mother.
She indicated that he should sit, and when he did, she began to talk. "Now, sweetie, I know you've been having some trouble at school, getting things done on time."
Gabriel's eyes widened. He couldn't believe she was talking about his academic failures in front of total strangers. "Mom," he said under his breath. He wasn't averse to kicking her in the shin, but he restrained himself--for the moment.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Monica interjected, contradicted by the look in her eyes that seemed to suggest otherwise.
Justin was grinning as he watched the scene before him, and Gabriel decided he deserved the kick more than his mom did.
"That's right," Gabriel's mother said. "Anyway, I know Monica from my Pilates class, and she mentioned that her son led a study group. Not now that summer's over, but it gave me an idea. Justin has a full scholarship for your school--he'll be an English major like you. So I thought--"
How can I torture my son without going to jail?
"--how can I help? And it came to me. Justin could tutor you!"
Gabriel thought he did a good job of keeping his reaction in check. His eyes bored into his mother's, and she laughed awkwardly when he didn't respond.
"I don't need a tutor. I've made it through four years without one, and I don't need one now."
His mother reached across the table and patted his hand. He thought about moving it away, but he didn't want to hurt her, just make her change her mind. "But you're always stressed out about deadlines and extensions. Justin can help keep you punctual, on schedule. And he's a genius--a real one!"
Monica beamed and nodded. Justin had the grace to flush a little now that the attention was on him. Gabriel glared at him. Somehow...somehow, this was his fault.
"Okay, that's great. Congratulations on being a genius, Justin. But I really don't need a tutor to keep me in line. I'm an adult. The course is only four weeks long. This whole situation is ridiculous."
To his horror, instead of the stern retort he expected, his mother's voice trembled when she spoke next. "I'm only trying to help. I just want the best for you!" Her eyes were glassy as she looked in Gabriel's.
It was a trick. He knew it, she knew it, and if their mothers were anything alike, Justin knew it, too. Gabriel wasn't heartless, though. He couldn't call her on it, and he couldn't make things worse. Damn her. "Okay. Tell you what. I'll try it for a week and if I think I could do just as well without him, then he's out of here."
His mother cheered up immediately, eyes clearing before h er mascara had suffered at all. "That's all I ask. Now, Monica and I are going to have a glass of wine. Why don't you two go sit outside and talk about how this is going to work?"
Gabriel stood and walked outside without waiting for Justin. How dare this young upstart come in and ruin his last summer as a free man? Why would he even agree to tutor someone four years older than him? He might not even be eighteen if he had only just graduated. It was humiliating.
It wasn't that Gabriel was stupid. He'd breezed through high school putting in a minimal effort. His first year of university had been the same. His second year was a little tougher, but with an only slight increase in effort, he'd managed to do well enough. His third and fourth years, he admitted, hadn't been spectacular. Still, he knew he had to be smarter than a high school student. If he wasn't, he'd drown himself in the pool to save face.
When Justin came out, closing the sliding glass door behind him, Gabriel realized just how tall he was. He was over six feet by at least two inches. Gabriel, at a respectable five foot nine, felt dwarfed. Not only that, but Justin had a jock's body--hard and broad and utterly fit.
"Shit," Gabriel said, staring.
"Don't worry. I don't believe in corporal punishment." Justin threw that grin at him again and Gabriel flushed right down to his navel, knowing he'd been caught.
He cleared his throat. "So, how do you propose we go about this? You could come over whenever our moms have you scheduled and you could go swimming or play video games or whatever and then report back that everything's fine."
Justin looked thoughtful. He walked over to the poolside lounge chairs and sat back in one, threading his fingers together behind his head. Gabriel rolled his eyes. Make yourself at home.
"But how would you learn anything?"
"I'm not an idiot," Gabriel snapped. He sat stiffly in the chair next to Justin, narrowing his eyes at him. "You could make this really easy on both of us. I won't waste your summer, and you don't waste mine."
Justin sighed. "Look, I know how you feel, okay? This is probably pretty embarrassing for you. But try not to look at it that way, okay? I believe your mom when she said you're stressed. I can tell just by looking at you. When did your class start?"
Gabriel frowned. "Today."
"And let me guess...You haven't logged in or whatever you need to do?"
"No, but--"
"Exactly. You're already behind and you haven't even started. Think about it this way... If you let me help you, I can make it so you actually enjoy your summer. We'll work a little every day, you'll read every night, and you won't have any stress because you'll be caught up every day. How would you rather spend your summer--carefree on the outside and panicking on the inside until four days before the final when you study without sleeping and probably barely pass? Or spend a few hours every day working with the rest of the day all yours to enjoy, stress-free."
Put that way, it really did seem like a good deal, and the fact that Justin was hot as hell didn't hurt. "So what do you get out of this?"
"What, besides spending the next month in your joyful company?" Justin winked at him to show he was kidding, and Gabriel blushed again. Stupid jock. "Your mom's paying me."
"What!" Gabriel stood, appalled. "You're milking a harmless mother for her hard-earned money? Shame on you!"
Justin laughed, entirely unthreatened. "You're funny. We both know your mother could make me pay her if she watered her eyes at me. It's not much but it'll be enough for my books at the start of semester."
Still, Gabriel was determined to make sure Justin earned every cent of that money.
"So, what's the schedule, then? Will I be waking up every morning at six to run laps, or what?"
"If you want, I could train you physically as well. A healthy mind and healthy body complement each other perfectly. Exercise would help your brain function on a higher level."
Gabriel's mouth dropped open. "Oh, hell no."
"All right, all right," Justin said, laughing again. He looked at Gabriel almost fondly. "Well, I work out in the mornings, so I'll come here around nine. I volunteer at the library on Sundays, and I work part-time a few evenings a week in my dad's office. Then I have guitar lessons--"
"Okay, okay, tell you what. I have no other obligations. Just...show up when you're free. If I'm not going to be around, I'll text you."
"But we have to meet every day," Justin insisted.
"Then just call me in the mornings--after your godforsaken workout, please--and let me know what time you'll be free and I'll make sure to be here."
"That would be great," Justin said. "Oh, can I get your book list? I'll have to pick them up so I can make sure we're on the same page." He laughed at his little pun. He seemed to always be laughing or smiling.
Gabriel lifted his hips off the seat to reach into his back pocket. He didn't miss how Justin's eyes slid down over his chest to settle on his groin before snapping back to Gabriel's face as he took the list.
Reading it quickly, he nodded. "I have most of these. Just need three or four. I'll grab them from the library tomorrow. And then I'll be here around..." He thought for a moment. "Noon. Is that all right?"
"Perfect," Gabriel said, looking forward to sleeping in.
"Okay, so--" Justin began.
Gabriel stood, ready to send him on his way and go mess around online. But Justin frowned, looking up at him.
"So, let's log on to the course website," he finished.
Gabriel sat with a dejected thunk. There would be no fun that night. His summer of horror had begun.
"I'll get the laptop," Gabriel said, standing again and trudging back into the house. He heard his mother and Monica cackling in the dining room. He wondered where the heck his father was and why hadn't he put a stop to the madness, but he must have been working late.
Slamming open his bedroom door, Gabriel considered not going back, crawling under his covers and sleeping until Justin and his mom gave up on him. But he couldn't do it. For one, his mother would never give up on him; for two, Justin was really attractive and possibly even into him. That would make studying a lot easier.
He grabbed the laptop and reluctantly went back to the pool. He handed the thing to Justin, who put it on the lounge by his feet and scooted over, patting the seat beside him. The lounges were wide but not enough for two men to sit that close without touching.
Not that he had anything against touching. Gabriel stretched out beside Justin, one leg off the side to maintain balance. He reached forward and opened the laptop, finding the page he needed.
"Have you ever done an online course before?" Justin asked, looking on with interest as Gabriel logged in.
"One that was half-online and half-lecture. I know what to do. It's really easy."
They both saw that the rest of the class had already logged on and greeted each other as well as the professor. He sighed and added his own greeting to the thread. "That it?" he asked his taskmaster.
"Just a sec." Justin pulled the laptop onto his knees and began exploring the site. Daily comments or responses counted for participation, which was a part of Gabriel's grades that he'd never fretted over losing--but Justin would probably make him work for it.
"This is great, he has the schedule all set up to the last detail. I'm going to email this to myself so I can print it, okay?" Without waiting for a response, Justin pulled up a new window and signed in to his email.
"Blondbigfoot? That's your email address?" Gabriel chuckled, falling back against the seat. "Oh, man, that's awesome."
Justin merely smirked as he copied and pasted the schedule into the body of the email. "So, what's yours, smartass?" he asked as he sent the email to himself.
Still chuckling, Gabriel reached over and typed his email address--his full name at his university's domain--and saved himself as a contact. Maybe it was a little bold, but they'd be spending every day together. Email was a trusted means of communication.
"Boring," Justin decided. "You have a cell phone, right?"
Gabriel nodded. "Give me your phone, I'll put my number in." Justin handed it over and Gabriel added himself as a contact before calling his own phone so he had Justin's number. He tossed back the phone.
"I feel very accomplished," Gabriel said, only half-joking. He hadn't planned to log in to the site for another few days, so he felt ahead of the game.
