A Hockey Tutor (10 page)

Chapter 12 – Andrew

This had been a week from hell. Practice was becoming harder, as were the projects, homework, and studying. To top it all off, Katie and I were barley speaking. Any time we did talk, it was a small greeting or about school-related work.

I had never been so thankful to have a bye week. I told Franks I was going to stay drunk all weekend, and sleep it off on Sunday, but I knew I really couldn’t do that, because Katie had me on a tight schedule this week because of midterms.

“Well, I guess we’re done.” Katie shut her book and gave me a tight smile.

“Great, I’ll see you on Saturday.” I tossed all my books into my bag and threw my bag onto my shoulders.

“I’m giving you a ride home, right?” she asked, confused.

“Nah, I’ll just walk,” I told her.

“Andrew,” she chastised.

I leaned in close to her face, gazed into her beautiful golden eyes , and said . . .“It’s four thirty; you can punch out for the day, Ms. Miller.” I held her gaze for another few seconds, then broke eye contact and walked out of the library.

It had snowed the night before, and there were several inches on the ground. The sun’s rays reflected brightly off of the snow, and I wished I had my sunglasses. With each step, the snow crunched under my combat boots, reminding me that I was getting closer to home, and all I wanted to do was drink.

I tried not to think about Katie, but she seemed to take over my brain more and more these days. Her kissable lips, stunning eyes, and vivacious curves had been killing me. I knew I had been mean to her this week, but that was just my barrier, trying to keep my feelings from being hurt any more.

When she told me in the car that it was just business, I was hurt. There I was, for the first time ever, asking someone out on a real date, and she said no. I tried not to think about it.

I turned my focus to midterms next week. Was it really that time? I knew that I had been studying like a madman, and between studying and games and practice, I was surprised I hadn't passed out from exhaustion.

I walked into the house and fell onto my couch. I was thankful for the warmth, because I was freezing. I heard Franks chuckling from the other room.

“Long day, sweetheart?” he asked from the doorway. I flipped him off.

“Ouch, that hurts.”

“I’m so tired,” I moaned into the cushion.

“So, you don’t want to party?”

I looked up at him. “Oh I still want to party. I want to party all night long.”

“Hell yeah,” Franks clapped his hands together.

Several hours later, after a shower and shave, donning a pair of dark jeans and a polo shirt, a beer in each hand, I was talking to some of my teammates when I heard the laugh. I stopped midsentence, and turned.

Her light brown hair hung loose about her shoulders and her face was bright with a big smile. Katie looked stunning, and I actually ached for her. I should have just respected her wishes, and left the situation alone, but I didn’t believe her when she said she just wanted to be friends. That was a damn lie. I could see in her eyes that she wanted me, too. I didn't know why she’d refused to go out with me, but I needed to find out.

On my way over to Katie, Amber stepped in front of me and blocked my path.

“You haven’t returned any of my calls or texts, Andrew.” She ran her hand up my chest.

“Been busy, Amber. It’s midterm time, and I’ve been studying a lot.”

“With her?” she sneered at me.

“Yes. Katie is my tutor,” I told her.

“I could teach you a few things. How about we go upstairs and pick up where we left off the last time we were in your bed?” she said seductively, batting her heavily painted eyes at me. This move probably worked on other guys, and if he hadn’t been thinking about Katie, maybe it would’ve worked on him.

“I’m not in the mood for sex.” With you.

“You said that the last two times we were about to fuck, so what gives?” She put her hands on her hips and gave me a pointed look.

I shrugged at her. “I told you I wasn’t in the mood.”

“It’s her, isn’t it?” She crossed her arms, pushing her breasts up so that they almost fell out of her low-cut pink sweater.

“Her who?” I knew who she was talking about, but was hoping she would get annoyed and walk away.

“Your little tutor. Your little Katie,” she hissed at me.

I was in no mood to play these childish games. “Amber, we aren’t dating, therefore I don’t have to explain anything to you. We had a good time together, but I think it’s time for you to move on.”

Her jaw dropped a little bit. “Are you kidding me? You’re dumping me?”

“We were never in a relationship. I can’t dump you because we were never together.”

“You’re an ass, Andrew Moore.” She swiveled on her heels, and stormed off, heading straight for Katie.

“Shit,” I said under my breath. This couldn’t be good. Amber pulled Katie to the side and said something to her. I knew Katie had a good right hook, because I saw the shape of Wes’ nose, but Amber was tiny. Katie could do some serious damage to her.

After a moment, Amber spun on her heels and walked away. Katie didn't move an inch; she just looked at the ground. Lindsay finally went over to her and tugged her by the arm to the dance floor. Lindsay whispered something to her, and then she began to dance to the music.

I could watch her move those hips, and ass, all night long. She was an amazing dancer.

“You know, you should keep asking her out,” Franks said, handing me another beer.

“She said it was
business
.” I told him, chugging half my beer. My mouth went dry, watching Katie, and her seductive dance.

“You think being mean to her is the way to win her over?” he asked.

I didn't answer him. I figured that Lindsay told him that I had been a jerk to Katie lately. I’m not proud of it, but it was something that I needed to do, to protect myself.

I didn’t want to deal with any of this right now. My plan was to stay drunk all weekend, and that was what I was going to do. I grabbed a bottle of tequila from the bar and headed up to my room. I needed some quiet, far away from Katie’s firm ass.

I shut my door and slid down the far side wall. I could still feel the bass from the music on my back. I popped the seal on the bottle and took a large gulp. The burning sensation went all the way down my throat and into my stomach.

I shouldn’t be mean to Katie. I knew that, but I wanted her so badly. I wanted to hold her hand, take her out, and have her in my bed. I'd never had these feelings for anyone before, and I couldn't explain them. I lay my head against the wall, shutting my eyes. I thought about her beautiful body, her gorgeous eyes, and her fine-looking ass. I was so lost in thought, I didn’t hear her come in.

“Andrew,” her soft voice floated through the air to me.

I opened my eyes, and I roamed over her picturesque body. She had gray high heel boots on, with a pair of tight jeans, and a white-as-snow sheer blouse over a lace camisole.

“What do you want, Katie?” I asked expressionless, even though my heart was yearning for her.

“I’ve never known you to leave a party early.” She sat down next to me. “I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you were okay.” Her voice was low, and I could hear the genuine concern in it.

“I’m fine.” I took another swig.

We sat there not saying anything, just letting the beat of the bass fill the room.

“You know, a nice guy would’ve offered me a drink.” She nodded toward the bottle in my hand.

“I don’t have a glass, and I’m not a nice guy,” I informed her. She took the bottle from my hands and took a swig. “I could have spiked that.”

“You didn’t, because the guy I know wouldn’t do something like that. Besides ,” she paused for a second, “I trust you.”

“Great,” I rolled my eyes like a teenage girl would at her parents. “I need to go back to the party.” I grabbed the bottle back, stood up and started for the door. I didn’t want to be in my bedroom alone with her for another moment. I might say something I'd regret, and the twitch in my pants wasn’t going away.

“No!” she shouted, jumping over my bed and blocking the door with her body. “We need to talk, and we’re going to do it now.”

My mouth dropped. “Did you just leap over my bed? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you move that fast,” I chuckled.

“Shut up, Andrew. You and I need to talk.” She crossed her arms and stood with her back to the door.

I relented, sitting down on my bed and placing the bottle on my nightstand. “What did Amber say to you?”

“Don’t worry about it. You need to listen to me, please,” she begged.

“Fine. I’m listening.”

“I like you, Andrew,” she started.

“I think we’ve established our ‘likeness’ for one another.”

“Would you shut the fuck up and listen to me? You’re so quick to jump to the end, and I have something important to say.” She got right in my face. I could smell the sweetness of cranberry juice, and tequila, on her breath. Her golden eyes cut right through me.

I threw my hands up. “Sorry, carry on.”

“I like you, Andrew,” she started again. “I really do. I’m glad that I took this job and we got to know each other better. I consider you a good friend, and that is a title I don’t give to just anyone. I was hired to be your tutor, and I don’t want to ruin that, or our friendship, by complicating things.”

I stared at her for a few seconds, searching her face. I jumped up and pointed my finger right in her face. “You’re a damn liar.”

“What?” she squeaked.

I walked over to the other side of the room. “You’re. A. Damn. Liar,” I repeated, growing angrier with each word.

“How dare you call me a liar?” she yelled, hands on her hips, her chest heaving.

“Oh Katie, it’s written all over your face. I can see it. You’re just making some stupid excuse, when in reality, you like me a hell of a lot more than you’re saying.”

“I just
told you
I liked you, dumbass!” she shouted at me.

“Name calling, Katie, really?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Look,” she threw her hands up in the air, walking over to me. “I don’t want to get hurt.”

It hit me, like a puck in my chest. That was the third time she had said that. “You think I’ll hurt you?”

“Nevermind.” As she pulled on the knob, I raced over and slammed the door back shut.

“Tell me,” I whispered in her ear, inhaling the scent of strawberries, her back still facing me. She didn't say anything, but her body was tense. I could feel it against mine. “You said you trust me, so trust me. I would never hurt you. Why would you think that?”

“Sometimes people make promises they can’t keep.” I thought about what I told Uncle Mike, about the sadness in her eyes. There was something there, and she needed to lean on someone.

I boldly placed my hand on her flat stomach, and pulled her against me. I heard her breath catch. “I’m here. Tell me, Katie.”

She shook her head, and placed her hands on the door, as if to hold herself up.

“You don’t know me, Andrew.” She sniffled.

My Katie was crying. The blunt, stone-face, beautiful girl was showing an emotion that I didn’t think she had. The light in my room caught the face of her watch, bringing my attention to the Cinderella on it.

I walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned around slowly, and I could see the tears falling slowly I gave her a small smile, and cupped her lovely face in my hands. I wiped the tears away with the pads of my thumbs.

Her kissable lips were calling out to me. I couldn’t stop myself. I needed to feel hers on mine. I leaned in, and I felt her grip the sides of my shirt, pulling me closer to her. Her hot breath was overtaking me as I closed the gap.

We both moaned as the connection was complete. Her soft lips fit flawlessly on mine. I removed my hands from her face and grasped her hips tightly. She opened her mouth wider and I drove my tongue into her. The sweet cranberry taste of her just added fuel to me, and I pushed her harder against the door.

She gently bit down on my lip, and I had to have more of her. My body was screaming for me to just take her, but I didn't want to move too fast, either. I wanted to savor the moment.

I picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, and her arms around my neck. I walked us over to the bed, without breaking our connection. I gently laid her on the bed, with her legs stilled wrapped around me, but she broke from my lips, arching her back.

“Andrew,” she panted my name. I yanked off her scarf, and I began to kiss down her neck. I unbuttoned her shirt, nibbling on her collar bone. Her breasts were hidden behind a lace camisole, but I could see how perky and perfectly shaped they were as I kissed down her chest. I tugged the delicate fabric down, exposing her to me. Katie’s nails dug into my hair and neck as I took her nipple into my mouth. I sucked and, ever so slightly, bit down on it. She tightened her legs around me, moaning my name again.