Betting on You

52

f i f t y t w o
two weeks later

A hand slammed down on the table top in front of me, a package of papers thrust atop my textbook, making me jump is surprise.

I looked up from my chemistry textbook on the library table, my startled heartbeat returning to normal when they made contact with the bright blue eyes of my blonde neighbor. "There are easier ways to get my attention, you know."

The corner of his mouth twitched up as he refrained from trying to smile. "Look at it."

"And there are also better ways to greet someone instead of starteling them," I continued. "Like maybe a 'hey Maddy, how are you?', or a 'hey, Maddy, I want to show you something'."

Luke picked up the paper he had slapped down, urging it towards me. "Okay, yes, hello, please look at this."

Still keeping my eyes locked on his, I grasped the papers in my hands. "And on another note," I rambled to irk him, trying to hide my emerging smile, "You could've given me a heart attack just then—"

"Maddy," he whined, glancing over his shoulder to ensure he hadn't spoken loud enough to get harrassed by the strict librarian. "Please look at it."

I rolled my eyes before doing as told, casting my eyes down to the papers in my hands. Easily, my eyes first made contact with the bright red ink in the top right corner of the first page. There, clear as day, was the letter 'A' next to a minus.

A-.

My eyes snapped up to Luke's, a slow smile creeping onto my lips. "Is this real?"

He nodded his head, grinning. "Mhm."

My smile grew as I looked down at the make-up English assignment that I had helped him edit two weeks ago, in his car, looking at the small edits Mrs. Geller had suggested. But this was her writing, alright. "She really gave you an A minus?"

"She really gave me an A minus."

"Luke!" I squealed, getting shushed aggressively almost instantly. I stood from my chair and without thinking, threw my arms around his neck. "Congratulations!" I whispered. "This is fantastic!"

He was slow to wrap his arms around my waist, his grip ginger and soft. His head dropped slightly to my shoulder, and he melted into me.

I held him tighter, on my toes. "I told you you were smart."

In response his arms tightened, squeezing me almost to the point where it hurt. "You do know this means that you can never stop tutoring me."

"Yeah," I pulled away from him, standing back on my feet as his arms dropped from around me. "I know. Because you're hopeless without my infinite knowledge. You know, I think it's about time you start paying me."

Luke rolled his eyes, pulling out the chair that had been next to mine and dropping his bag to the floor. "Paying you? I'm pretty sure I'm still in my free-trial period."

"That ended after you handed in the first assignment."

We both took a seat and he reached into his bag to retrieve his laptop, setting on the table next to my things and opening it up. "Does that mean you can't help me with this next paper?"