Rebecca dropped me off at my house a half hour after Tyson left. I was grateful that she was quiet and didn’t ask too many prying questions. It was hard enough trying to process the evening’s events, and I really didn’t need to speak about what had happened out loud.

She smiled over at me as I pulled open my door and hopped out. “I’m happy that it’s working out for you. You know, with Tyson.”

I shot her a look and peeked toward the house. Dad’s light was on, which I hoped meant he was in his room instead of hiding behind the bushes to see if I were up to something.

“Yeah. Thanks for covering for me. I’m really happy to help Tyson out with his chemistry.”

I wanted to tell her about what had happened. But I’d promised Tyson I wouldn’t. Even though I trusted Rebecca with my secrets, for some reason it didn’t feel right to trust her with his. What a strange place to be. Keeping secrets from my best friend for a guy.

Weird.

She nodded, and I started to shut the door. “Of course. You need to have some fun, Des. I’m happy to help.”

I shot her a smile as she pulled out of my driveway.

Once I was in the house, I shut the front door as quietly as I could.

“Where have you been? It’s late.” Dad’s voice was low. He was not happy.

I forced a smile and turned. “I was at Rebecca’s.”

He furrowed his brow as he studied me. “Really?”

I sighed, dropped my backpack to the floor, and made my way past him and into the kitchen. “Yes, Dad. We were studying together.”

I could hear his heavy footsteps on the hardwood floor. Why was he acting like this? I mean, I know I had just spent the evening with Tyson, but he didn’t know that. In all of my life, I’d never given my dad a reason to doubt me. Why was he now?

He sighed as he leaned against the counter and grabbed a banana. “Sorry, Tiny. I guess I’m just agitated.” He reached out and patted my shoulder. His signature I was being a dork and took it out on you move.

I shrugged, ignoring that tugging in the back of my mind that said he had every right to be suspicious. I had lied. And spent time with a guy he’d forbidden me to see. “I get it. No harm, no foul.”

He’d finished his banana, so he leaned over and threw the peel into the garbage. “How’s Rebecca?”

I swallowed. Lying once was easy. But the longer I stood here, stringing together more of them, the harder it would be. So I faked a yawn and waved toward the hallway. “She’s good. Hey, I’m going to head upstairs and finish my Chem homework and then turn in. Big day of learning tomorrow.”

He studied me and then nodded. “Sounds good, peanut. I’ll see you in the morning?”

I nodded, pushing all feelings of regret from my mind. I wasn’t doing any of this to hurt him. I was trying to help someone. If anything, he should be proud to have a daughter who was so selfless.

When I passed by him, I went up onto my tippy toes and kissed his cheek. “Night, Dad.”

He patted me on the back. When I got back out into the hallway, I took the stairs two at a time. I felt as if my head might explode. Lying was a lot of work.

I needed sleep. If I went to bed right now, I’d maybe get six hours.

But when I pulled out my textbooks from my backpack, I realized how much work I actually had to do. It was going to take me into the wee hours of the morning before I finished.

Grabbing my phone, I turned it on. I needed some jams to get through this.

I don’t know why I thought things were going to change between Tyson and I. Experiencing an intimate moment the night before wasn’t enough to suddenly bond us. He was still the same cocky and flirty senior in class the next day.

I spent the whole period watching him text Tammy and flirt with the girl behind us. I wanted to shake him. Heck, I wanted to slap him. What was his problem? Did he only pay attention to me when no one was around?

Thankfully, Ms. Swallow was also watching and was not shy with her warnings. It took a few, but he eventually settled down and focused on the experiment we had been assigned to do.

That only lasted for a few minutes before his phone was out again and he was texting.

Fed up with his behavior, I decided to ignore him and just finish the lab myself. After jotting down the results, the bell rang, and I made my way up to the front. Tyson’s complaint was lost in the chatter and movement of students leaving the classroom.

But I didn’t care. It was his fault for being a jerk. If he failed this lab, what did it matter to me? I’d pass, and right now, that’s all I cared about. Even though my heart felt as if it were breaking a bit inside.

I slipped into the throng of people, hoping to dodge Tyson. Just as I rounded the corner, I felt a hand wrap around my elbow and pull me under the stairs. I yelped, turning to see my assailant.

It was Tyson. I narrowed my eyes. I tried not to glare at him, but I couldn’t help it. He was acting like a jerk. I pulled my elbow away and stepped back, pressing my back against the wall.

“What did you need, Tyson?” I asked. I hoped that my voice would come out calm and cool. Not needy and hurt, like I was feeling.

“You ran out of the room.” He shoved his hands into his front pockets as he looked over at me. There was a depth to his gaze that caused my breath to catch in my throat.

“I didn’t think you noticed.” I threaded my thumbs through my backpack straps and studied the speckled tiles below my shoes.

When he didn’t respond, I glanced up at him. He was studying me with a small smile on his lips.

“Did I do something?” he asked.

I sighed and glanced out at the students around us. What was I going to say to that? I felt like he was cheating on me, even though I wasn’t dating him? Ugh, I could be an idiot sometimes.

“You were just very focused on everything but chemistry. I figured as someone who wants to do well in the class, you’d at least try to pay attention.” I dropped my voice. “But you were too interested in flirting with everyone.”

Again, he fell silent. Hoping I hadn’t just ruined everything, I glanced up to see him watching me. I forced a smile, hoping to let him know that I was cool with everything. I wasn’t some needy girl that wanted him to talk to only her.

Gah. When did I become such an emotional basket case?

“I’m sorry,” he said, meeting my gaze. “You’re right. I was acting like a jerk in there.”

I scoffed and glanced around. “I wasn’t going to say it, but since you did…”

He laughed. The same way he had in the tree house. It was genuine. And I loved it.

He shook his finger in my direction. “I’m going to have to keep my eye on you, Tiny. You make a guy stand up and give a crap. I like that about you.”

I tried to silence my heart as it hammered in my chest. He actually liked something about me. Wow.

“Well, as your tutor, it’s my mission to get you through chemistry. If you learn a few life lessons along the way?” I shrugged. “So be it.”

He nodded. “So, if I stop getting distracted and help with the labs, you’ll promise not to sprint out of class like a bat out of hell?”

I pretended to mull that over. After a few seconds of making him wait, I slowly nodded my head. “Yes. If you try harder, I promise not to leave you in the lurch.”

He stuck out his hand and wiggled his fingers. “I swear.”

I hesitated before I met his handshake. I tried to ignore the fireworks that exploded across my skin from his touch.

“Good,” I said, dropping his hand.

The warning bell rang. We were going to be late if we didn’t head to class right now. I shot him one more smile and turned.

“Thanks, Tiny,” he said as I started to walk away from him.

There was a tone to his voice that sent shivers up my spine. I stifled a groan when I realized what that meant. I was starting to like Tyson. More than a teenage crush. I was starting to like him, like him. This revelation was not going to end well for me.

Instead of dwelling on it, I decided to push the thoughts from my head and walk as fast as I could to Economics. I’d deal with the emotional implications later.