Chapter 8
Chase paced the hallways of the dorm the next evening. There was no one around to watch him expend all of his nervous energy, because literally everyone he knew was watching the game, so at least he didn’t have to worry about looking crazy. He emphatically did not want to watch the game. If they lost because of him he’d be very tempted to go drown himself in the nearest bayou. If they won without him, he’d only feel a little bit better.
He knew that he needed to find something to focus on, but he couldn’t manage to sit still. If he turned on the television, he knew that he’d end up watching the game. He couldn’t concentrate on any of his homework and he couldn’t figure out the last trig problem Claire has assigned him.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed Claire’s number. She’d said that she was having a meeting with her teacher, but surely they were done with that now. It was nearly 8 at night.
“Hello?” she asked, her voice cautious as always.
“Hey.”
“Chase?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if maybe you were up for doing something.” That wasn’t the question he’d meant to ask, so he stumbled on. “I’m having some trouble with this question and I’m going crazy sitting around here, so I just thought, you know, if you weren’t busy...”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t really know,” he said, feeling incredibly lame suddenly. “We could take a drive. If you want to get out of the house.”
She was silent for so long that he was afraid she’d hung up on him. Then she said, “Okay. I’ll meet you outside. And bring your homework.”
Chase pushed his phone into his pocket and headed for the door. Then he stopped and glanced at himself in the mirror. He changed his ratty tee shirt for one without holes and dragged his fingers through his hair. It didn’t do a whole lot of good, but it was all he had time for. Claire was waiting.
****
When he pulled up to her house, she ran out and jumped into the passenger seat of his truck quickly. He raised an eyebrow as she buckled up and waved for him to drive.
“In a hurry?” he asked as he put the truck in gear and backed out of the parking space.
“Well, I’ve been thinking,” she said. “It might be better for us not to meet at the house anymore. My roommates can’t really keep a secret.”
“I’m a secret?”
“Have you told Logan that I’m still tutoring you?”
He glanced over and found her looking determinedly out the passenger side window. As the streetlights passed over her face, he thought a saw a shadow of sadness there.
“Okay, no,” he admitted. “But that’s mainly because I haven’t seen him. Everyone was getting ready for the game. I don’t care if he knows.” Chase wasn’t lying. Even if Claire had been insane, he would have stayed with her because it was the only way that he was going to stay on the team. The fact that she wasn’t was just the icing on the cake.
“I care,” Claire said, her voice soft but firm. “So I think it would be better if we kept our study sessions quiet.”
“If you stay quiet, how will I learn anything?”
She looked his way in surprise and saw his grin. “You dork.”
“I guess you’re rubbing off on me. So where do you want to go where we won’t be recognized?”
“How about the mall? We can hang out in the food court. With the game tonight, no one will be there.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Once they’d looked around for people they knew and gotten settled in the food court, Claire flipped open Chase’s notebook. “Okay, so what’s the problem?” When he opened his mouth, she held up her hand. “I know that they’re all problems. Which one is giving you trouble?”
“Joke stealer. And it’s this one.” He pointed and she leaned over it. “Are you hungry?”
“Focus,” she ordered.
“But the pizza smells so good. And I’m a poor benched football player with little reason to go on.”
She looked up at him. “Drama queen. Go get pizza.”
He jumped up before she could take it back. “What do you want?”
“I didn’t bring my purse,” she said.
Chase shrugged. “You’re helping me pass math. I can buy you a slice of pizza if I want to.”
“I guess that’s a good point,” she said. “And I’m a woman of simple tastes. Pepperoni with lots of those red pepper flakes.”
He gave her a salute and got in line. By the time he got back, Claire had written out the solution to the problem and they went over it together while the steaming hot pizza slices cooled down.
“I don’t know how you make it seem so easy,” he said as she began devising a new problem that used similar techniques.
“It’s sort of how you can catch anything they throw at you,” Claire said. “Natural talent and a healthy bit of practice. Try this one.”
He pushed the new problem to the side and slid her plate in front of her. “After we eat.”
She would have argued, but the pizza looked really good. With her roommate situation, it had been a while since she’d had hot food. She took a bite and chewed contentedly.
“What are you looking at?” she asked a few moments later when Chase kept glancing across the food court. To her surprise, he blushed.
“Nothing.”
“Hot girl?” The thought sent a brief stab of jealousy through her, and she worked hard not to let it show on her face.
“No, it’s...” he sighed. “I do this thing where I make up stories about people.”
Claire raised an eyebrow. “What kind of stories?”
Chase gave an embarrassed half laugh. “Okay. Don’t stare, but there’s a woman over there in jeans and one of those puffy vests.”
Claire leaned down, pretending to fix the laces of her sneaker. “I see her.”
“Well, she’s waiting for her lover.”
“In the food court?”
“It’s not a high budget affair,” Chase said defensively. “But it’s all the thrill she gets these days.”
Unexpectedly drawn in, Claire couldn’t help but ask, “Why?”
“See, she works for an accounting firm, but it’s a total boys club and she’s a glorified secretary. This affair keeps her sane while she plots her ultimate takeover.”
“I like it. Do you think she’ll manage it?”
“Oh yeah. She’s a fighter. In the end, she’ll own the whole place.”
“You’re kind of a feminist,” Claire said in surprise.
“I’m a total feminist,” Chase corrected. “Sydney made sure of it.”
“What about that couple over there?” she discreetly indicated a pair of teenagers waiting in line for chicken sandwiches.
“First date,” Chase said after a moment. “He’s been in love with her since freshman year, but she was seeing someone else. Then he had to wait till the right moment to step in after they broke up because he didn’t want to look like an asshole.”
“What does she think of him?”
“To be honest, she never noticed him. She only accepted the date to get her mind off of her ex. But now that she’s out, she’s actually having a great time and she’s hoping that he goes for the kiss at the end of the night.”
“Are all of your stories romances?”
“Of course not. For example, the guy standing near the cell phone kiosk is a former F.B.I agent.”
Claire nearly choked on her soda as she laughed. “What?”
“The guy who works there is a Russian spy, but the F.B.I man could never pin anything on him. He’s retired now, but he can’t let it go. They both know they’re playing cat and mouse but they aren’t sure who’s who.”
He said the last line in his best movie announcer voice and Claire clapped quietly. “Very nice.”
“Thanks.” He finished his last bite of pizza crust and swept their plates off of the table. “And thanks for not pointing out how incredibly ridiculous this hobby is.”
“It’s not ridiculous,” she said when he sat back down. “It’s pretty creative. I’m horrible at stuff like that.”
“Sure, but you can do this,” Chase said, tapping the math worksheet in front of them.
“Big deal. Math is easy.”
He snorted. “I’ve got tests that prove you wrong.”
She glanced at her watch. “I hate to cut the evening short, but we’d probably better get back. The game is almost over and my roommates are having a huge party. I need to be back before it's over.”
“So nobody sees me?”
She shrugged, looking down. He reached across the table and tilted her chin up.
“I don’t mind not saying anything about you being my tutor,” he said. “But I don’t mind saying something either. Just let me know what you want me to do, okay?”
“Thank you, Chase.”
“And hey, it’s kind of cool being someone’s dirty little secret,” he said as he stood up.
“There’s nothing dirty about this,” she protested.
“Don’t take away all the intrigue,” he ordered, slinging his arm around her shoulders as they walked out of the food court. “That’s the best part.”
“Fine, fine,” she said, pretending to be more annoyed than she was. “And if you saw us walking like this, what would the story be?”
“I’d say that lies, bad timing, and general confusion probably kept the two of us from liking each other as much as we should,” he said after a moment.
She glanced up at him. “I’d say that makes a lot of sense,” she said shyly.
“And I’d say that it looks like it's getting better,” he went on hopefully.
“I’d say that she was finally ready to accept his apology,” Claire replied. “And that she doesn’t think that the guy is a jerk...and she’ll be really let down if he turns out to be one.”
His heart jerked at the shy look she gave him and he vowed to himself that he’d do everything he could not to let that happen. Letting Claire down wasn’t an option