I'm sitting at my desk going over the Math assignment we were given today, and I don't understand any of it. I've been searching for YouTube videos on how to do these problems but haven't had any luck.. I'm ready to throw the book, my scrap paper and my laptop at the wall and give up. That's when Kat walks in followed by Max, Clay and of course, Wyatt. I'm still pretty pissed at Max over the way he treated Kat on Saturday night. She may have forgiven him right away, but the way he talked to her reminded me of my ex and my mom.
Kat, oblivious to the glare I'm giving her crush, tilts her head to the side to study me. "You okay Peyton?"
"Yeah," I tell her while pulling my hair into a messy ponytail. "I'm just ready to pull my hair out over these stupid math problems. I don't understand them."
Clay starts laughing, "Did you hear the one about the blonde and -"
I cut him off with a glare, "No blonde jokes asshat."
"I'm sorry! Really. It's just, you're blonde and having trouble with math. That's just too tempting to leave alone." Clay says holding up both hands in surrender, even while he and Max are both laughing. Well, laughing until Wyatt smacks each of them in the back of the head.
With a huff, I turn back around to search for more videos. It's driving me crazy. Math is the only subject I really struggle with, and it's one I need to know. While I'm obsessing over math videos, Kat is discussing plans with Clay and Max. She said this morning that they were hanging out tonight, but she didn't mention that Wyatt would be with them. I don't know what made me think he'd tell me about his plans after our day at the go-kart track almost two weeks ago, it's not like he owes me anything. We're just friends. Maybe if I repeat that to myself enough times, I'll start to believe it.
It's not like we haven't spent any time together since the go-karts. I see him three times a week in class, plus our little group is always together. Struggling to concentrate on my most recent attempt at video tutoring, I'm chewing on the lid of my pen sub-consciously when it's suddenly pulled away from me. Startled, my head whips to the side where Wyatt is spinning my pen between his long fingers while he studies me.
"What?" The way he's looking at me makes me nervous and self-conscious, unsure about what he's going to say.
Wyatt leans forward, brushing the hair that's fallen into my eyes back behind my ear, "Still having trouble?" His voice is gentle, probably because the last time we talked about my math problems - no pun intended - I practically bit his head off. I like being able to do things myself, and I don't want to rely on him, or anyone else, for anything.
With an exasperated laugh, I nod, "I just don't understand it! I've been searching out videos like you told me, but I still don't get it. Algebra is just too damn confusing. And, it's pointless! When am I ever going to have to solve for x in real life?"
He laughs, "You're cute when you're frustrated. Did you know that?" I feel my face heat up at his words. He's not supposed to think I'm cute. I'm trying not to be attracted to him.
Pulling away from him, I go back to my computer. Wyatt's irritated groan grabs my attention, and I drag my lower lip between my teeth, not sure what I should say, or if I should even say anything. Deciding to pretend his words didn't affect me, I reach for my ear buds, intent on putting them in and pretending I'm still alone. Wyatt grabs them from me, turns to the other three, and says, "Do you think you guys could hang out in Max's dorm or something? I'm going to help Peyton with her homework."
Grinning, Kat nods before winking at me and grabbing Max by the arm. "Sure! C'mon Max, let's go to your room."
Max and Clay both groan and Max says, "I don't want to hang out in my room. My roommate sucks and he probably has a girl in there."
"Damn little bro, you're the only guy I know who'd complain about getting to watch live porn!" Clay looks at us and winks, but Max either doesn't notice or just plain ignores it and shoves him out the door while shouting expletives at him. Kat grins at me once more before closing the door behind them, leaving me alone in my room with Wyatt.
After Wyatt spends 45 minutes explaining this week's lesson, I finally understand how to do the problems. Once I finish them all, he checks my work and shows me where I'm still making sign errors before we call it a night.
"Thanks for helping me Wyatt. You didn't have to do that, and I really appreciate it." I want to be the snarky girl, but being rude to him would make me no better than my mom.
Wyatt shrugs off my thanks, saying, "You don't have to thank me, I like spending time with you Pey." I can't think of anything to say in response to that, so I stay silent. Dragging his hand through his messy hair, Wyatt looks deep in thought before he says, "You know, if you need a tutor, I'd be glad to help you. It's easy for me, and we could maybe hang out afterwards sometimes."
"Um," I start, trying to think of a way to say no without hurting his feelings. Him being my tutor would not end well, especially since I'm trying to keep my distance from him.
Seeing that I'm about to turn him down, Wyatt holds out a hand to silence me. "Before you say no, I'm not offering to tutor you in exchange for dates. If it makes you feel better, you can even pay me to tutor you. Math is something I'm good at, and it's something you struggle with. We're friends right?" The way he's staring at me makes it impossible for me to disagree with him. He knows things that no one else knows about my family, and I guess that does make us kinda friends.
"I offered to tutor you before and you turned me down, saying you'd eventually get it on your own, but you still don't get it, do you?" He doesn't wait for me to answer before continuing, "Just try it. Let me tutor you for a month or so, and give me the chance to prove that I can help you and that I'm not just trying to get in your pants. If you still don't want me to, I'll stop and we won't mention it again."
Wyatt makes a lot of sense, but I'm still not sure I can handle being alone with him for long periods of time without jumping him. We've been in here alone for just over an hour now, and I'm having trouble thinking about anything other than the way his lips felt that night at Drench when he kissed me.
Being alone seems to turn up the magnetic field between us; we get closer and closer the longer we're together. Every time his leg brushes mine or our hands accidentally touch an electric current passes through my body. I don't realize I'm chewing on my bottom lip until Wyatt uses his thumb to pull it out from between my teeth. My gaze flies up to meet his and he's looking at me tenderly. "You're going to hurt yourself. Stop thinking so hard, Peyton." He lowers his voice, leaning closer so that I can feel his breath against my ear, "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to spend time with you. I want to get to know you, and let you get to know me."
The combination of his words and the feel of his breath against my neck causes my own to quicken. Wyatt pulls back to look into my eyes and whatever he sees in mine causes his to darken and his own breath to speed up. We continue to sit, each studying the other until the tension in the room is so thick it almost hurts to breathe.
Finally, he brings his hand up to stroke my cheek before sliding his hand down and around to the back of my neck. Wyatt pulls me forward until our mouths are almost touching before he stops, holding me there. I'm close enough that I can smell the Altoids he constantly has in his mouth. The minty scent mixes with his cologne to create a mixture that's uniquely him.
He still doesn't kiss me, just keeps his hand firmly on the back of my neck to keep me in place while he searches my eyes. I don't know what he's looking for but I feel like he's seeing everything I try to keep hidden, including how attracted to him I am. After a beat, he leans forward, kissing the corner of my mouth before releasing me. My breath is still coming fast, and so is his, when he drops his hand from my neck.
Our eyes are still locked when the door to my dorm opens and Kat, Max and Clay walk back in. Kat's laughing at something one of them said, but they all stop short to stare at us. The tension in the room must be obvious to them too because Kat suddenly looks uncomfortable, while Clay's grin widens as he looks between us. Wyatt clears his throat, shakes his head and stands up.
He holds out a hand, "Can I see your phone?"
Dumbly, I pull it out of my pocket and hand it to him. My brain is still mush so I don't notice him dialing until the phone in his pocket starts to ring. Confused, I frown up at him but he just grins and continues to press buttons on my phone before he hands it back.
"There," he says. "Now you've got my number and I have yours so we can set up tutoring times." Placing a quick kiss on the top of my head, he walks over to his friends, tells Kat goodnight and all the guys leave. The click of the door shutting finally brings me out of my trance, and I look down at my phone to see the name he saved his number under - Prince Charming. I can't help but laugh, especially when I realize that the shirt I'm wearing says "Prince Charming is hard to find".