“So are you guys like, together?” Hannah looks across at the table at David and me. Her head swivels left and right before she looks down at her phone and texts away. I’m sure she’s just waiting to spread the hottest gossip on campus. Or find out some way to break what David and I have.

This might be the dumbest idea that I’ve ever had. Putting Hannah, David, and me in the same study session. It took less than ten minutes to see that it wasn’t going to work out. Originally, I was hoping that if Hannah saw how diligent and studious David had become that maybe some of it would rub off on her. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Instead of motivating her, she’s been using the study session to play 21 questions with us. Asking really personal things about our relationship. Trying to get every minute detail about everything that we do. And most of the time, she doesn’t like the answers that we give her.

“We are,” David answers, not even looking up from his study guide. He reaches under the table and squeezes my knee. I place my hand on top of his and rub his knuckles. David is better at dealing with her than I am. He only gives her short and to the point answers and nothing more. He knows how to get under her skin really well. Watching him tell her off is a little guilty pleasure of mine.

I, on the other hand, stutter my way through the answer, trying not to give too much information out. I don’t want this to come back to bite me in the butt. We haven’t told many people that we are officially together yet. And we certainly haven’t told Coach Vaughn or Mrs. Dunn. I’m not sure that it will go over well with them since I’m supposed to be David’s tutor only.

Hannah pouts for a second before she puts an earbud into one ear, blasts music, and goes right back to texting. She has barely bothered to even open her textbook or start her study guide. She and David have the same exam tomorrow. It would be great if both of them did well since they’re my students, but I’m not holding my breath for Hannah.

“Hannah, do you have any questions about your study guide? Do you need my help?” I reach out to grab her textbook and pull out the study guide between the pages, but she slaps my hand away, giving me a scowl. David gets up and there’s a fury in his eyes.

“Don’t touch my stuff,” Hannah cries and pulls her textbook close to her chest. “And back off, David.” She moves to the end of the table, keeps her textbook against her chest, and continues texting.

I reach up for David and pull him into his seat. I rub at his shoulders until I feel the tightness leave them, and he readjusts into his seat. “Don’t mind her. Just keep doing your thing,” I mutter.

He’s carrying a lot on his shoulders. Tomorrow’s exam is notorious on campus for being one of the hardest ones. It’s a general math class that everyone eventually has to take for their major. I took it when I first started and it was the first A- that I got.

David picks up the textbook and turns it upside down. “I might as well study like this, ‘cause either way, it’s all gibberish to me.” He skims the page, nods to himself, and laughs.

I grab the textbook and flip it the right side up. “You need to take this seriously. If you want any chance of getting back on the field, you’ll need to pass this exam, even if it means barely passing it.” I look at his study guide and point at the problem in the book. “Let’s do this one again. Talk out the steps if it will help you.”

David rubs his fingers at the corners of his eyes and sighs. We’ve been at this for the last couple hours. The progress is slow and hard, but he’s taking steps in the right direction.

I look up at the clock and hold my breath. This is going to be a long night.

* * *

I lean against the wall outside of David’s classroom. Students have been shuffling out with looks of despair on their faces. Everyone gets to find out their grades before they leave. I just hope that our late night study session is enough for David to pass.

Hannah is the first to come out and she’s practically beaming.

“How did you do?” I ask, bringing the cup of coffee up to my lips and blowing.

“I got a 95 on it,” she announces with a smile on her face.

I nearly spit the coffee out of my mouth when she tells me. I wipe my mouth and smile in return. “That’s great, Hannah. I’m really happy for you.”

A 95%? There’s no way in hell she got that. She didn’t open her textbook once during our study session.

She leans against the wall and brings out her phone. “I’ll stay here and wait for David.”

I nod. We don’t talk; the only thing that breaks the silence is the alert Hannah gets when she receives a text. Which is every thirty seconds, judging by how often it goes off.

It takes another fifteen minutes before David comes out. He doesn’t have the same smile as Hannah but there is a look of relief on his face. He holds his hands up to his side and pumps them. “I got a 70. I made it.” He laughs as I run into his arms and press my head against his chest. He lowers himself and gives me a quick kiss on the lips, pulling away when he sees Hannah staring at us. “How did you do?”

Hannah looks down at her phone, a smile seeping on her face. “I got a 95,” she answers nonchalantly.

“Really?” David says with surprise. “How did you manage to pull that off?”

Hannah shrugs her shoulder and starts to walk away from us. “I must have just gotten lucky on it. I just chose C for all my answers.” We wait until she rounds the corner before David and I start to talk.

“There’s no way that she got a 95,” David says. “Not without copying off someone’s paper.” He rubs the side of his temple as we walk down the stairs.

“She might have actually gotten lucky,” I mutter under my breath, and David stops in his tracks, forcing me to stop as well.

“You don’t really believe that?”

“I have to. Otherwise, I have to report her to Mrs. Dunn, and I don’t have any proof that she cheated, so there’s no point in doing that.” I get up on the tip of my toes, touch the side of his cheek, and feel the soft stubble on my palm. Since he hasn’t been able to go to practice he’s let his beard grow out. Coach Vaughn doesn’t let them do it normally. “I’m still proud of you.”

He lowers his head and his hands hang at my hips as he kisses me. He slips me a little tongue, which makes me smile when he pulls away. “Does this mean I get a little something extra when we get back to my apartment?” He lowers his hands and grabs at my ass. I jump into the air and smack him on the chest before I look around and make sure no one saw.

“That extra bit of tongue is all you get,” I tease and run away as he chases after me.

“Can I just give you a couple inches more?” He furrows his brow and tries to grab my ass while I break into laughter and run away.