I shook off whatever the hell her “his share of favors” implied and walked right through the doors of the English Department.
“Well, hello there!” Mr. Henderson waved at me from the copy machine. “Nice to see you, Mr. Connors!”
“Nice to see you, too.”
“I was on my way back to my office, but I guess I was taking too long.” He laughed and picked up his papers. “I didn’t get the chance to tell you personally last year, but congratulations on winning the Heisman Trophy.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Just so you know, me and my son are huge fans and we’re crossing our fingers that you’ll make history with a fourth championship this year. No pressure, though.” He walked over to me. “What can I do for you today?”
“I need to be placed into three advanced literature classes this fall,” I said, then I hesitated. “I also think I need a private peer tutor.”
“Not a problem.” He snapped his fingers. “I actually have a person in need of someone to tutor, so you’re in luck. Let’s pull you up in the system first, and then we’ll call the registrar to make sure everything lines up. You won’t mind having a female tutor, will you?”
“No.” I tried not to smile. “Not at all.”
CHARLOTTE: THEN
Seven years ago
Pittsburgh
I GLANCED OUTSIDE THE massive windows of Highland Coffee and tapped my watch. The girl I was assigned to tutor was now fifteen minutes late, and I was wondering if I should've picked a coffee shop that was easier to find. I'd looked her up in the student directory earlier and noticed that she was an honors student, so I figured these tutoring sessions wouldn't take up much of my time this semester.
A girl with raven black hair suddenly rushed into the café and headed toward me, but she made an abrupt left and joined the guy across from me instead.
I knew I should’ve suggested Starbucks.
I looked outside the windows again and noticed Grayson Connors crossing the street. Looking devastatingly sexy as usual, he was wearing a light blue shirt that clung to his muscles in all the right places and dark jeans that hung low enough to expose his body’s perfect V line.
Looking confused, he looked up at the sign above the cafe before pushing the door open. He walked over to the counter and every girl in the room followed his every step, as if he was a living, breathing God.
“I’m rooting for championship number four this season, Grayson!” Someone yelled. “Congratulations on your Heisman!” someone else said. “Go, Panthers! Go!” A table of friends near the back shouted.
Ugh.
He walked over to each of the people who’d sold their souls and said, “I appreciate your support.” When he walked by my table, I picked up my headphones.
“Are you Charlotte Taylor?” he asked, his voice deep.
What? “Um. What did you just say?”
“Charlotte Taylor,” he said, pointing to his phone. “I'm supposed to meet my tutor here, unless there's another Highland Coffee around somewhere. So, are you Charlotte Taylor?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Your necklace says Charlotte.” He glanced at it, smirking. “Are you sure now?”
“No.” My mind was blown. There was no way he was assigned to me for this semester. “My advisor would know better than to do this to me.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that the university must have made a mistake.” I pulled out my phone to check my email, making damn sure I’d read my advisor’s pairing as “Elizabeth Woods, English Writing” and not Grayson Connors.
The second I opened my inbox, I saw that my advisor had sent me an email half an hour earlier.
Subject: Peer Assignment Error
Good afternoon, Charlotte,
Just letting you know that your previous pairing, Elizabeth Woods, was made in error. She was supposed to be paired with a biochemistry major.
I’ve now paired you with Grayson Connors since he'll need help with his final Advanced Literature courses. (Make sure he gets an A. We need him to win off the field, too! :) )
—Charles
I resisted the urge to scream and set down my phone. I looked up at Grayson and noticed he was staring at me intently.
“Yes,” I said. “Unfortunately, my name is Charlotte Taylor.”
“I'd already assumed that.” He set down his bag. “I’m wondering why I’ve never seen you around before.”
“Probably because there are over twenty thousand students on this campus.”
“You’ve seen me before, haven’t you?”
“Not at all,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Funny.” He sat down and looked around the cafe. “Is this where you want me to meet you on Tuesdays?”
I nodded. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”
“Not at all.” He smiled. “I think Tuesdays are going to be my new favorite day of the week.”
I bit my tongue to prevent myself from cursing my advisor again.
“You know, I don't think you're going to be a good tutor for me, if you're going to be this hostile each time we meet.” Grayson looked amused. “Have I done something to you previously?”