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Eliana

I was half awake and half delirious when I opened the front door to find Jake Keeley standing on the other side of my door holding a large mocha frap with extra whipped cream in one hand and a regular coffee in another. “You’re early.”

“I figured I’d make up for all the times I was late. Nice pants by the way.” He smirks and I look down at my pajama bottoms, which have sleeping koalas all over them. At least I had thrown on a bra before I opened the door.

My heart warms at his words, not expecting him to be so sweet.

“Have a seat at the table. I’ll go grab my laptop.

” I take the coffee from his hand and chug it down like it’s my lifeline.

The sugary concoction hits my tongue and I can’t help but let out a small moan of delight.

Coffee gods, thank you for this sweet blessing.

Please let this caffeine carry me through another hellish day.

When I come back to reality, I catch Jake’s eyes focused on my mouth as I lick away the bit of whipped cream left over on my lip.

A wave of unfamiliar heat comes over me, and I realize I’m blushing.

Since when do I blush like a schoolgirl when a guy looks at me?

It’s been a while since I dated a guy, but I didn’t think I was this starved for attention.

Whereas I’m still learning about Jake, I’m surprised to find he’s quite chipper in the mornings. He seems completely comfortable as he unpacks his bag and prepares to start a friendship(?) in a strangers home.

I head into my room and grab my laptop along with some of the psych study materials I prepped for him for our first study session. I’m still not tutoring him, but good boys who make an effort get treats. When I return to the kitchen, he’s already reviewing what looks like a homework assignment.

I casually slide over the forms before plopping myself across from him and getting to work on my to do list for the day.

He thumbs through the forms before looking at me with a sly grin. “What’s this?”

I give him a casual shrug. “Don’t get too excited.

I prepped those before I even met you. It’s a schedule detailing the material you should focus on over the next few weeks to prepare for your final two exams. There are also some practice quizzes in there.

I may not be tutoring you but I refuse to let good practice quizzes go to waste. ”

“Thanks Eliana. You may be the most thoughtful friend I’ve ever had.”

I roll my eyes, and continue responding to emails.

Jake lets out a groan as he flips through his homework, mumbling to himself, “Of course this week is focused on research...”

“Do you have a problem with that?” I bristle, his words clearly hitting a sour spot for me.

He wasn’t the first person to tell me they didn’t get why I found research so interesting or wanted to make a career out of it.

Normally I would let it go, but something about Jake made me want to push back.

Or maybe it was the fact that being up this early messed with my ability to be polite.

It was probably that. “Because research is a super important part of our field and is a big reason why we know so much about how humans think, function, and process the world.”

“I know.”

The words come out of my mouth before I can even stop them.

Unfortunately for Jake my filter is nonexistent at 6am, “Granted some the early pioneers in the field pushed theories that were either racist, sexist, homophobic or combination of all three, but there are so many incredible researchers today doing groundbreaking work or even sharing small findings can help us make important foreground.”

I expect him to make a snarky comment or roll his eyes at my mini rant but instead the side of his mouth lifts up into a half smile, “I’m very aware about both the shitty history of research and also how important it is.

I didn’t mean anything bad by my comments, and I’m sorry if it came off that way. ”

“Oh.” Oops. “My bad. I’m a bit crabby before 10 a.m.”

That draws a genuine laugh from him, “Most people are. I’m only used to it because we have some early morning practices. I take it that working at a research assistant is more than just a work-study opportunity for you?”

“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I love tutoring and nannying too. But being a research assistant, getting to work with Violet on projects, that feels different. Feels like it’s a space where I can bring all my questions and ideas to life.”

“So you’re a full-time student who works as a tutor, nanny, and a research assistant?” He sounds equally impressed and surprised.

“Yup. I squeeze in being a human sometimes too,” I joke. Sort of. I sleep. Not anywhere near the recommended 8 hours a night you were supposed to get but enough to constitute more human and less zombie status.

“Have you ever considered taking on less so you’re not overstretching yourself?”

I repeat the same words I’ve said to countless others over the years, words that have basically become my life motto. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

He opens his mouth to rebuttal, but I redirect us back to the task at hand— him homework, me life prepping.

For a second it seems as if he’s going to fight me on it, but instead he takes the paper from my hand and starts working. At least initially. “We’re not done talking about your issues, by the way.” He keeps his eyes locked on the worksheet in front of him.

“ My issues?”

“Yeah, your problem with not letting yourself have a little fun now and then. You don’t always have to put yourself last.”

“That’s like friendship level 6 stuff. We are still on, ‘So how many siblings do you have?’”

“Two. Now, why no fun?”

“I traded in fun for an A in PSYCH101. Now focus.”

He chuckles to himself and thankfully returns to his work.