Page 80 of The Surprise Play

Leaning forward, I catch her eye, and she finally looks right at me, her smile growing even brighter.

“So… I figure that’s enough embarrassment for one day. Should we get started?”

She nods, reaching across me to pull my wayward stack of papers toward her and…

Damn, she smells good.

I lightly sniff the air and have to resist the urge to bury my nose in her neck and get a good whiff.

Did she smell this good last time we were together?

I can’t remember.

Whatever she’s sprayed on… holy shit. She mustn’t have been wearing it last time, because I don’t think I would have been able to concentrate.

Leaning back in my seat, I give her a minute to look through my haphazard notes and try to focus on math and numbers and anything that isn’t Satch smelling like a fucking goddess.

What the hell is wrong with me?

She’s my tutor.

My friend.

That’s it.

Glancing at her, I can’t help quickly checking her out. She’s wearing this blue dress that looks good on her. I like the scooping neckline; I can see that line where her boobs are touching and?—

Don’t check her out, man!

Forcing my eyes back to her face, I notice the way her lips move as she tries to decipher my shitty handwriting.

“My professor talks really fast,” I try to explain. “I can’t keep up sometimes.”

“That’s okay.” Her tone is sweet, her smile kind when she looks at me and says, “Why don’t you tell me in your own words what this test is going to be about?”

I open my mouth to respond, and that familiar infection seems to spread right through me again, blank spaces filling up my mind as that pressure takes over.

“Hey.” She pats my wrist. “Breathe in, then breathe out.” She smiles when I do it. “And again… Good. That’s good. Now, let your mind relax… and grab something to fidget with.”

“Oh, yeah.” Rummaging in my bag, I pull out the fidget toy she gave me and focus on the blue plastic as I roll it between my thumb and forefinger and try to think.

“Breathe,” she reminds me.

I suck in another breath, then exhale and tip my head back. “Okay. Finances. I think the test is gonna be about… investment, maybe? They were talking about growth funds and how we can use them to build personal finances for retirement or something.” I cringe and look at her. “Does that sound like a thing? Are growth funds a thing?”

She grins, her smile wide and beautiful as she looks through my paperwork. “Growth funds are definitely a thing. Good job. Why don’t we go over what you’ve learned so far this term. You tell me what you can remember, and I’ll compare it to these papers here and we can fill in any gaps.”

Shuffling in my seat, I do my best to recall what I can.

In all honesty, I’m surprised by how much I remember. I don’t necessarily understand it all, but there are a lot of words swimming around in my brain, and they seem to pop out in an order that makes sense.

As usual, Satch stops me when I lose my way, asking me questions to get me back on track and jotting down notes as we go.

I like her handwriting. It looks like a font, all neat and evenly spaced. It’s not scribble like mine. I can actually see each letter of each word like I’m reading a print book. Holy fuck, how does she do that?

“Okay, so my guess is that this test is going to give you a few scenarios about a particular financial situation, and then you’ll be asked to consider the best course of action.”

I nod, a spike of worry cutting through my abdomen.