The Dating Tutor: Alec's Story (13 page)

As she giggled, her hand continued upward to caress along his pectoral muscles. When her fingers swept over a rough ridge of skin, she gave a small sound of surprise. Pulling her mouth slightly away from him, she said, “That’s the scar where you fell on our fence a couple years ago.”

He’d been hopping over the metal fence that surrounded her backyard when his shoelace got caught. He’d fallen chest first on a jagged piece of metal at the top that tore into his skin deep enough to leave a scar. “Yeah,” he said distractedly. His mouth shifted to her jaw and he pressed a kiss just underneath her ear. He couldn’t imagine where she was going with this comment and couldn’t find the will to concentrate on anything other than the taste of her skin.

Her hand skimmed down his chest, along his abdomen, until she came to a scar on his hip. “This is where you took a hockey skate to the side. You had everyone so worried.” Her fingers traveled along the bumpy ridge of scar tissue as she spoke.

“Mmm-hmm…”

When his mouth returned to hers, she kissed him hard. As their tongues fought for dominance, her hand moved to his newest injury - the gash over his eyebrow. Her fingers travelled gently along the tender skin. “The hockey game…”

What she was doing finally filtered past his hormone-driven actions. She was cataloguing his injuries, pointing out just how well she knew his body. This was somehow more intimate than the kisses they were sharing. She knew every inch of him, every story behind his scars.

Alec suddenly wrenched his mouth away from hers and sat up on his knees. Horror filled him as the full weight of their actions began to sink in. This was not something friends should be doing. This sort of thing had the makings to ruin their friendship. “This is wrong.” He shook his head and slowly backed off of the bed. “This is so, so wrong.”

He could see the panic in her eyes as she sat up. “What…what’s wrong?” She took a deep, shaky breath that was followed by a ragged exhale.

“This.” He waved a hand between them, feeling disgusted with himself. “What are we doing?”

“We’re…we’re…” Ellie trailed off as if at a loss for words.

Surely, she understood how wrong this was now that he’d pointed it out. They couldn’t keep doing this. It would destroy everything they’d built over the years. He couldn’t afford to lose her completely. Her friendship meant too much to him. “This isn’t right,” Alec said with a harsh sound of frustration. “You’re someone else’s girlfriend.” He shook his head as just how messed up the situation was became clear. “You should have stopped this long before now. How long are you going to let this go, Ellie? You gonna ask me to take your virginity, too? Just so you know what you’re doing? How inappropriate are you going to let this get? I’m your best friend for God’s sake, not a…a…a booty call.”

He backed away from her, moving toward the window. He had to get out of here. He had to go home. He needed to reassess this entire situation. “How do you think Jake would feel if he knew what we were doing? You think he’d be okay with me lying in bed with you, with your hands exploring my bare chest?”

She stared at him in silence, her mouth gaping with distress.

That silence seemed to stretch forever. He kept waiting for her to make it right, kept waiting for her to make sense of this whole thing, but she didn’t. She just continued to gape at him as if words had escaped her.

Her quiet made him wonder if it was already too late. Had he crossed an invisible barrier with her that was impossible to take back? The thought scared him. Just when he felt his family life was getting on track, things with her had exploded. It was like he wasn’t allowed to be happy, to live without tricky complications.

“I’m…I’m sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes, but no clarification came. “I’m so sorry, Alec.”

“I’m done,” he said in a low, tortured voice. “Okay? I’m done. I can’t do this anymore, Ellie.”

“Alec, don’t go.” Her voice trembled with the tears that threatened to well over. When he moved toward the window, a whimper escaped her. “Alec, please.”

He hoisted a leg out the window. Then he turned to look at her over his shoulder. “I just can’t be around you right now. I’m sorry.” With that, he disappeared into the night.

He was just reaching the base of the tree when her sobs reached his ears. It took everything in him not to climb back up, envelop her in his arms, and promise that things would be okay. He couldn’t do it anymore. He couldn’t be there for her in the way she wanted him to be. Right now, the best thing for them was a little bit of space.

Chapter Twelve

Alec leaned stonily against the wall while his classmates danced and celebrated around him. It was prom night, and everyone in the building seemed to be having a fabulous time but him. Matty was out on the dance floor with Shannon, twirling her about while she giggled with delight. And Kara…

Kara was off in a dark corner wrapped in an embrace with Tom. The two had been that way almost instantly after the group had arrived. It turned out Tom had come to the dance solo with the intention of winning back Kara’s heart. It hadn’t taken much convincing.

Though she had tried to stay and keep him company, Alec insisted that Kara go spend some quality time with her once-again boyfriend. He knew he wasn’t the best company right now anyway and didn’t want to ruin the night for her. If someone was capable of having the fairytale evening, they should take it. He was happy for her, but this left him alone with nothing to do but glower in the direction of Ellie and Jake’s table.

He hadn’t spoken to Ellie in a week, a record for them. Since they’d been kids, they’d spent at least some part of every weekend together. This had been the first break in that tradition.  His life had felt empty and wrong, but he knew this was needed. Any time he’d seen her in the hallways at school, he’d turned and trudged in the other direction. He’d ignored the many text messages she’d sent him. It was too painful to deal with.

He’d spent the week, instead, patching up things with his father. He and Jerich had bonded in a way he’d once thought impossible. They’d cleaned up the house. They’d gone out to dinner with one another. The two had openly and jovially discussed hockey without there being any bitterness on Jerich’s end. Most importantly, Jerich hadn’t taken a single sip of alcohol the entire week. Alec didn’t think things could be any better at home…which made the sudden tension with Ellie all the more frustrating.

The principal’s raised voice drew his attention away from his internal struggle and back to the activity around him. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to announce our prom king!”

Alec glared as she slipped her hand in an envelope with dramatic flair. If she said Jake Phillips, he was going to break something. He swore he would.

She shifted eagerly from foot to foot, a grin of anticipatory delight on her face as she read the name in front of her. “And the boy you chose to represent Noble High as this year’s king is…Jake Phillips!”

Alec’s shoulders bunched with fury. Jake Phillips had been handed everything in life. He got the girl. He got to be prom king. Someone might as well throw a few scholarships his way as well.

Loud cheering erupted throughout the banquet hall. Sappy music poured through the speakers as if Jake had just discovered the cure for cancer and world hunger combined. Students were suddenly surrounding his table, clapping Jake on the back in congratulations.

“Jake,” the principal called out loudly, “get up here! Come accept your crown!”

Jake climbed to his feet and waved a hand in acknowledgement of the honor bestowed upon him. He grinned at the crowd, seemingly loving every moment of the attention.

Alec glared, hating the other boy with every fiber in his being. He wanted Phillips to trip and fall on his smug face on the way up to the stage.

No such luck. Jake made it safely onto the platform where he graciously accepted his crown and scepter, which was passed down to each prom king. “Thank you,” he said into the microphone, rewarding the crowd with one of his phony smiles. “This honor means so much.”

He gave the crowd a moment to get the cheers out of their system. As he paused, his eyes locked onto Ellie’s before he took a deep breath.

Directing his attention back to his peers, he said, “But before I accept this honor, I have a confession to make.” As the ballroom became silent, everyone latching onto his words, he bared his soul to every last one of the student body and staff. “I’m gay.”

Alec felt as if all the air had been sucked out of the room. He suddenly found it hard to breathe. Jake was…gay? How? It didn’t make any sense.

As a shocked hum whispered through the crowd, Alec felt heat racing up the back of his neck. Jake was gay. His eyes moved to Ellie just in time to see her give Jake a thumbs up. There was a smile on her face as if this admission was not something new to her. Alec was trying to piece it together, but it didn’t make any sense to him. Why would she be happy about his confession?

Through the chatter, Jake’s voice filled the room once again. “Alec, I’m sorry. It was my idea for her to lie to you.”

Then the reality of the situation hit Alec. She’d been playing him. She’d been lying and toying with him since the beginning. Jake was gay, and he’d been in on whatever this sick game was. The two of them had made a fool of him, of his feelings for Ellie. Anger filled him, hot and intense. He’d just experienced the most confusing and painful few weeks of his life, and it had been done to him on purpose. By someone he’d trusted.

Ellie turned to him and by the ashen look on her face, he knew she could see his rage. “Alec—”

He didn’t allow her to explain. He didn’t want to hear any more lies. Spinning in the opposite direction, he stormed toward the doors that would lead outside.

Applause for Jake’s confession filled the room, but Alec didn’t linger to congratulate him on his brave declaration. He marched out the banquet hall doors, brushing past Matt before his friend could stop him.

Outside, rain poured down from the heavens as if the angels were just as outraged at the outcome of this night as he was. Without any real sense of where he was going or why, Alec rushed across the street to where their high school loomed intimidatingly in the distance.

He pushed forward through the torrent of rain, feeling the angry droplets sting his cheeks as he went. They soaked into his tuxedo, causing the white undershirt to cling against his chest. The chill of it cooled his wrath, but it left him feeling empty inside. It left him feeling alone and desolate.

As he reached the bleachers of the football field, he slumped into the first open seat and dropped his head into his hands. He’d never felt so betrayed in his life. Ellie was the one person he’d thought he could trust, and she’d trampled on his heart.

“Alec.” Her whispered voice filled the air, fighting to be heard above the pounding of rain against metal bleachers. That one word sounded so anguished, so afraid.

Unable to resist responding to that voice, he lifted his head so he could look into her troubled green eyes. “Why? Why would you lie to me like that? Why would you
use
me like that? I just don’t understand.”

Her lips trembled as tears welled in her eyes. “Things just got out of hand.”

“How? Explain to me how…” He shook his head, unable to finish his sentence.

“I fell in love with you.” She rushed the words out, as if saying them quickly would make it any easier. Then she clamped her mouth shut, and her eyes became impossibly wide.

Her hasty words sucked the air from his lungs. He stared at her in silence, afraid to believe what he’d just heard.

With rain trailing down her face, she poured out an entire admission. “When Jake confessed his secret to me, I was already…” She looked away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “I was already in love with you. By the time I had my date with him, it didn’t matter. I couldn’t think of anything but you. Jake grasped that right away. He knew how I felt about you. He had the idea to…” She brought her eyes back to his and held them. “He wanted to keep his secret, and I wanted you to realize you had feelings for me, too. I never meant for you to get hurt. I was just too afraid…” She let out a soft sob, her tears mixing with the rain as they trickled down her cheeks. “I was afraid to lose you. I thought if I confessed how I felt and you didn’t reciprocate the feelings…” She trailed off, unable to finish.

Alec felt the rest of his anger melt away. Like snow relenting under the persistence of a warm spring sun, all of it receded like a forgotten nightmare. She loved him. She’d always loved him. “You would never lose me,” he confessed in a quiet voice. “You’re my best friend. Sure, I was mad at you, but I would never stop caring about you. Ever.”

She stared silently at him. Her tears had stilled, but there was still fear behind her eyes. He felt a sudden urge to relieve her of it. “Ellie…” He looked down at the ground for a moment to build his courage. Then he climbed to his feet, closed the small distance between them, and kissed her.

While the rain poured down around them, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with the love he’d been wanting to for weeks. And he was luckier than he could have imagined, because she returned it full force.

* * * *

With Ellie’s hand in his, Alec raced through the still pouring rain. His shoes splashed in puddles, kicking up water all over both of them as they ran.