The Dating Tutor (10 page)

Ellie spun in her seat to look over her shoulder. She found Alec leaning against a back wall with a scowl on his face. His dark eyes were hooded with displeasure as he watched Jake take the stage. She’d heard he was attending the prom with Kara Wendell, but his casual date had started seeing someone else between the purchasing of tickets and now. She was with her new boyfriend across the room, leaving Alec solo for the night. He was alone, and his posture let her know he believed that down to his core.

With a dreadful feeling in her stomach, she turned to watch Jake accept his crown and the golden scepter that was always passed down to the new king. She clapped halfheartedly, knowing the honor didn’t mean as much to him as it would most boys their age.

“Thank you,” Jake said into the microphone, rewarding the crowd with one of his amazing smiles. “This honor means so much.” His eyes locked onto hers before he took a deep breath.

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

A shocked hum whispered through the crowd at his admission. As everyone began talking simultaneously, Ellie gave her new friend a thumbs up at his bravery. A proud smile lit up her face. His admission was so brave that it brought goose bumps to her arms.

Through the chatter that arose, Jake’s voice filled the room once again. “Alec, I’m sorry. It was my idea for her to lie to you.” He gave Ellie a lopsided smile before waving for her to go get the boy she’d fallen head over heels for.

With a sharp inhale, Ellie turned to gauge her best friend’s reaction to Jake’s admission and what it meant.

Alec’s expression flashed quickly through an array of emotions. His initial reaction was shock, but it was quickly replaced by confusion, then betrayal. Anger finally settled on his face when his eyes finally met hers.

“Alec—” She didn’t get any farther before he turned and stormed out of the building. “Alec, wait!” She pushed through the press of bodies as everyone tried to get closer to the stage. She was dimly aware of the applause that started to slowly spread through the crowd, but she had eyes only for the retreating form in front of her. “Alec!”

When she reached the doors of the massive banquet hall and threw them open, she was greeted by a downpour of rain. It fell in sheets, blinding her to anything farther out than a few feet in front of her. She was just barely able to make out Alec’s form as he jogged across the street to where their high school sat.

Without a single hesitation, she dashed out into the rain after him. The torrent was too thick to call out to him. It was almost too heavy for her to even catch her breath, so she just hiked her floor-length gown up around her thighs and ran after him.

The rain soaked into her hair, causing her expensive updo to come loose and cling to her neck. Her heels splashed through puddles, soaking her bare legs, but still she raced on.

She found him on the bleachers of the football stadium, his head cradled between his hands, his eyes cast to the metal flooring at his feet. His shoulders were hunched as if he carried the weight of the world on them. “Alec,” she whispered in a voice full of anguish and fear.

When he looked up, his eyes were full of pain. “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 the confession she’d feared for so long became unavoidable. “Things just got out of hand.”

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

At the look of resentment on his face, words tumbled from her lips as if of their own volition. “I fell in love with you.” Her rushed confession sucked all the air from her lungs. She stood for a moment in complete silence, unable to speak another word.

The thing that finally spurred her forward was fear. She was afraid he would walk out before she could explain. She was afraid he would walk out of her life for forever.

With rain trailing down her face, she poured her heart out to the boy next door. “When Jake confessed his secret to me, I was already…” She looked away in 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 the dark pools of chocolate. “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 that horrible sentence.

“You would never lose me.” Alec’s hair hung in his eyes, casting a dark shadow over his face, but his honestly was still plain to see. “You’re my best friend. Sure, I was mad at you, but I would never stop caring about you. Ever.”

Ellie swallowed, too nervous to say anything more. At his assurance, her tears had gone dry, but she was still too uncertain of how much damage she’d done to their friendship to truly relax. She stared at him through the pouring rain, her breaths uneven due to her fear.

“Ellie…” Alec trailed off with a shake of his head. He lowered his eyes down to the floor again. After a moment of silence, he climbed to his feet with a look of determination and strode purposefully toward her. Pulling her into his arms, he lowered his mouth to hers.

As she stood in the deluge of water that poured from the heavens, she wrapped her arms around Alec’s waist and melted into his chest. The kiss was full of passion and emotion. It was full of everything they’d been holding back from one another. It was perfect.

* * * *

Ellie made her way toward her front door, her hand in Alec’s. Her dress was still damp, her make-up had long since washed away, and her feet were cold, but she was happier than she’d ever been in her entire life. “I don’t want this night to end,” she said wistfully as she gazed sideways at his profile.

He turned his face in her direction with a grin. “Neither do I.” Pulling her to a stop, he tugged her in against his chest. His arms enfolded around her, and he lowered his mouth to hers for a gentle, lingering kiss.

Ellie smiled against his lips, leaning in against him. Her hands pressed flatly to his chest, resting just above his heart as she fit herself perfectly to his form. “It doesn’t have to end,” she said quietly when he finally pulled back.

“Oh yeah?” He smiled as he brushed his lips against hers once again. “How do you figure that?”

Her heart pounded frantically against her ribcage as she nodded her head in the direction of her bedroom window. “I’ll see you in five minutes?”

He inhaled sharply, his eyes moving to the window. “Five minutes,” he repeated with a slow nod. Then he beamed. Grabbing her face in his hands, he gave her a quick kiss before jogging away in the direction of his own house. “Five minutes,” he called out over his shoulder.

Letting out an unsteady breath, Ellie shook out her arms, trying to shake away her nervousness. He’d been in her room more times than she could count, but this one felt different. He was no longer the scruffy boy next door who loved to torture her. He was the sexy hockey star whose kisses could ignite a fire in her soul.

He was still Alec, though. This insight settled her nerves. It put her mind at ease and had anticipation thrumming in her veins. She straightened her shoulders and marched into the house.

It was dark and quiet inside, her mother having gone to bed hours ago. She was grateful for the privacy it afforded her. She did not want to have to answer all of the questions her mother would no doubt ask about her night. She did not want to have to explain about her gay prom date or the newly budding relationship between her and Alec. It was a conversation more suited over breakfast once she’d had time to fully sort out her emotions and realize what these changes would mean for her relationship with Alec. Things would be different, but it would be a good different that she greatly looked forward to.

Tiptoeing quietly up the stairs, she eased into her bedroom and was surprised to find Alec already seated on her desk. He stared at her with a mischievous grin on his lips, his hair hanging roguishly into his eyes.

“What happened to five minutes?” she asked as she eased the door closed and turned the lock.

“I couldn’t wait.” He extended one of his hands in her direction. “Come here.”

She went to him willingly, coming to stand between his knees. As he wrapped his arms around her, she gave a little shiver from the remaining dampness in her gown.

Alec tightened his grip and pulled her close. “I’ll keep you warm.” He pressed a kiss to her nose before brushing his lips against hers.

“I know.” When his hands moved to her face and tilted her head back, she let it tip back willingly. She allowed him to deepen the kiss, his mouth moving sensually against her own. She placed her hands at his waist and dug her fingers into the fabric of his tux jacket, using it to ground herself.

When Alec finally pulled back, she gazed up at him with a breathless smile. The love she saw in his eyes was the confirmation she needed. Committing to the thoughts she’d had outside, Ellie reached into the drawer of her desk and produced a small, square piece of foil. Silently, she pressed it into his hand.

His gaze fell to the tiny package and he sucked in a breath. “Ellie…” He looked up at her with wide eyes. “I wasn’t… That wasn’t why…”

“I know,” she assured.

“We can wait.” His voice was hesitant, and she could see the flash of desire in his eyes.

“I’ve waited my entire life to be in love with you. I don’t want to wait any more.” With that, she placed a hand to the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

Epilogue

Ellie awoke to t
he morning sun streaming into her window to bask her face in a warm glow. With a yawn, she stretched her arms above her head as memories of the night before came rushing back to her. She’d spent the night with a boy.

“Good morning.”

The sound of Alec’s tired, scratchy voice greeting her brought a smile to Ellie’s lips. She rolled onto her side to face him. “Good morning.”

His arm snaked around her waist, and he scooted closer in the bed to press his lips to her nose. “How are you feeling?”

“Perfect.” Her smile grew as his lips found hers in a lingering kiss.

“That was…awesome.” He sat up in bed and stretched his arms out in front of himself with a tired groan. “Seeing as neither of us had any clue what we were doing, I’d say we did fairly well.”

“Neither of us?” she asked with surprise.

He rewarded her with a smile. “I’d never done that before either, El.”

“I was your first?” Alec had dated so many girls that she’d just assumed he’d taken the final step before. Hearing otherwise had a warm, giddy feeling spreading throughout her chest.

“Yes.” He hopped out of bed and tugged the pants of his tux back on. “You were the first.” Snatching his shirt up from the floor, he began shrugging into it. “Maybe I was waiting for you, too.”

Hugging the blankets to her chest, she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. She pulled him in for a kiss and was happy to find his body willingly pressed to hers. “I love you, Alec.” The words were whispered against his mouth, as she feared to say them any louder.

He pulled back to look at her with a lopsided grin. “I love you, too. Always have. Just took me a little to realize what that meant.” Giving her a quick, chaste kiss, he pulled back. “I should get going before your mom comes looking for you.”

As he moved toward the window, Ellie snatched for his hand. “You’ll come over for breakfast?”

He smiled and offered her a wink. “I’ll be over in five minutes.”

“Five minutes.” She repeated the words that had led to so much the night before. Five minutes had changed everything.

With a sense of longing, she watched him disappear through the window. Knowing it was silly as she’d be seeing him again in only a few minutes, she gave a self-deprecating chuckle and picked up her discarded dress. She wiggled back into the now dry fabric. After brushing her teeth, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen where her mother was waiting for her.

“I have breakfast ready,” Cindy said as she brought a plate over and plopped it in from of Ellie before she’d fully gotten into her seat. Sliding into the chair across from her daughter, she eagerly stared her down. “So…how was prom?”

Ellie smiled softly. “It was magical. It was everything I’d ever hoped it would be.”

“Really?” Cindy’s expression was one of surprise. “And here I thought you weren’t even interested in prom.”

“I wasn’t. Not before…” She blushed and looked down at her plate.

“Jake was that charming, huh?”

Ellie never got to answer, because there was a tap on the door, and Alec entered wearing his evening wear from the night before. He slid into the seat usually reserved for him and stole a piece of sausage off of her plate. “El invited me over for breakfast.”

“Good morning, Alec.” Cindy greeted him with open affection.