Chapter 3

“…Alex?” I questioned, lifting my head from his chest which had just about three quarters of an inch of softness. “Hmmmm, yeah?” he answered sleepily. My mind raced through all the times had been a jerk to me and all the times he invaded my space, I thought about the coming semester and how he was my partner; and as much as I loathed to admit it he was considerably better than me at math. “I know I initiated this all, I blame you looking so damn good!” I laughed, I did want to be friends after all, “but since we’re math partners this semester and I know I’m going to need a lot of help I want… No. I need us to be drama free and friends this semester. Now, like I said, I take responsibility for this time but we have to try really hard to not have any blow ups like last year. Is that okay?” I asked and looked into his eyes for his answer. He looked at me like I had just slapped him “You don’t have to be a sarcastic bitch, you can say you don’t want to sleep with me because I’ve gotten fat” he finally let out defensively, “I haven’t had time to run this semester or last because I’m studying so much”. “I was NOT being sarcastic; I really think you look even sexier than before! You know me, I’m a little weird, I like… this” and with that I lightly squeezed his itty bitty love handle. It took a lot of awkward admissions on my behalf and my fair share of belly rubbing to convince him I wasn’t being mean I really wanted to get along and pass this class. After that he came around and agreed, but he warned me that if I changed my mind at any time he would willingly end the ‘friends-only’ portion of our clause. When I left he hugged me and seemed strangely optimistic.

The first three weeks of class passed and I became very wrapped up in the work load which was a lot harder than I was used to. Alex and I met three times a week to study, well that’s what we called it; it was really so he could explain things to me. Our first test as on the fifth week of school so we had a week and a half to study for it, we basically stayed cooped in his apartment studying (him snacking) the entire time. Usually I’m an observant girl, especially when it comes to things like this but I guess the pressure of school and seeing him all the time distracted me, that is, until after our tests.

Grades were online; I got an 85 and couldn’t have been happier. I picked up my phone to call him and it started ringing in my hand. It was him calling to tell me he got a 95, I felt very very smart for picking him as my partner however unintentionally, and to congratulate me on my 85. He invited me to his place for a few drinks to celebrate and I happily agreed, we most definitely deserved to celebrate I reasoned.