Tutoring the Alpha

Chapter Twenty-Five: O Come All Ye Faithful

 I rolled over in bed, yawning widely as my alarm clock blared a Fall Out Boy song that I'd chosen because it made me feel indestructible, like Pete Wentz. Now I slapped my hand around on my bedside table until I had my phone in my fingers, clicking off the alarm and turning over on my pillow. I'd already slept through my 8:00 am Organic Chemistry class, but the fatigue pressing in at every corner of my brain was tempting me to sleep through my eleven o'clock Chemistry class as well. Then a different song filled the dark room - the sound of my ringtone, and with a groan, I rolled back over to answer it.

"What?" I snapped when I saw who was calling me. Before, I'd had a little bit of patience to deal with Jenna, but lately I barely even had enough patience to deal with people I did like, like Mickey. Mickey. I hadn't seen him the day before, which made me worry obsessively, but he'd texted me last night telling me he'd meet me for lunch after his morning workout.

"SHIT," I said into the phone when I realized he'd be waiting to meet me after my Chemistry class, meaning I would get a huge lecture if I didn't show. Shitshitshitshitshit.

"Benny?" Jenna's confused voice floated over the line, but instead of answering her desperate pleas to know where I was and why I was late for class, I hung up the phone and finally threw myself out of bed to get ready to go.

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                Even though going to class was hell, it turned out to be worth it when I walked out of the building and saw Mickey standing by his SUV, waiting for me. A smile tugged at his lips when I got closer, and suddenly a surge of excitement made me dash across the lawn and fling myself into his arms with a very un-Benny-like squeal of joy.

"Why, hello there, beautiful," Mickey laughed, stumbling back a bit from the impact but wrapping his arms tightly around me in a way that had me blushing with happiness. I couldn't explain the feeling inside of my stomach when I pulled back a bit to peer up at him; it was like all I could see, hear, or breathe was Mickey. It was like my heart pumped blood for him, like my lungs expanded and my pulse raced for Mickey, and only for Mickey. I felt like asking him about every detail of every minute of every hour that he'd been away from me, but caught myself just in time. Slow down. Don't freak him out. If I'd learned one thing in the past few weeks, it was that Mickey was way too quick to worry about me. I didn't need him suspecting I was on crack or anything.

"Hi," I smiled back, pressing my grinning lips against his and flattening one palm against the SUV window as lust burned across my skin like a whip of hot wind. His mouth ate out mine enthusiastically, his hands sliding up my sweater before pausing on the curve of my rib cage.

"Benny, you're freezing. Where's your jacket?" Mickey panted, pulling me closer to his warmth and stroking back my hair. I hadn't bothered to do anything to it for class, and the frizzy curls hung around my neck and shoulders with reckless abandon.

"I don't need one," I remarked, biting down on my lip and ducking in for another kiss. Mickey pulled his face back, however, the familiar light of concern flashing in his eyes, which were more grey than blue today. He kept his arms wrapped around me, although I suspect it was more for the sake of keeping me warm than keeping me close, and ushered me quickly into the SUV. Starting the car and cranking the heat up, Mickey swiftly slid his blue and orange Cavaliers Basketball jacket off and tossed it at me.

"Put this on."

                The place Mickey took me to was wonderful, and we got to sit inside near a fireplace and have soup and sandwiches and almost act like we were on a real date. The prospect made me dizzy with giddiness, a feeling which was hastily doused when I excused myself to use the bathroom before we left. I hadn't seen or heard from Sabrina all day, but of course I'd known that wouldn't last. When I got into the bathroom, there was a line to get into the stalls, so I convinced myself to patiently wait behind an elderly woman and her granddaughter. With each second that passed, however, my blood boiled and my skin prickled and I felt like I was going to scream. The pressure mounted until finally, it was my turn to get into the next available stall and I was so relieved I could cry. But then the girl who stepped out turned to smile politely at me as she slid by me to get to the sinks, and I collapsed to the ground with a scream, my arms flailing out and hitting the woman behind me in the face.