Ready or Not

Chapter 18

When you wake up on Saturday morning, you get yourself ready to go tutor your two students. You know that you'll be meeting with Namjoon for lunch and for whatever reason, you feel nervous. Not the doom and gloom kind of nervous, but butterflies in the stomach kind. You ask yourself, "What the hell is this? Am I looking forward to seeing him? What the fuck is wrong with me?" Chiding yourself for a part of you that is excited to see Namjoon, you head out for work. Your Saturday students are big and sweet young men. You know that they work very hard at school, and you praise them for their improvement and ability to maintain a grade with which they are satisfied. The first young man you tutor is in his Junior year and the second, in his senior year. The Senior, Justin, has been talking to several division 1 colleges to play football for them. The boy at seventeen, about to turn 18 in a few months, is 6'7" and built like a tank. But the word that you'd use to describe him is "A gentle giant." It is difficult to imagine him getting aggressive enough to play football, but your other students that are in the same team with him, tells you that he is an absolute beast.

Both of your tutoring sessions are very productive today. And about ten minutes before you end your last tutoring session, you text Namjoon to let him know where you are and that you'll be done in about 10 minutes. Namjoon texts you back immediately and says that he'll be waiting for you outside when you are done.

Finally, you conclude your last tutoring session and walk out of his home. And lo and behold, there is Namjoon's Lexus truck waiting at the curb for you. Justin, who is there to let you out of his home sees the car and asks, "Oh, someone is here to pick you up?"

You reply, "Yea.... It's a one-time thing."

Just asks, "Who is it? Your boyfriend?" he flutters his eye lashes exaggeratedly.

You chuckle and say, "He was, like for nine minutes."

With curiosity broadcasting on his face, Justin asks, "Why so short?"

"I caught him with another girl, but he swears that it wasn't what it looked like."

He asks, "Do you believe him?"

You sigh and say, "I have no idea. Whatever it was, it shocked the shit out of me when I walked in on it"

Justin's eyes turn perfectly round, and he asks, "You walked in on him while he was with some girl?"

"Not any girl, the girl that he was sleeping with before, he and I got together."

Your student leans in and says, "Do you want me to rough him up for you?"

You look up at Justin and say, "HA! You really are a sweet kid! But no. If I want him roughed up, you bet it'll be me kicking his ass."

Justin laughs and says, "I think I like this you better than the tutor you."

"Oh, you be quiet! I'll see you next week."

As you step out of the door, he chuckles, shakes his head and closes the front door after you.

Namjoon gets out of the car and comes around to your side to open the door for you. He asks, "That's the high school kid that you tutor?"

You reply, "Yes. One of them anyway."

"Jesus, you weren't kidding when you said your boys were big."

"He is my biggest one. Rest of them are big, but not Justin-big."

Namjoon shuts your door for you, comes around to the driver's side and gets in. Then he asks, "Do you have any cravings for lunch? If you do, we'll do that and if you don't, I know a place we can go."

You reply, "No cravings. So, we can try your place."

As he pulls away from the curb, he says, "Okay, sounds good."