Falling For Preston.XCOMPLETEDX(editing)

Chapter 3

                    Title: So a hot room mate, eh!       

                                   It took a lot of wheedling and whining, but in the end Shweta managed to convince me to talk to Ethan about the whole tutoring thing. Basically, she said, "Listen, Sapphire, you need to suck it up and put your pride on hold, because if you don't do this he'll just keep beating you and pretty soon you'll have no pride left to put on hold, you hear?"

                                   I loved Shweta, but sometimes I just wanted to grab her by her pretty little neck and strangle the life out of her. Especially when she was right. "Fine," I grumbled. "I'll go tomorrow."

                               Unfortunately, Emily decided to call me up that night and ask me to watch Marcus again, because she had a meeting to go to at work (she did end up getting the job by some miracle). Ever since she'd been hired it was like I automatically assumed the spot of Marcus's nanny, which I most definitely wasn't. I liked my nephew just fine, but I didn't want to be carting around a baby everywhere I went.

                                "Maybe I should just go the next day," I said to Shweta after I hung up with my sister.

                          "Oh, no," she scolded. "You're going tomorrow. I'll even go with you and take Marcus off your hands while you talk to Ethan, if you want."

                                "Why can't you just stay here with him?"

                              "Because I want to meet Ethan," Shweta's cheeks turned a little red. "But you're going, Sapphire Castillo, even if it kills you."

              That was the problem: it just might kill me. I never liked asking for help for anything. In middle school, if we ever got the choice to work with a partner or alone, I always chose to work alone. If I was assigned a partner? Great. Go get me these books, I'll do the research and the project and write your name on the paper. Just stay out of my way. Usually, my partner was more than happy to obey.

Even when I was stuck on a question on my schoolwork, I refused to raise my hand, instead preferring to work it out myself, sometimes spending almost half an hour on a single problem.

Call it the "love of learning" if you want.

So, the next morning, I found myself making the dreaded walk across campus with Marcus in my arms and Shweta trailing behind as we headed towards Ethan's dorm.

"I don't want to do this," I told her.

                  "I know. But you're going to."

             "But Shweta Kadam —"

               "Call me by my full name one more time and you'll find your throat being ripped out."

                    I smirked. Sometimes, pushing Shweta's buttons was all I needed to put me in a better mood. The good vibes vanished, however, when we approached Ethan's door. I took a deep breath, one-two-three, exhaled, and, cringing a little, knocked on the door.

                    A few seconds passed and, just as I was about to knock again, Ethan opened the door. He was shirtless, wearing only plaid boxers, and his hair was sticking up like he'd just been sleeping. He blinked at me for a second before his eyes widened.

              "Oh . . . hi, Sapphire."

               "Hi," I said, feeling a little embarrassed. It must've been quite a sight: the girl who hates you standing at your door with a squirming baby in her arms and another girl hovering behind her. Wait a second. Why was I embarrassed? Screw Ethan. I didn't care what he thought.