Knock Him Off His Feet

11. Clinging on to False Hope

The entire day I've been trying to avoid Xavier. I've been keeping my thoughts in check and steering clear of him for as long as I possibly could. So of course it's a surprise when I see him shuffling on the door step.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, stepping outside and closing the front door behind me. "Why are you at my house? You have no right to be here."

"I think I do, actually," he says.

"No, you don't."

He chuckles. "You're a stubborn girl."

"I'm a sensible girl. Now leave." I point to his car in our driveway, keeping my eyes on him.

"You're very cute when you're angry," he says instead.

I roll my eyes. "Shut up."

He steps closer to me. "Make me," he whispers, his voice strong and rasp.

If I want him to, I could just get him to shut up and leave with a kiss, right? If I show him how much I want him gone, will he leave? Will a kiss even do that?

"Why are you here?" I mumble, shielding my curiosity with distaste.

"Couldn't it be more obvious?" he asks, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm your new study buddy."

I think I'm about to throw up. "You're funny. You can leave now."

I'm just about to open the door when Xavier clasps my hand. He tugs on my arm and spins me around, pulling me against his chest and making me gasp on impact.

"I'm not going anywhere," he says defensively. "I was hoping we could start with math," he whispers. "Y'know, algebra, formulas, all that stuff."

I nod my head. I want to wriggle free of his grasp, but I can't even move a muscle. My stomach is pressed to his. I hate it when he does this.

"Let me go," I demand.

His arms stay where they are. "No."

"Let. Me. Go."

"Do you want me to?"

"I need you to."

"Don't bite your lip," he growls, staring down at my mouth. I don't notice my teeth are clutching tightly on to my bottom lip until I release it.

"Now let go of me," I say, pushing myself out of his grasp. At the same moment, my mother opens the door. Her eyes land on Xavier and they widen. "Who's this?" she asks, sounding quite flustered.

"He's—"

"I'm Xavier, Delta's study buddy," he says, introducing himself. "Nice to meet you Misses Flores." He reaches out to give my mother a hand shake, and she lets him into the house without question.

He smirks at me before going inside, and I scowl right back at him, crossing my arms.

We both walk in, but I maintain my distance from him. I know not to get too close or else I'll be snatched right into this Venus fly trap of a boy. It's inevitable.