Loving thy Enemy

Loving thy enemy 13

Chapter 13

No matter what I did, I couldn't get my blasted eyes away from his! It's like he had some magnetic attraction to them and now I couldn't get them away. I also think it's partially because if he was going to be staring at me...

Still, the fixation of his eyes was unbearably beautiful.

I shifted slightly on the carpet and Neal finally dropped the gaze. I almost let out a sigh of relief.

"Are you going to leave us alone, Neal?" Cassie said, flipping quietly through her math book with a concentrated expression.

The expression was quite like the look I saw on Neal's face as he was playing the guitar. Oh yeah, the beautiful looks definitely run in this family.

"No, I don't think I will," Neal said flatly, "Mind if I sit in?"

The question was directed towards me as his eyes moved to me, but I quickly looked down, waiting for brave Cassie to answer for me and not wanting his eyes to catch mine again before I could save myself.

"I'm fine either way, really," Cassie shrugged, "Do you mind, Anvi?"

Shit.

"It'll be awfully boring," I said hopefully .

Neal raised a perfect eyebrow and gracefully walked over to the middle of the floor where Cassie and I were seated.

He swiftly folded himself into a sitting position on the floor so that our knees in crossed legged position were almost touching.

He gave me a playful look that dared me to oppose him sitting in.

"It's my day off today," he said, "And I need to distract myself before I eat the whole fridge."

"You wouldn't be that bored sitting on your own," Cassie challenged.

"I'm a Mumbaikar," he explained with a smirk, "We don't like being truly alone for long periods of time. Without getting angsty, that is."

He winked at Cassie and Cassie rolled her eyes.

Then he turned to give a smug smile to me, probably thinking he had won the argument.

I guess he wasn't so grumpy today? What could explain the sudden mood swing? Smiling? Winking? Not being so opposed to everything I did?

"Okay," I said, "Enough talk. Let's get to work on that math."

I gave Neal a look that shouted, 'stop interrupting!!' Neal struggled to not smile, but I could see it in his eyes.

Stay focused, Anvi. Stay focused.

Cassie scooted next to me and pulled out her sheet of scrap paper. She sat silently for a moment, examining the problem in her math textbook.

"Umm..." she muttered, glancing from the book to her paper as she wrote down some numbers.

Neal watched her carefully before glancing at me to see if I was approving of her work.

"4 times 5 equals 9?" I said, raising the question to Cassie. She looked up from her work and furrowed her brow.

"Yes...? OH! Wait. No. It's 20?" Cassie rambled, searching from my expression the page for an answer somewhere.

I nodded. Cassie grinned and went back to working. She didn't seem to be having any problem.

I leaned back on my arms and watched her carefully.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Neal watching me. Probably examining me for any of my mistakes in tutoring.

I fidgeted under his gaze and looked hesitantly at him. He wasn't smiling or anything, but his eyes caught mine again. They seemed to be searching for something. Slowly, a smile crept across his face.

He leaned closer to me and my heart pounded erratically. My first idea was to scoot away, but his eyes kept me glued to where I was.

"I'm surprised she's not nervous from the way you're watching her like a hawk," he said in a low voice to me.

I'm surprised I'm not dying from the way you've been watching me.

Definitely not making it easy for me to avoid you.

"If being a hawk is what it takes for her to learn," I said with a shrug.

"Are hawks your favorite animal to model your teaching techniques from?"

Um. Is that a trick question? Am I being interrogated?

"No..." I said slowly.

"What is?" Neal pressed. I noticed he was still relatively close to me.

"Uhhh," I thought, looking up the ceiling, "Platypus."

Neal sat back. He looked shocked. Confused. And then amused.

He opened his mouth to talk again but Cassie groaned in frustration.

"Shuuusssh," Cassie whined, "I'm going to kick you out, Neal."

"What? It's partially my job to make sure she is doing her job, isn't it?"

Neal raised his hands, pleading innocent. His eyes were doing that angel thing. The smirk on his face made them lose the effect, though.

Cassie glowered at her brother.

"Cassie, it's okay. Go back work. We'll be quiet," I said calmly.

Cassie looked apologetically at me before turning her attention back to her paper. I gave Neal another glare.

"I'm going to go get something to eat," Neal announced. He stood up and walked towards the door.

"Which is code for 'I'm bored and you two are uninteresting'," Cassie muttered, not taking her eyes off the page.

"Hey," Neal chuckled, "It's obvious I'm not needed here, and I've got all the information I need...for now."

He laughed and walked out the door. I tried to refocus my attention. Cassie was shaking her head at her brother's actions.

I wonder what his favorite animal is..................