The Sophomore || Tori Kelly

How Did You Know?

tuesday

7:13 PM

Tori sat at the kitchen table of her shared apartment, eating a snack and working on her English homework. She couldn't figure out how to even start one of the questions and decided to just come back to it later. "Jo!" Tori yelled, collecting her trash and getting up from the table. Not too much later 1/4 of the homeowners came from the back with her water bottle.

"Yo," Joanna replied, heading to the fridge to refill her bottle.

"I know Kamari has another class that doesn't end until 10 and Kayla is going to her boyfriends after her class. Do you want to come with me to Tim and AJ's? They are making tacos tonight and I really don't wanna cook," Tori asked. JoJo shrugged and pulled her bottle from out of the refrigerator.

"I have nothing better to do, so, sure," Joanna agreed. Tori smiled and grabbed a half-empty bottle of Sprite from the fridge. "What? Why?" JoJo asked through a laugh. Tori looked at the bottle with a smile.

"We can't come empty-handed," she giggled. JoJo glanced at the green bottle skeptically with a smile.

"Girl, you're gonna finish that before we even get across campus," JoJo laughed, as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the front door with Tori not too far behind.

"I mean, honestly, though," Tori giggled as JoJo opened the door. "Oh, Jesus!" Tori squealed as she and JoJo jumped, startled by the guy in a pink sweatshirt and backpack at her front door. He stepped into the porch lights to reveal none other than André. "André, what are you doing here? How did you even find where I live?" Tori asked, skeptically.

"You didn't know, apparently you're a dick magnetic. Or at least for his," JoJo chuckled before taking the bottle from Tori and leaving out of the apartment as André stepped in.

"You have your location on Snapchat. I've been walking around this building for an hour looking for you. I need help with my English," he said. Tori could see in his eyes that he was being honest and obliged.

"Fine," Tori said, pretending to be bothered, even though she was lowkey excited. André grinned and followed Tori to the table full of homework and sat down next to her.

"You really get into your studies," he observed with a short laugh. Tori nodded and scooted some of the loose papers towards her open binder.

"Well, I don't want to lose my scholarship," Tori shrugged as she logged into her laptop. "I'm gonna go change. I'll be back. Help yourself to anything in the fridge or cabinets," Tori kindly offered before running to her room to get comfortable.

7:29 PM

Tori finally emerged from her room in pajama shorts and a tight t-shirt. André glanced back to see her shut her bedroom door. It took everything in André not to crack a smile or react. Even in her comfortable state with no makeup, she was gorgeous. An ounce of conviction washed over him. His heart started to weigh heavily about the way he viewed his interaction with Tori going. "So, what do you need help with?" Tori asked, sitting down next André. The smell of vanilla and coconut wafted through his nostrils, sending a tingle down the grown man's spine.

"When did you know?" André rebutted off topic. Victoria's eyebrow shot up as she crossed one leg over the other and rested her arm on the back of the chair.

"About what?" She answered. André bit his lip as if embarrassed about the topic. He glanced at the cross in the kitchen before looking at his hands. Tori followed his gaze back to the small brown cross above her stove. "About Jesus?" Tori asked. André shrugged and avoided her looks.

"Well...yeah," André replied. Tori was taken aback. No one had ever asked her about her faith. Everyone just assumed they knew everything about it.

"Well, I went to a Christian school as a child and my parents kind of instilled the love of Jesus in my brother and me as kids. They equated everything we had to God and even when things were bad, they explained that the enemy is either trying to get us or God is testing our faith. So, I never had a doubt in my mind about who I would serve from a young age," Tori explained. André listened carefully to what Tori was saying. Something in his spirit didn't allow him not to. "What about you?" Tori asked. André pulled his can of worms from his back pocket and sat them on the table. He was tired of playing the victim and instead of preying on someone who didn't know his story, he wanted to divulge his ugly truth.

"Uhh. I was never super religious growing up. I was raised that if anyone asked we were Christian, you know?" He started. "And not too long ago I was in a fight that brought my life into a spiral and actually sent me here to Loyola. Anyways, after going to church with my old friend, Maggie, once, I realized why and what was happening to me," André spoke. Tori hummed and pulled her knees into her chest.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you found Jesus from it," Tori whispered. André nodded, but Tori could see that there was something more on his heart. She wasn't sure if what she was about to say was anywhere near where he was, but she was going to take a shot in the dark. "That feeling in the pit of your stomach, that forced you to my house to work on something that I saw you finish in class is called conviction," Tori stated. "I'm going to be frank with you André. I know that the only reason you started talking to me was so that you could sleep with me. What I can't figure out, is why you're still here. You've clearly seen that my legs are shut, so what's the deal?" Tori asked. André shrugged.

"Can I be honest?" He asked. Tori nodded. "Well, you're what's up. Your vibe. I can never tell what's happening. In class, you can't get far enough away from me. At the party, you let me kiss you. Then, you iced me out for three days. Now we're here. You knew I was lying about my work and you still let me in instead of calling me out," André said. Tori bit her lip as her cheeks started to heat up.

"I wasn't icing you out. Every Sunday I go to church with my family, then have dinner at my parent's house afterward. I felt so bad about the kiss that, I kind of hid away on Sunday to wrap my head around everything," Tori explained. André tried not to laugh.

"Our kiss got you that messed up?" He giggled. Tori hid her face and got up from her seat.

"Dré," Tori playfully whined, calling him by his nickname for the first time. "Full disclosure. I had never kissed a guy on the lips before you," she said, going to the kitchen and grabbing a water bottle. André followed her and stood by the sink as she stood by the stove.

"I would've never guessed. You were a natural," he chuckled. Tori bit her lip and sipped on her water. A comfortable silence filled the air around them for a few moments. André took in his surroundings as Tori took in her drink.

"Hey, you hungry? I was kind of on my way to get taco's, but I can order a pizza or something. Since we're here," Tori asked, slightly waving her phone at André. The basketball player looked himself down and shrugged.

"I'm always hungry," he chuckled, causing a genuine giggle from Tori. As the laughter died down, Tori went to move past André at the same time he leaned off the counter, causing them to come face to sort of face. They stared at each other with the same energy from the party, but this Tori could see around the corner and knew where the situation was headed.

"So, cheese okay?" She quickly diverted, pulling André out of his trance.

"Yeah, uh, where's your bathroom?" André asked as he spun around. Tori pointed to the back through the living room, before heading to the website of the nearest pizzeria. She had a guy in her room. But not just any guy. The guy. The guy that was slowly working his way into her heart.

🔌🔌🔌
To Be Continued...