Who Would've Guessed Ch. 01

I opened my mouth before closing it again, speechless. "I-I don't know?" I finally replied.

She paused at my response for a moment before laughing, flashing a smile with her pearly whites, "You're weird."

I've never really been on the receiving end of something like that — the smile, not the 'weird' part. Plenty of people have called me weird. In fact, that's probably the only word people use to describe me. The way she said it was devoid of any underlying or mean-spirited energy, though.

"Thanks...?" I blurted out, unsure how to react.

Luckily, Sam stepped in and clapped her hands. "All right, all right. Let's go, Cel. You ambushed him in the morning. The least you can do is stop bothering him. Thanks again, Cory!" She dragged the redheaded woman by the ear and turned to leave.

"Uhh, I'm tutoring later. If you guys want to start immediately, come by the house," I suggested.

"Meet you at the gate later?"

I nodded at Sam before she smiled and left.

The classroom was pretty quiet after that. Until I sat down anyway.

Carlos, my seatmate, aggressively lunged at me and asked me a bunch of questions; what my relationship was with them (non-existent), why'd they ask me for help (I had good grades), why were they friendly to me (they were just being nice), etc.

Before some of my classmates could approach too, the teacher came in and saved me by the bell.

I sighed inwardly. Talking with popular girls was exhausting.

It was bad enough that the conversation itself was stressful. Was the interrogation from everyone else really necessary?

I weakly laid my head on my desk. We haven't even started and I'm already beat.

_________________________________

As promised, the two women were waiting for me in front of the gate. Honestly, I was prepared to uselessly wait around for a few minutes before realizing they were just messing with me. That would've been more comfortable than actually hanging out with them.

"Ready? We could take a break first, get some ice cream if you're tired?" Sam suggested, shifting her backpack's weight from her shoulders. Pretty and considerate.

"I'm fine. Thanks."

I gave them my most reassuring nod and took the lead. It didn't take more than a few minutes before the silhouette of my house appeared within linesight. When we got to the front gate, Veronica — the kid I tutor three days a week — was already there. She was a good kid, if a little... intense. Her parents asked me to tutor her for a while to sort of ground her back to reality. Her delinquent attitude made it a little hard to do my job at first, but she soon warmed up to me.

Actually, that depends on what constitutes as warm.

But at least she wasn't glaring at me anymore for hours straight.

I've been teaching her a bit of collegiate math for her SATs, which she's retaking the next summer when she turns into a senior. I really hope she does well. Again, she's a good kid.

She's a little conceited, though. So I try to take her down a peg by giving her a really hard problem, way beyond her level, every week. Really hope she doesn't find out.

"Hey, you're late!" she says to me.

"Good afternoon to you too, kid," I replied calmly, my keys clinking against the metal doorknob.

"Please, I'm a few months young...er...." Veronica stopped in her tracks and stared at the two women beside me.

"Oh, these are my... classmates, Sam and Celia. This is Veronica," I pointed at the Latina.

"So pretty," Veronica complimented, a tone of slight mischief hiding underneath her lashes. I squinted in suspicion. She doesn't usually compliment anyone out of the blue.

I knew she was up to something, but I just didn't know what.

Sam beamed. "Thanks! So are you."

Like an excited child who had caught someone in her trap, the Latina giggled, "So you agree? You think you're pre — really? You think so?" Veronica's cheeks suddenly flushed as she shyly tucked her hair in the corners of her ear. I cringed at the really weird sight.

Celia interrupted before Sam could reply to her, "Totally, kid! That style rocks on you. And I'm pretty sure you were about to recite a Mean Girls reference."

"I'm sorry. I'm normally just a little overwhelmed by pretty girls. Honestly, I don't know how you two are acquainted with that lame guy over there. Do you have boyfriends? I swing both ways."

Celia laughed, "Oh, stop. He's not lame. Cory's helping us. We owe him. And I do have a boyfriend, so you're better off trying with Sam here." The redhead elbowed Sam in the ribs.

My jaw dropped at the harmonious introduction. It took a while for Veronica to be comfortable around new people, but she seemed to hit it off almost instantly with these two.

For the first few weeks, all I got from her was "Are we done, nerd?"

I got a little jealous and scoffed. She seemed to have heard, staring me down as she turned up her nose arrogantly, daring me to talk, "What?"

I rolled my eyes at her before entering the house. "Nothing."

After getting them settled down in the living room, sitting on mats surrounding the coffee table, I started to give them a couple of questions to determine what to teach them. The results shocked me. See, I always thought Veronica was behind, but compared to Celia?

She was basically a star student.

Celia lacked so much of the fundamentals that I quickly rewrote the curriculum I initially designed in my head.

Sam was surprising, though. As far as I know, she didn't really have high grades. But her results suggested she didn't need my help.

Wonder why she's here. Probably to support her friend. Pretty, considerate, and supportive.

"So um, Celia. Your results were... not that great. We can work on it, don't worry. From the looks of it, you don't have the basics of geometry figured out. We should start there."

"Hell, I'm not even sure if Geometry's about the shapes or the letters," she laughed before realizing that wasn't something to be proud of.

Veronica whispered in her ears, trying to help, "They're the shapes."

I sighed, "It's both, but nice try."

"Shut up, nerd!" she yelled, somewhat embarrassed. I shrugged. Over time, I learned to ignore her outbursts.

"As for Sam, she actually — "

"Failed. Abysmally!" she interrupted, suddenly feigning an act of frustration.

Though confused, I played along.

"Yeah... um, anyway, if that's the case, I think Algebra is as good a place to start as any. Veronica needs to review some lessons anyway. For now, I'll give you some questions. Try to answer before I help you through them."

After picking up some mentally exercising problems from my own personal book, I stood up from the floor and said, "Stay here. I'll, um, get us something to eat." I could already imagine Aunt Cass's disdainful gaze if she found out I didn't prepare snacks for our guest.

"Oh, can I use your bathroom?" Sam stood up and asked me.

I nodded before guiding her out of the room. "Yeah. Of course. I'll lead you there."

"So, uh, any reason why you lied — " Before I could finish, I felt a pull on my arm and I was suddenly pinned to the wall. It took a few seconds for me to understand that it was Sam, holding the sides of my waist as she stared up at me, a head shorter.

"Hey, do you want to fuck me?"

I froze. My mind glitched as I struggled to process whatever the hell it was she said.

"Sorry...? I must not have heard you right."

"I said, do you want to fuck me?"

My jaw dropped as I unconsciously focused on her mouth — as if reading her lips will confirm the ludicrous sentence that has never been uttered by a woman in my presence, ever.

"May I ask why you're asking....?" I replied, taking on this weirdly formal tone. Fuck, did that even make sense?

A fit of laughter burst out of Sam's lips as she clarified, "Because I want you to. Sorry, there's just something I'd like to confirm. That's why I went here. I don't really need help in math, but I do need your help with... this. I figured it's a win-win."

"Your... your friend is just in the living room."

She smirked. "So if she weren't, you'd agree?"

I opened my mouth to clarify before closing it back again. Couldn't really argue with that.

"Is this a joke? Are you actually messing with me? Because I've been pranked like this before."

"Okay, that's genuinely sad. Who'd do that?"

Girls like you, I thought to myself. Obviously, I couldn't say that to her.

"But no. I'm not messing with you. I can prove it right now..."

Her hands rummaged through my hips and waist before traveling down just under —

"Okay, okay! Wait, I believe you!" I hissed, growing an erection by the millisecond.

Thankfully — or unfortunately, her soft hands paused just an inch away. "Believe me now?"

"Y-yes. I... give me time to — to process all of this. Don't look at me like that. You're really hot, okay? And — God, I'm so confused." I paused, my mind freezing in frames. Did I just say she was hot?

Nope. I said she was really hot. Fuck.

Sam cracked an adorable, flirty smile before backing out. My lips parted to sigh as I pushed down the feelings of despondency crawling right through my chest and nose at her fading scent. She smelled like fresh lemons, which was somehow fatally attractive to me.

I know most guys prefer flowery scents, but they never really appealed to me. On the other hand, their fruit counterparts were massively addicting — hers was, at least.

"You don't have to promise anything, Cory. If you're interested, we could talk about this later — over a cup of coffee if you'd like. I do hope it leads us to the bedroom, though."

And with a wink, she headed to the bathroom, leaving me with my massively disordered thoughts.

What the hell just happened?

__________________________________

I can't believe I did that.

I laid out my intentions so clearly Cory would have to be beyond stupid to not realize. Oh, my god. Cory would have to be beyond stupid to not realize.

In all honesty, I couldn't remember a time when I was this straightforward with anyone. Not even with Spencer, whom I had known since kindergarten. There was always this wall between us. We once tried not to notice it, but the wall was always there.

But with Cory... it wasn't like that. Cory wasn't like him — or anyone for that matter. I couldn't accurately place it, but there was something about Cory that ticked me off — something so... honest. The man didn't talk much, but the words that escaped past his lips, however few, had always been truthful. Not a lot of people could have admitted what he did in that bathroom. Despite being so reticent, Cory was the type of person to wear his emotions on his sleeve, and I just thought that keeping up a pretense and taking advantage of a guy like that felt... wrong. Distasteful, no matter how pure my intentions were.

Or impure, in this context. God, I don't know anymore.

What I did know is that I wanted this. I wanted him.

I want him.

I wasn't sure in what way yet. So if this was really happening, I'll have to make that clear from the get-go. Preferably over that drink of coffee — why did I even say that? I didn't drink caffeine.

I washed my face and fixed myself up on the mirror, but my mind didn't leave Cory's struck hot eyes, listening to my passionate, unruly confession. I wondered if he'd agree. Surely he will, right? I didn't want to brag, but I was attractive. Most guys wouldn't refuse me. But then again, this was Cory. He wasn't like most guys. He was respectful, kind, with a stamp on his forehead that basically said, "nerd," with those cute glasses and that curly brown hair that grew long over the summer — with a shade almost the same as his eyes. God, the thought of him just sends shivers down my spine.

I mean, Cory was so different from the guys I dated — all in terms of looks, personality, or appeal. He was insanely tall, almost a head taller than me, sure, but thin — shockingly so considering I've seen how much he eats. He probably doesn't know how many girls would kill for that. I could tell he's clueless about those types of things, which had always been a part of his charm.

Honestly I didn't know why no one had noticed him before. He was.... unbelievably cute. Hot in a simple, non-flashy way. If he bulked up a little, he'd probably be drowning in confessions like mine.

I sighed. How was I going to get out of this?

Snapping out of my machinations, I looked around the bathroom for a tissue. It wasn't hard to find; the room was extremely organized. From medical kits to different kinds of soap, they were arranged in a way I envisioned people with OCD would arrange a bathroom. Cory lived with his mom, right? Maybe this was her. God forbid men could ever be this clean and organized.

She went out and headed back to the living room. Cory hadn't made it back yet, probably still looking for snacks — or his head still reeling from my borderline-harassment, which I was quickly starting to regret. Unaware of my internal ramblings, Celia and Veronica were still trying to answer the math questions so hard I almost felt bad for lying about needing help.

I glanced at the questions Cory gave them. He very clearly went easy on them. However, the two looked stumped. "Maybe I can help with that." They looked at me as if I were an angel, which made me feel even more guilty about using them for my own personal gain.

But I just had to find out what it would be like. What he would feel like.

After silently apologizing to them in my head, I focused on helping them out. Sarah and I never studied together, so I never knew how abysmal she was at math until now. It took a minute before I felt frustration seep in my bones. I didn't show it, though. Despite her confident outward appearance, the redhead was actually pretty sensitive at heart — especially about her intelligence. Honestly, I think that's why she dated Michael in the first place.

Fortunately, I didn't have to keep it up for very long. I belatedly realized Cory's presence. I caught him by the door... staring at me with this unreadable expression before looking away. I didn't pursue it. I was just happy I didn't end up yelling at my friend.

He laid down a plate full of snacks and juice on the coffee table. Judging by his surprisingly stable hands, he'd probably make a good waiter. I chuckled at the thought.

The next three hours passed by quickly. By the time we were finished for the day, the sun was already beginning to set. Veronica had been the first to go. We reluctantly said our goodbyes after exchanging socials.

On the other hand, Cory showed her out the door as if he couldn't wait until she was gone. Before she left, however, I saw the two bump fists at the front gate. They seemed a lot closer than they'd like to admit, which was absolutely hilarious. It was kind of like watching a version of Tom and Jerry that weirdly got along.

Apparently, Veronica lives just a block away, so they got together frequently too.

When we were about to leave ourselves, Celia turned to Cory and said her thanks again. He nodded, pursing his lips awkwardly to form... a smile, I think.

"You ready?" Celia asked me. I nodded. Before we could leave, however, Cory surprisingly snatched my wrists as if on impulse and called out with a stutter, "H-hey, um... I have something to talk to you about. Can — can you stay?"

My heart skipped a beat. I hear Celia respond with a snicker, "No problemo! We don't go in the same direction anyway. I take a bus."

And without another word, my friend left — leaving me alone with Cory.

Wait.

I was alone with Cory. The realization alone was enough to strike me to the core.

"What... did you want to talk to me about?" I stare at his grip on my wrists. Even while trying to be demanding he was gentle.

"You know what," he said, looking as if he was about to cry. I relented, thinking how unfair it was to flash those big brown eyes at me. I avoided them as I spoke, "I'm sorry for being so forward. I just didn't want to lie. I felt bad enough pretending I needed help — "

"How would you feel about having that coffee right now?" he interrupted.

I stared back at him.

Oh.

"That... would be great," I said blankly as he nodded — gesturing for me to sit down at the table.

Struck with a sudden realization, I quickly followed up, "Actually, do you have tea? I don't actually drink coffee."

"My Aunt keeps this good green tea at the back of the shelves. I can get it."

His Aunt? Now that I think about it, I've never seen or heard of Cory's parents. Still, it was none of my business — and it would be rude to ask so suddenly, so I simply nodded. "Thanks."

He quickly headed to the kitchen to grab a cup of hot water. Struggling with the silence, I said the first thing that came to mind, "I really like your bathroom by the way."

The room went radio silent — and it was already pretty quiet.

I inwardly palmed my forehead. Of all the things my stupid mouth could have mentioned, it just had to be that.

"Sorry, I just couldn't think of a better icebreaker."

Hearing slight relief and amusement in his tone, Cory came back with a hot cup of tea. "Oh, thanks! I, uh, maintain it as often as I can. Aunt Cass can get very messy, so I thought to arrange it that way."

"That was you?" I asked him incredulously.

He nodded while I tried to hide my shock, which evidently wasn't very effective because I heard him ask, "Why?"

"Nothing. I — I just didn't expect you to be the... uh, clean type?"

"Because I'm a guy?"

My cheeks flushed in embarrassment. "Um..."

"No, I get it," he chuckled playfully, only then did I realize he was messing with me.

"Okay, I deserve that."

I laugh, until I realize Cory was looking at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes.

__________________________________

"Why me?" I ask her. She stops laughing and looks back at me.

"....I don't know. Do I have to?"

A comfortable silence settled between us. I knew what was about to happen, but it suddenly felt all the more real when she approached me slowly, the heat radiating from her body clinging to mine.

"I guess not."

She asked me cautiously, her body getting closer, "Do you want to, uh..."

"My room?" I guessed. "It's upstairs."

God, this is awkward. Wait, does she want to start now? "Do you want to... start?"

"If it's okay."

"Yeah, that's... fine."

She raised her eyebrows. "Just fine?"

I started to panic inside before she let out a chuckle, "Just kidding. That's for messing with me."

She then grabbed my hand and slowly led me away. I stared at the untouched cup of tea on the table and nervously followed her. What happened to discussing things over a cup of coffee — tea?

Leading me by the hand, she took me upstairs to my room as if she owned the place and knew where everything was. To be fair, she only had two rooms to choose from — and the other was clearly a cupboard.

Closing the door on our way in, she surveyed her surroundings. Despite my tendency to never leave my room a mess, I found myself nervous at the sight of her wandering eyes.

She seemed really curious about my room, as if she'd poke around if she had the chance. Says a lot about me that I found the idea crazy hot.

It didn't take long for her eyes to focus back on me, though. My skin shuddered in response, as if they were just touched. She slowly approached me. And the air inside my lungs seemed as if they were being sucked out.

"Are you...?"

"Yes," I replied, instantly guessing what she meant.

"You've never done this before?" she asked.

"No."

"That's okay. I'll teach you....."

Holding my cheek, she gently said, "Stick out your tongue."

I did as she ordered. Then... the next second, Sam leaned in and erotically wrapped her tongue around mine. Feeling slightly ticklish, my shoulders tensed up as I instinctively leaned in for more.