Free A Hockey Tutor by Mary Smith Page A

I said as I hugged him.
    He nodded. I followed him up the stairs to his place. He unlocked the door and turned on the lights.
    “I’ll be right back,” he told me, heading towards his bedroom. I sat down on the couch and checked my phone. There was a text from Andrew:
    I need to celebrate with friends. Where are you?
    I couldn’t help the glee I felt from the text. Andrew thought I was his friend. That was sweet. This past week we had spent a lot of time together, and it was going to be the same when he returned from his games Sunday night. I texted back:
    I’m with Wes, be over later. Don’t forget you have to be up early.
    He texted back right away:
    Yes, MOM.
    I giggled. I knew that I had been acting like a mom to him, but that was my job. I heard Wes come out from the bedroom, and I noticed he had changed his clothes.
    “Are we ready to go to the party?” I asked.
    “I’m not going.” Wes said firmly.
    “Oh. Don’t you want to celebrate with your friends?”
    “I want to spend my evening with you, having sex all night, until I leave for my road games.” He jerked on my arm to bring me closer to him.
    “Um . . .” I looked into his eyes, confused. He looked mad, and my heart started racing. She wracked her mind for something to say that wouldn’t upset him. “Wes, you seem tired. How about I just go, and I'll see you when you come back from the road games?” I pulled my arm from his grasp. My instincts were usually right, and right now my instincts were telling me to leave.
    “Katie,” he said, standing up and staring me down like I was his prey, “I’m in love with you.”
    “What?” I yelped. “You’re in love with me?”
    “Yes,” he said boldly. “I want to show you how much, by having you in my bed all night long.” He stepped closer.
    “Are you nuts?” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. “I mean,” I shook my head to compose my thoughts, “I like you, but I don’t love you.”
    “Look,” he said, exhaling deeply, and raking his hands through his hair, “I told you how I feel, so let’s just go and have sex, okay?”
    My blood began to boil. Who did he think he was? “Wes, let me explain something about me: I don’t just fall into some guy's bed because he used the ‘L’ word. Now, I like you, and I think we have a great time together, but I’m not going to fuck you because you said you love me. Sorry.” I grabbed my purse and quickly left before he could say anything else.
    Where the hell did that come from? As I drove to Andrew’s house, I thought about the past week that we had spent together. We had made out a lot, but I had always stopped it before it went too far. I wasn’t ready to sleep with him, and I certainly wasn’t going to sleep with him because he said he loved me. That line never worked on me. And that’s what it felt like—a line.
    I needed Lindsay and a lot of alcohol. I had to park down the street because everyone was parked all around Andrew’s place. The bass of the music began to beat in my chest as soon as I got out of the car. I walked up to the house and pushed through the crowd, trying to find Lindsay.
    I finally found her, with Franks, who was laughing with Andrew. I had never noticed how Andrew’s face lit up when he laughed. That was probably because when he was around me, I was making him work harder than his hockey coach, and there wasn't much time to joke around.
    “Katie!” Lindsay yelled and waved at me. Andrew turned and looked at me, his smile still on his face. When I looked into his eyes, I almost forgot the reason I was.
    “Hey.” I hugged Lindsay when I reached her.
    “Where is Wes?” she asked, looking behind me.
    I rolled my eyes. “Don’t ask, let’s just drink.”
    “Oh no. Tell me later?”
    “Yep.”
    “Here,” Andrew said, handing me a cup. I looked at it questioningly, not sure if I should take it. “I promise, I just made it, and there is nothing in it but a lot of