“You what?” she asked.
“I need a tutor, and I thought you might be able to help me,” he said again.
“Okay, I can do it, and I’ll even lower my rate,” she said.
“That sounds fine,” he said, he wanted to tell her that he couldn’t pay, but he was afraid that she would say no. And, he really needed the help.
“Can we start tomorrow,” he asked.
“Sure,” she replied.
He felt a little relieved that he’d have a tutor, but he still felt stressed about what she’d say after she found out he’d be unable to pay.
The day passed, and the two met in the library. Kara was a good teacher, and Henry knew that. He worked his hardest to catch up and over the course of the next week, he was actually quite successful.
“Okay, it’s been a week. Do you think I’ll be able to get paid for my time,” she asked.
“Would it be alright if I paid you next week,” he asked.
“Why can’t you pay right now,” she asked in turn.
“I could pay you through other means,” he said, leaning over for a kiss.
She pulled away.
“Wait. Is this why you constantly pursued me for the last while? You needed to get a tutor for free?”
Henry felt terrible that she thought like this.
“No, that’s not it in the slightest-”
“I can’t believe how far you’d go to keep playing your stupid sport. You slept with me so that you could save some money on a tutor. That’s incredibly low, Henry.”
Kara closed her books, stuffing them inside her bag. A few of the other patrons of the library were starting to take notice, and Henry was getting really nervous; something he rarely felt or allowed himself to feel.
“It’s over, Henry,” she said.
Kara stood to leave, and Henry wanted to dart up and grab her. He wanted to do anything to keep her here and tell her the truth, but he was too embarrassed.
He let her leave and just sat there in shock. The one person he thought he could confide in had just walked out of his life, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
7.
Kara couldn’t remember the last time she’d cried this hard. Of course, it was due to her own stupidity. She finally thought that she’d met a man that she was capable of opening up to and possibly connecting with. Instead, she got stuck with a man that lied to her; and made her feel like some kind of prostitute.
Her phone rang several times through the night for the last few days. Nearly every call was from Henry, but she didn’t want to talk to him. She nearly threw her phone out the window to make it stop ringing.
Kara tried her hardest to sleep early, but couldn’t. She started analyzing what she did wrong because she wanted to be sure it wouldn’t happen again.
George was calling; Kara answered.
“You’re late, Kara. Where are you?”
It caught her by surprise; she’d never missed a session before.
“Just wait there, I’ll be right over.”
Kara clicked the phone off and dressed quickly, not caring what she put on.
When she arrived at the library, in her usual spot, George was already there with his books open on the table. He’d been studying on his own, but it didn’t look like he really understood what he was reading.
“What’s got into you,” George asked.
She sat her things down on the table and plopped into her seat.
“It’s a boy thing,” she replied.
“Yeah, Henry has been pretty broken up, too. He was just sitting in a lounge chair in the backyard all day.”
Kara forgot that George lived in the same house that Henry did.
“What, did he finally get kicked off the team,” Kara asked with an annoyed tone.
“No, but coach pulled him early last game. His head just wasn’t in it.”
Serves him right, Kara thought, Maybe he’d think twice before he gets that close to someone.
“Can we just focus on the task at hand,” Kara asked.
“I only have ten minutes left of this session, so I think I’ll spend them however I want.”
Here it comes, she thought.
“Whatever you did to Henry, he’s broken. Would you, at least, talk to the guy so he can get some closure with all this,” George asked.
Kara sighed; perhaps some closure was a good idea for both people.
“Fine, I’ll talk to him.”
“Good,” George replied. He stood up and started walking away.
“George?”
Then Henry took a seat across from her, again. She looked at him with seething hatred before turning away to hide her scowl.
“I know you’re upset. Would you, at least, hear me out before running off,” Henry asked.
“I’m listening, but I doubt it’ll help,” Kara replied sternly.