Chapter Ten

Fuller

“How was school today?” I tossed my duffel bag on the couch.

Hudson winked. “Aced my math test and got a note from Lydia. She thinks I’m cute.”

“Ah, Little Romeo strikes again.” I ruffled his dark brown hair. “Good job on the math test, buddy.”

“That stinks.” Hudson pointed to my bag and then pinched his nose. “You must have practiced extra hard, Betty.”

“Betty?”

“Yeah, you’re a Sweaty Betty.” He held up his hands, palms facing the ceiling. “Get it?”

“I see someone has jokes for days.” I grabbed my bag. “Maybe I should dump my practice jersey and shorts on your bed? Or I could hide them all over your room? It could be like a smelly treasure hunt?”

Pinching both sides of his nose, he proclaimed, “Gross.”

“Yeah, yeah. Listen, I have a friend coming over to do homework tonight. Try not to embarrass yourself, okay?” I copied his wink and pointing move.

“A friend?” Hudson raised an eyebrow. “Is it Marc?”

I could feel my cheeks starting to get warm. “Nope. A new friend. A smart friend.”

“Who is it?”

“Her name is Wren.”

Hudson sprang to his feet. “It’s a girl? You’re having a girl over to study? Ooh. I’m telling Mom and Dad!” He raced out of the room with me on his heels.

Flinging the duffel onto the floor, I finally caught up with him in the kitchen.

“Mom, Dad, guess what? Fuller’s got a girl coming over.” He stretched out the word into at least five syllables.

My dad turned toward me with concern written across his brow.

“Before blabbermouth made his little announcement, I was getting ready to come in here and ask if it’s okay for my friend Wren to come over tonight.” That’s twice now. Two times I’ve called Wren my friend.

“No.” My mom stood with her hands on her hips. “You aren’t having anyone over until you pull your AP grade up.”

Dang. They never tell me no.

“She’s the girl tutoring me at school.” I glared at my brother but winked before turning away. I could never stay mad at him. “She’s going to help me with my paper tonight, and if we have time, we’ll tackle our math homework.” Technically we both had math homework. What my parents didn’t need to know was that Wren was breezing through Calculus, while I was struggling in Algebra Two. “And, to make things clear, I’m not interested in her. She’s just a friend.”

Hudson immediately broke into Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” song.

I couldn’t even be mad. Hudson was hilarious.

Mom’s stern expression faded. “Oh. Well, I guess that’s different. As long as she’s working with you on schoolwork, she can come over.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’m going to make a sandwich real quick and throw my clothes in the wash. She should be here in half an hour.”

“There’s leftover tuna casserole.” My mom pointed to a large pan on the stove. “Would you rather have some of that?”

“Nah, a sandwich sounds good, but thanks.” I turned toward my little brother. “We’re going to study in the family room. Hudson, I need you to clear out, okay?”

My little brother giggled. “Why, so you two can make out?”

“You’re dead,” I shouted as I charged him, but we both knew I wouldn’t touch him. Even though he had a mild form of brittle bone disease, he could still get hurt at the drop of a hat.

He screamed and darted around the corner.

“Be careful, Hudson!” My dad shook his head. “He’s going to break his arm again if he keeps racing around like that.”

Mom rubbed his back. “He’ll be okay.”

There was always this delicate balancing act when it came to my little brother. Half the time, we were doing our best to treat him like a normal kid. The other half, we were telling him to be careful and stop running everywhere.

I checked the time on my phone. “I better hurry up.”

The refrigerator was stocked with everything necessary for the perfect sandwich. I grabbed the mayo, yellow mustard, salami, sharp cheddar cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce. My stomach grumbled as I started constructing the sandwich on the counter. “Anybody else want one?”

“I’m good, but thanks for asking, champ.” Dad put his arm around Mom’s shoulders. “The tuna casserole was delicious.”

“Mom?”

She rubbed her stomach. “I’m full, but thank you for the offer.”

I didn’t dare admit it, but the only reason I didn’t want to have any of the tuna casserole was because I was worried that it would make my breath stink. I mean, sure, I could brush my teeth before Wren got here, but that stuff lingered.

By the time I finished making the sandwich, the grumbles in my belly were audible. Maybe I better make two.

Dingdong.

“Crap.” With half a bite of sandwich in my mouth, I raced toward the front door, praying Hudson wouldn’t get there first. Pausing in the hallway, I checked my reflection in the hanging mirror. Still chewing, I ran my hands through my hair. It always looked a mess after practice, and today was no exception.

“Helllllo!” Hudson swung open the door and grinned. “You must be Wren. Please, come on in.” He held out his arm and motioned for her to come inside.

I inhaled sharply as Wren walked through the door. She’d changed into yoga pants that emphasized her legs and her firm butt. She’d pulled her long brown hair into a high ponytail that swung back and forth.

Damn, she’s hot.

“You must be Hudson.” Wren grinned and held out her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

Hudson beamed as he extended his own hand and returned the handshake. “Ooh, a top-row-teeth smiler. Your favorite, Fuller.” Hudson looked at me and winked. “And you’re totally right, she is cute.”

“Hudson!” I lunged at him but purposefully let him slip through my fingers.

“Nice to meet you,” he called over his shoulder as he darted around the corner.

“Sorry about that.” I motioned to my brother. “He’s always trying to embarrass me.”

“What’s a top-row-teeth smiler?” Her lips curved up into a smile. The simple gesture sent my heart racing. Between those lips and legs, it was a miracle that she didn’t already have a boyfriend. How did Dae and Brandon hang around her so much without falling for her?

“Ah, it’s something Hudson always points out. I guess that makes us top- row twins.” She winked.

“Oh, I guess I’ve never thought about that before. What kind of smile do you have?”

I smiled. “Top row, all the way.”

“Two top rows… You know what that means.” She winked.

Holy crap! Did she just wink at me?

Wren looked at her smartwatch. “I’m a little bit early, but Gramps wasn’t feeling well and went to bed right after dinner. Hope that’s alright?” Her long lashes swept up as she looked into my eyes.

“Is he okay?”

She rocked her head back and forth slightly. “He said that he felt dizzy. He’s had plenty of water today, and he doesn’t have a fever, so we’re hoping it’s something minor, like a little virus, that will pass quickly. My mom is keeping a close eye on him.”

“I’m sorry he’s not feeling well.” Even though I’d only met him once, I already knew how important Gramps was to Wren and her family.

“Me too. Hopefully he’ll feel better in the morning. If not, my dad will take him to the doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Wren had no idea how familiar everything she was saying felt. We were always worried about Hudson getting hurt, at home and at school. He’d broken his arm and collarbone last year after tripping on the top step of our staircase. A simple mistake had landed him in a cast and sling for eight weeks.

“So, you ready to do some math?” She adjusted the strap of her messenger bag.

“Oh, yeah. I just need to grab my stuff and put some clothes in the laundry. Can you give me two minutes?”

“Of course.” She glanced around the entryway.

“Sorry. We can work in here.” I led her into the room and toward the oversize sofa. “Can I get you a glass of lemonade or some water?”

“Water sounds great.” Wren sat down on the sofa and opened up a large messenger bag. She began pulling out notebooks, a calculator, and her laptop.

My mom and dad popped around the corner. “Hi. You must be Fuller’s tutor.”

Wren stood up, tipping one of her notebooks off the couch in the process. “Oops.”

I bent down to pick it up at the same time as Wren. When our hands brushed, sparks flew. Dang, this girl is practically electric.

Wren’s cheeks turned pink. “Yes, I’m Wren. It’s nice to meet you.”

My mom smiled. “Fuller tells us that you’re going to help him with his AP paper tonight and math homework, if there’s enough time?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We really appreciate you helping our son,” my dad added. “He sure got himself in a pickle. Do you think he’ll be able to raise his grade before the first game?”

My jaw dropped and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. He didn’t really say that in front of Wren, did he? I’d literally never been so embarrassed in my entire life, which includes the time Marissa grabbed my butt in front of Hudson. I didn’t hear the end of that for months.

My parents were talking about me like I wasn’t even here.

“Yes, sir. Fuller is aiming for an A on his paper, which should pull his grade to a C or even a C plus. That, paired with solid grades on two homework assignments, will give him a B in no time.”

Guilt sank into my stomach like an anchor dropping into choppy water. While I hadn’t given Wren her terrible nickname in seventh grade, I did nothing to stop Marissa from mercilessly teasing her. I’d even joined in by calling her Wrentainer a few times. Of course, I’d stopped calling her that years ago, but I still felt like an asshole for going along with my friends as they made fun of her. Now, here she was, at my house, helping me, when she could have been anywhere else, doing anything else.

“That’s wonderful news.” My mom smiled. “I’m sure you know Fuller has his heart set on the University of Georgia next year. Have you picked out where you’re going to school?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ve already accepted early admission to the University of Georgia.”

Wait. What did she say?

Why didn’t she mention that to me before? The thought of seeing Wren walking around campus in those yoga pants next year made my fingers tingle.

My mom clapped her hands together. “Oh, how lovely. Maybe you and Fuller can continue to be study buddies next year.”

The possibility made the corners of my lips twitch. Late nights, sitting next to Wren, hunched over a pile of books. My mind drifted to her cheering me on from the stands. It would be nice to see a familiar face next year…a really beautiful familiar face.

“What will you be studying at UGA, Wren?” My dad never took this much interest in the girls I brought home. Not that I brought a ton of girls home, but there had been a few and he’d never had this kind of reaction to any of them.

The reality of the bet hit me in the face. If Wren found out, she wouldn’t want to talk to me, let alone study with me. I should suck it up and come clean… But I knew that I couldn’t. There was too much at risk. I needed to bring my grade up and that would be nearly impossible without Wren’s help.

“I plan on going into engineering,” Wren said. “They’ve got a great program at UGA.”

My dad’s eyebrows shot up. “They certainly do. I did my undergrad there. I still have a few contacts. Dr. Julia Klopp, the head of the engineering department, is a good friend. If you ever need me to put in a good word, let me know.”

“Thank you very much, sir.”

Mom looped her arm through Dad’s. “Well, we won’t keep you two from getting to work. Thanks again, Wren. It’s very nice meeting you.”

“It’s nice meeting you, too.”

“You’re welcome to come over anytime. Fuller needs good influences in his life.” My mom glanced in my direction. “Okay, come on, Charlie, let’s let the kids get to their studying.”

As soon as they left, I whispered, “I’m sorry about all of that.” And for everything else. Too bad I didn’t have the courage to say it to her face.

She waved my apology off. “No big deal.”

I almost felt like I was in a parallel universe. There was a girl in our living room, and my parents actually approved. They totally hated Marissa. My mom even told me that she and my dad thought my ex-girlfriend was shallow and bad for me. Why hadn’t I listened to her? They practically forbade her from coming over. Now they’d met Wren for all of two minutes and they were already inviting her a second time and offering to call in favors to buddies at UGA.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” I said.

“Sure.”

“I’ve just gotta grab a sandwich from the kitchen and toss my gym clothes in the wash. If I don’t, we might need to call in a hazmat team to disinfect my room.”

Wren scrunched up her nose and laughed. She looked really cute.

Wren held up her calculator. “Make sure you bring one of these when you come back.”

“On it.” As soon as I rounded the corner, I raced back into the kitchen and shoved a gigantic bite of the first sandwich into my mouth. Chewing frantically, I swallowed and took another bite. I definitely didn’t want to keep Wren waiting, but I had to eat something or I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.

“I like her.” Mom winked at me. “And she’s very pretty.”

I pointed to my mouth.

“Don’t worry, I’ll ask you more about her later.”

Of course she would. What would I say? Oh, Wren? Yeah, I know she’s beautiful. Why don’t I spend more time with her? Good question. I guess she wasn’t cool enough before…

Pushing the thoughts from my mind, I finished chewing the last bite and swallowed.

The second sandwich I made a few minutes ago sat on the plate. There was no way I could shove that one down my throat at the same speed.

I frowned. I’d cut it in half and everything. I really needed to eat it, but I didn’t want to keep Wren waiting. Deciding she wouldn’t care, I poured two tall glasses of water. Balancing everything in my hands, I headed back to the family room.

“Guard this sandwich with your life,” I joked.

“Huh?”

“Oh, I was trying to make a joke.” Stop acting like such a dork. “Here’s your water.” Our fingers brushed as I handed her the glass. My fingers tingled. Two times in one night. I’d never felt that kind of intense reaction when I hung out with Marissa, which included plenty of make-out sessions in the back of her BMW.

“Okay, I just need to pop my laundry in the washing machine. I’ll be right back. Oh, and help yourself to half the sandwich.”

“All right.” She eyed the sandwich with a grin. “If you have a tablet, bring that down, too. There’s an algebra app I want to show you.”

“Awesome. Be right back.” I hustled out of the room and grabbed the duffel bag from the hallway. Taking the stairs two at a time, I dumped my smelly basketball clothes into the washing machine and added detergent. “These can go in, too,” I said to myself as I added a basket of my little brother’s clothing.

A few minutes later, I made it back down the stairs with my tablet, calculator, and everything else I could possibly need. “Ready.” Wait, when did she get the glasses? The oversize black frames made her look even cuter than before.

Looking up, she totally caught me staring.

“Oh, yeah. I wear contacts to school.” Wren pushed the glasses up. “When I get home, I switch to these.”

“They look really nice.” What did you say to her? Get ahold of yourself before you spill anything else!

“Um, thanks.” Wren’s fingers brushed against the frames and adjusted them slightly.

“I figured you didn’t have much time to work on the paper since I marked it up in study hall, so I was thinking we could tackle math first?” Wren pulled out her tablet and powered it on. “Then, when you’re done, all you’ll need to do with your paper is clean up your citations and tighten up the sentences I marked. Sound good?”

“That would be great.”

Forty-five minutes and one app later, I finally had a breakthrough. Wren had managed to explain polynomials and monomials in a way that actually made sense. We’d gone through more than half the problems I’d been assigned for homework, and after the lightbulb turned on, I’d gotten all of them right.

“Why didn’t Mr. Osla explain it this way?” I set my math book down. “Seriously—the way you taught me makes perfect sense.”

Wren shrugged and grinned. “I guess I’m the world’s best tutor.” She burst out laughing a second after the words left her lips.

I joined in. “I’m going to get that on a coffee mug for you.”

A lock of Wren’s hair had slipped free from her ponytail and fell across her face.

Before I could stop myself, I reached forward and tucked it behind her ear. It was as soft as I’d imagined. A little cool to the touch.

Her dark lashes swept up, revealing green eyes with swirls of gold. Even through the thick lenses, they were massive.

And tempting.

Her hand met mine, sending shock waves to my core as our fingers wound together.

My mouth went dry. “You’re beautiful.”

Wren’s lips parted, but she didn’t say anything. More importantly, she didn’t pull away. She might have even leaned forward a bit. Wren freaking Carter leaning toward me? I couldn’t believe what that little motion did to me.

Bringing my other hand up, I cupped her cheeks. Yep. Her skin was equally as awesome-feeling as her hair. Soft, smooth, silky. And it was exactly right that I was holding her like this.

I wanted to kiss her.

Scratch that, I needed to kiss her. Feel those lips on mine.

I leaned in until we were only inches apart. Her floral scent wrapped around me. A scent I’d never smelled before and never wanted to forget.

“Fuller,” she whispered, the space between us shrinking even farther.

My heart slammed in my chest, stealing my breath. I’d never wanted to kiss someone more in my entire life. I knew it could be amazing. I needed to find out.

“Wren, can I—”

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Wren’s eyes went wide. Pulling back, she patted the sofa around her. Once her fingers found it, she pressed it to her ear, never taking her gaze from me. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

Holy buckets. What just happened? Did Wren and I almost kiss?

The color drained from her face, and she sat up straight. “Wait, what? What happened? Where are you?”

Frowning, I watched Wren whip off her glasses and rub her face. “Okay. Yeah, I’ll be right there.”

Wren let her hand fall into her lap. Tears welled up in her eyes.

“What happened?” I grabbed her hand.

“M-My grandpa. He was complaining of chest pain and fell.” She put her glasses back on. “I’ve gotta go. My mom is riding with him to the emergency room. My dad is driving there behind the ambulance.”

“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry, Wren.” I let go of her hand and helped her scoop everything into her bag.

“Please tell your parents. I, um, I—” Wren shook her head and glanced toward the door. “Um—”

Her hands trembled as she slung her bag over her shoulder. She looked so small and fragile, I wanted to pull her into my arms and tell her that everything would be okay. “You shouldn’t get behind the wheel right now. Please let me drive you.”

Wren hesitated for a moment before nodding.

“Fuller? What’s going on?” My dad stuck his head around the corner.

The almost kiss coupled with the bad news had left me breathless. “Wren’s grandpa is having chest pain and he fell. She needs to meet her family at the emergency room, and I offered to drive her.”

My dad looked down at his phone. He was an emergency room doctor at the main hospital in town. “I’ll give Dr. Adams a heads-up that her grandpa is on his way in. He’s on duty tonight.”

“Thank you so much.” Wren’s voice was thick.

“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.”

“Drive safe.” He grabbed my car keys and wallet from the small glass dish in the hallway and tossed them to me. Snagging them both out of the air, I took Wren’s hand and raced toward my car.