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Amara Knight

The weekend came right around the corner and with it brought numerous wicked ideas to keep Ryan on his toes. Purposefully making him agree to tutor me was a facade under which hid my desire to spend quality time with him and of course, to annoy him.

And most importantly, I needed to solve the puzzle of mysterious feelings that had been erupting inside of me when thinking about Ryan. I wanted to solve my heart's maze in which I had been lingering for so long. It was high time I had my answers.

I reached Ryan's place-unannounced. It wasn't required to inform him, was it? He must know about my arrival. However, when I entered the house, I found him sprawled on the sofa in the living room, snoring loudly with no care in the world. His snores were the only noise that could be heard in the unbelievably quiet living room.

I wondered where everybody else was because Peterson's place could never remain in silence under Lauren and Tiana's watch.

A wickedly amusing smile tugged my lips as I tiptoed closer to him. He had his eyes covered with his right arm while his left arm peacefully rested on his tummy. On the coffee table spread were his books.

Aww, how peacefully he slept. But how could it be possible in my presence? Besides, he had to wake up to tutor me.

With sinister intentions to annoy him in his sleep, I kneeled on the floor beside the plush sofa and for a moment I got lost while staring at him, wondering how could someone's features be incredibly flawless. I had no clue when I had leaned towards him and my arms came on the sofa just inches away from touching him. I only realized it when he let out an abrupt noisy snore.

Stupid Amara! I mentally scolded myself before getting into a stance to disturb his beauty sleep. I leaned my face closer to his ear and blew the air in it, making him take his arm off his eyes and caress his ear. Stifling a giggle, I again blew air in his ear.

This time he groaned in sleep, "Stop it, Tiana."

I snickered and delicately stroked his cheek with my index finger, however, this time he took me by surprise by grabbing my wrist and twisting it behind my back. He tackled me on the sofa as he hovered over me.

"Tiana, I told you-" His eyes enlarged when he found me instead of his sister. "Amara? What are you doing here?" His eyes narrowed as he questioned.

Never in my wildest dream, I had imagined him on top of me, but now when he was, my mind that had been corrupted by my friends, flickered with some naughty ideas that I couldn't flush off even if I wanted to. His usual deliciously smelling cologne smacked my olfactory sense.

Ripples of unfamiliar yet pleasing shivers spiraled throughout my body upon imagining us-naked in the bed.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Where did that come from? I did not just imagine him nake-

Shaking off my utterly unexpected sinful thoughts, I wiggled to set myself free. "Ugh, leave me, Ryan."

Instead of releasing me, he tightened his hold around my wrist which was twisted at my back. "First tell me what are you doing here."

This cunning son of Peterson was hurting me and I almost kneed his groin but was halted by Lauren's shriek. "Oh god, Ryan, what's wrong with you? Why are you hurting her?"

Upon hearing his mother's scream, he frantically let go of me and stood up on his feet. I sat up, rubbing my wrist and glaring at Ryan.

"Mom, she disturbed me in my sleep," Ryan explained himself but was cut off by his mother.

"This doesn't mean you'll hurt her!" She glared at him while I enjoyed the show. It's not always you see the perfectly behaving Ryan getting scolded.

Lauren rushed to me and examined my wrist. "You alright?"

I smiled, waving at her. "Oh, he'd have to do more work to hurt me. Anyway, where's Tiana?" I questioned.

"Oh, she's at her friend's." She replied to me, then glared back at her son. "I can't believe you, my sweet boy, would hurt somebody."

"I did not mean to, I swear, mom." He reasoned out while looking at her, then he glared at me. "And if she's hurt, it's her fault. Moreover, you haven't answered; what are you doing here?"

I pushed myself up from the sofa, glaring at him. "How could you have possibly forgotten about the tutoring thing? I came here to study but you were asleep so I had to wake you up."

He mumbled something under his breath- probably cussed? Who knows.

"Why did I even agree to it?" He grumbled, then sighed. "Fine, c'mon sit and take out your books." He muttered as he made his way back to the sofa, but Lauren quickly grabbed his wrist.

"No, buddy, take her to your room because you'll be distributed here time and again." She ordered.

My smile knew no bounds after listening to what Lauren had proposed. A new hope immerged inside of me. It had been ages since I went into his room. But how could have Mr. Rude Peterson agree when he had me strictly prohibited from entering his room?

Ryan argued with his mother and me, being a rebel, took the opportunity to slide past them, and ran upstairs towards his room, completely blocking Ryan's hollers to stop me. Of course, he ran after me but before he could catch me I had already made my way into his room.

Entering the forbidden territory was a strong blow of nostalgia that knocked my senses. I was sent back to my childhood where I played-well, tried to play with Ryan. As if my feet had minds of their own, they carried me to the floor-to-ceiling shelf where all the plush piglet toys I had surrendered to Ryan in the hope to earn his friendship were placed. But the sacrifice of my dear plushies brutally went down the drain.

It surprised me to the core that Ryan kept them with care. While analyzing the toys, my eyes landed on a piglet plushie I didn't remember giving to him. Could he have bought it? Perhaps.

I extended my hand to pick that up, however, Ryan's firm voice stopped me from doing so. "Don't touch them."

I frowned. "Why? They are mine." I stated the fact.

"Were. They were yours." He stated as he pulled me away from the shelf as if my touch would contaminate his collection-that was given by me.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I pointed at an unfamiliar piglet plush toy. "What about this one? I don't remember sacrificing it for you."

He rolled his eyes before sighing. "You came to study, didn't you? So, stop with the interrogation and sit at the desk." He stated while pointing at his study table.

As I carried myself to the chair, I saw a framed picture of Ryan's great-grandma sitting on the nightstand. All the memories of her came rushing back to me; she was one cool and joyous old lady. I was nine when she had died. And I swear, it was the only time I had seen Ryan cry; he was inconsolable for days.

Not wanting to upset him by bringing her up, I roamed my eyes about the room.

"Have to say, you have kept your room pretty neat," I exclaimed as I flopped on the chair, dropping my school bag on the desk.

"You already know how much of a clean freak I am." He stated, dragging a chair and placing it next to me, although at a hand distance.

I craned my neck up to look at him while flashing a sweet smile.

"How will you be able to teach me while sitting miles away?" I dragged his chair towards me, glued it with mine, and patted the cushion, "Sit now."

"I'm so gonna need therapy after this." He grumbled, pulled his chair away from me again, and plopped on it with a sigh.

"I ain't that bad company to be with, am I?" I asked innocently, teasing him with all I had.

Royally ignoring my comment, he gestured for me to take out my books and I did. Then he questioned, "Before we begin, I want to know why did you set up this tutoring thing? Because as far as I know you, you could have passed the exam with a little self-study. What's cooking in this smart brain of yours?"

Sighing, I placed my forearms on the desk as I looked to my left towards him. "Believe it or not, I do need help with the subject. I fly into another dimension when I try to understand chemistry."

Seriously, dude, chemistry is such a confusing subject. Like, explosive metal added with deadly gas makes up table salt. Can you believe that?

"You're so dramatic." He shook his head, then began explaining to me the chapter. He monotonously but quite nicely explained the concepts. There was no denying he was damn good in that.

The way he was clarifying the topics, he would be done with the whole book in two days because I understood every single thing easily, I did not have to ask twice.

However, I did not want it to end quickly since I wanted to spend more time with him, so I decided to distract him.

While he was busy solving one question, I gently poked his bicep, making him lift his eyes to look at me with raised eyebrows.

"Want to know a fun fact?" I inquired, grinning mischievously.

His frown intensified, then he sighed and reluctantly nodded his head. In an instant, my slumped shoulders straightened as new energy surged inside of me.

"Do you know someone made up dinosaur sound without ever hearing them?"

The grin remained intact on my lips while his face displayed a sudden astonishment. His eyes turned into the size of a saucer. He opened his mouth to comment something but nothing rolled out his tongue.

"Okay, another one." I excitedly clapped my hands as another fact that I had read on the Internet came to my mind.

I recited, "Biologists are just a bunch of cells that talk about other cells."

My eyes twinkled in mirth, while his eyes remained in bewilderment. However, almost immediately, he wore a serious face. He sexily adjusted his glasses on his nose and firmly spoke,

"Focus on what I am explaining."

What, that did not make him laugh? Just what material was he made of?

I gently banged my hands on the desk and groaned, "Oh, c'mon, we have been studying nonstop for like an hour. Give me some rest, dude, my brain cells are beginning to crash."

I pulled on a most innocent face I could and pouted-like, a full pout.

Sighing, he shut the textbook and dropped the pen on the desk. "Forgive me for having disregarded the fact that..."
He poked my forehead, "This smart, devil brain of yours can only take so much."

"Anyway, wanna grab a bite? I could have our cook quickly fix something for you." He asked.

At the mention of food, my head on its own moved up and down. "I would love that."

"Alright, I'll be back in a few." With that, he stood up and marched out of the room, leaving his room completely under my watch when in the first place, he had banned me from entering his room for messing with his well-organized things.

Aww, the trust he has developed in me. Cute.

However badly my hands itched to mess with his room, I held back myself because one, I was now grown up, and second, I did not want to be kicked out again.

I stood up from the chair and strolled over to the window. On the window sill, a small, classy white pot was placed in which a stem, probably of rose, was planted. I shrugged my shoulders in disinterest since he was one plant lover and usually grew different plants.

"Here's your Mac n cheese along with Vanilla shake." Ryan entered the room with a tray containing food.

"Hey, that was quick," I exclaimed as I walked back to the desk.

"Yeah, apparently, mom had already told our cook to make this for us. When I reached the kitchen, I found it prepared." He said, placing the tray on the desk.

We both sat back to enjoy the delicious meal and to keep the atmosphere from going silent, I took it upon myself to start the conversation.

"It has come to my notice that you are not participating in any sport or cultural event. Why?" I asked, sipping the vanilla shake from the glass.

He picked up the mac n cheese bowl in his hands, leisurely leaned back in the chair, and shrugged casually. "Not interested."

I frowned. "What, why? It's going to be your last annual event in the school. You must participate."

He scooped the mac n cheese in his fork and shoved it into his mouth. "I'd rather be an audience when it comes to sports. Only if there was something related to academics."

I rolled my eyes. "You such a spoilsport. Look at us, we all are having fun, especially Tory and I."

I saw a sudden change in his expression. "Of course, I have seen you. You two appear to be inseparable when on tracks."

If I was not mistaken, he muttered that grimly. His sharp, intense gaze did not waver from me. There was something in his voice that told me he was not at all appreciative.

"You can join us, too," I muttered sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I took a huge gulp of my drink and finished it in one breath. I gently placed the glass back on the tray and swept my tongue over my lips to lick every trace of vanilla shake from my mouth.

"Milkshakes are to die for," I mumbled dreamily, grinning to myself.

"Ugh, you are such a kiddo. That milkshake is all over your mouth. Come here." He abruptly yanked my chair near him and to my utter surprise, he swept his thumb over my mouth.

My heart skipped a beat when my stunned gaze got connected to his amusing ones. We did not realize that our faces were just inches away and when he acknowledged the closeness, he ceased the movement of his thumb, which was sitting on my lips.

The amusement flowing in his eyes subsided and became dilated with unspoken emotion. My heart fought with my ribs to come out of my skin. Sweet, unfamiliar tingles flipped in my stomach, then traveled down and heavily caressed my core. I couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think. The most intense feeling washed through me and I had never felt more connected to him ever before.

Oh, dear sweet heaven.

What this irresistibly sexy, blue-eyed, macadamia nut was doing to me?

Instead of solving the maze, his presence, his rousing touch had pushed me into some ancient submerged city under the ocean from where swimming out seemed next to impossible.

"R-Ryan?"

I blinked twice in bewilderment, wondering who called for Ryan because I was sure as hell that it wasn't me. I was too lost in the wonderland to utter anything. Ryan's eyebrows creased as well. The call for his name again had both of us swiftly look at the door and there stood the person to whom the voice belonged.

Zoe.

"What in the forbidden forest is she doing here?" I mumbled in my head

Alarmed, Ryan and I pulled apart, and Ryan rushed to her. "Hey, Zoe, what are you doing here?"

Her skeptical gaze was fixed on me as she replied, "You have been canceling on me for quite some time, so I thought why not surprise you. But guess, umm, you're busy?" She spoke innocently, in her natural sweet voice.

"Oh, umm, no, actually..." Ryan's hesitancy in answering her had me take the lead to eliminate the awkwardness prevailing in the room.

"Hey, Zoe," I exclaimed cheerfully. "Ryan was helping me with chemistry. On mamma's request, of course. He'll be tutoring me until exams." I smiled.

"Oh. Umm, Ryan never mentioned that." She wandered her gaze between us and hesitantly spoke, "Well, umm, I should leave then. I don't want to disturb -"

Before she could complete it, Ryan stopped her. "Hey, no, I mean, I could manage to help you with the assignment as well. Come on in."

She stepped inside, gently but awkwardly waved at me, and settled herself on his bed. Ryan offered her mac n cheese, which, she politely refused.

"Hey, Amara, go through what I've explained, till then I'll attend to Zoe. Call for me if you find any problem understanding anything." Ryan instructed me.

"Yeah, sure." I passed a tight-lipped smile.

Five minutes passed but I was still stuck on one paragraph; no single word was understood by me. Words slipped like gooey slippery slime slides through the fingers because my mind and discreetly, my gaze lingered on them.

Zoe's behavior was quite strange. Now and then, she giggled for no reason and even though Ryan appeared quite uncomfortable, she kept on touching him for one reason or another. Could she be doing that on purpose to mock me?

Both of them laughed at whatever Zoe had said and I did not like it a bit. He wouldn't laugh at my jokes, wouldn't even acknowledge them, instead, he'd chide me for being childish.

It may sound weird coming from me but I was jealous of Zoe. She had something with Ryan that I never had. She possessed his undisputed attention, his previous laughter, and above all...she had a precious hold on him.

Their closeness bothered me; it was as though they were laughing at me for being unattended to. I could no longer witness their lovely moments. I quickly shut my books, packed my bag, and abruptly stood up from the chair, startling them.

"Umm, guess, I can't no longer keep my nose stuck in the book. I'm gonna head home now." With that, I rushed out of his room and out of the house, not giving a beat for Ryan to question back.

When I had cheerfully arrived at his place at the noon, I had not expected that I'd leave physically aroused and mentally hurt.

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