The weekend came faster than I'd expected. Normally, I lived for Saturdays—sleeping in, gaming, zoning out from school and the world. But this one? I dreaded every damn second. Thanks to Julie and her drunk decision-making, I was stuck with a weekend tutor.
I'd already told her off for signing me up without asking. She tried to play peacemaker, mumbling apologies, but when she tried calling the school to cancel, the teacher on the other end was all "no exceptions," and Julie was too wasted to put up a decent fight. So here I was—screwed and bitter.
It was already ten minutes past ten. No Angela in sight. She'd seemed like a stickler for punctuality yesterday, so what the hell? Not that I was complaining. Honestly, I prayed she wouldn't show. Maybe she'd forgotten. Or better—maybe she got abducted by aliens or something.
Right as I let out a hopeful breath, Lewis—the butler-slash-driver the Almasi boys (my father and his brothers) lent to Julie—stepped into the living room and said, "You have a visitor, sir."
Great. Just great.
Dragging myself to the door, ready to meet my doom, I opened it—only to feel my brain short-circuit.
Aiden?
He stood there casually, in a loose baggy cardigan, jeans, and his hair down. Down. It was soft and messy, brushing just above his collarbone. He looked… unreal. Like something off a moody romance book cover. My eyes were doing backflips.
"Aiden?" I blurted. "What are you—what are you doing here?"
He gave a small smirk, hugging his notebook to his chest. "You have a tutoring session at 10 a.m., right? Well, here I am. Am I allowed to come in?"
I blinked like an idiot, then scrambled to look chill. "Y-yeah! Yes, I mean—yeah, sure. Come in."
As he stepped into the foyer, I was spiraling.
Aiden is my tutor? What kind of twisted blessing from the universe is this?
He glanced around, taking in the place. "Cool house. Definitely better than my cramped apartment."
"Thanks," I said, scratching the back of my neck like an awkward cartoon character. "Your apartment's not that bad, though."
"Of course you'd think so"
I laughed nervously. "Right. So... um... what happened? I mean, not that I'm not psyched to see you but... I was kinda expecting…"
"Angela?" he finished for me.
I nodded.
"Oh. She had an accident. Poor thing's in the hospital."
My eyes widened. "Wait—what?"
"Yeah," he said casually, walking past me like he wasn't dropping a bomb. "Hurt pretty bad. The teachers asked me to sub in for her while she recovers. Apparently, they noticed we're... close or something."
Close? I felt my brain glitch again. Could barely compute what that even meant coming from him.
Then of course—timing of a devil—Julie came wobbling in, wine glass already in hand despite it being barely 10:15.
"Isaaq, baby, I just got a call from your school that—" she paused mid-sentence when her eyes landed on Aiden. Then she grinned like she just won the damn lottery.
"Well, helloooo handsome." Her smile widened. "Isaaq, you're not gonna introduce me to your friend?"
I wanted the floor to eat me. "Uh—yeah. Aiden, this is my aunt, Julie. My, uh... registered guardian. Whatever that means. And Julie, this is Aiden. He's, uh, my tutor. For now."
Aiden gave a polite smile. "Hi. Good to see you."
Julie leaned against the doorway and grinned. "Mmm... well, you boys sure those books are the only thing you'll be studying today?"
I choked on air. "OKAY. What the actual fuck, Julia?!"
She cackled like the chaotic gremlin she was while I grabbed Aiden's arm. "Let's go—upstairs. Now."
We hurried out of there, my face blazing.
Once we were halfway up the stairs, Aiden laughed under his breath. "Your aunt is sweet."
I gave him a side-eye. "Of course she is," I muttered sarcastically, glancing down just in time to see her wink at me before disappearing into the kitchen.
The moment we stepped into my room, Aiden let out a soft whistle.
"Wow. Didn't expect you to be so neat. I'm proud of you."
That's when he let go of my hand.
Wait—hand?
We'd been holding hands the entire time?
My face burned instantly, and I turned away, trying not to overthink it. Or worse—hope.
He turned toward me casually, already striding to the desk like it was just another Tuesday. "Why are you just standing there? Get over here. These books aren't gonna study themselves."
Right. Schoolwork. The worst thing in the world. And now I had to do it with him watching.
I dragged my feet over to the desk and slumped into the seat next to him. "You do realize I don't need tutoring, right?"
Aiden flashed me that knowing smile. "I figured."
"But…" I hesitated, then looked at him. "In a way… I'm kinda glad."
He cocked his head, amused. "That you need tutoring?"
"F*ck no," I snorted. "I don't. But… I guess now I'm grateful my aunt signed me up for this. I get to see you. We don't really hang on weekends."
"That's because you've never asked."
"I mean… I would've. I just didn't know how."
He paused, then gave a small, "Okay."
I was searching for something else to say, for anything to keep the moment from slipping away.
"So..."
"So?" he echoed.
"What now?"
He leaned forward and tapped on the stack of textbooks. "I went through your data. You're literally behind in everything. So first—every single pending assignment. Start to finish."
My jaw dropped. "Wait, what? You can't be serious."
He shot me a dry look. "I'm dead serious."
"But I thought we were gonna—I mean, I... wanted..."
Aiden raised a brow. "I'm doing my job, Mr. Almasi. What the hell were you expecting?"
My mouth opened to argue, but nothing came out. I flopped back in my chair with a groan. "Aw, shit. I don't wanna. I'm not doing this. I don't need this."
He chuckled, that low, dangerous sound he always made when he was about to mess with me.
"Okay," he said, leaning closer, lowering his voice just enough to make my pulse jump. "Let's try it this way..."
His breath hit the side of my face as he whispered into my ear, "If you finish all pending assignments—correctly," he added, slow and teasing, "we can play a little on the bed."
His fingers traced along my jaw, light and deliberate, then slid down my chest. I felt my whole body freeze—then burn. My spine lit up like a fuse had been set off. He leaned back, legs crossed, wearing a smug, satisfied smile.
I stared at him, stunned, my brain a blur of electricity and hormones.
I turned to the books.
Grabbed a pen.
Cracked open the first notebook like my life depended on it.
Because holy hell—suddenly, school had never been so motivating.
If being a simp meant possibly having Aiden tangled up with me on that bed, then hell yes—I'd simp. I'd simp so hard I'd write a damn textbook about it.
This weekend was officially the best worst thing that had ever happened to me.