The Dating Tutor: Alec's Story Read Online Free PDF Page B

Silent as well, he kicked out of his unlaced sneakers and climbed into bed beside her.
    Ellie didn’t speak. She never did. Without a word, she shifted over to make room for him.
    Alec repositioned himself closer to the center of the bed and pulled the blanket up over his waist. His shoulders were tense and his movements stiff. He knew he was in a place where he could let everything go, but his father’s cruel words were still replaying in his head. They were like leeches burrowing deep inside his mind.
    As he stared up at the ceiling in hateful silence, Ellie let out a little sigh. She scooted closer to him in the bed, her cold toes brushing his ankle as she placed her head on his shoulder in a message of silent support.
    He reached out and patted the top of her head, rubbing her silky hair in an inaudible thanks he never would have been able to vocalize. As she burrowed deeper under the blankets, her cheek on his shoulder, the tension leaked out of him. His muscles relaxed and his thoughts went to a much more pleasant place.
    His father was wrong, and he didn’t need the man’s support to attain his goals in life. Ellie believed in him, and in his mind, that was good enough. He could get into Boston College all on his own. He could have a career in hockey if he set his mind to it. The past didn’t have to repeat itself.
    With this optimistic thought in mind, Alec drifted off to sleep.
     

    Chapter Four
     
    Alec awoke to the unpleasant sound of an alarm clock shrieking in his ear. He groaned with displeasure and rolled onto his side, pulling the sheet up over his head. He was nowhere near ready for the day. He felt as if he’d fallen asleep only minutes ago. This seemed like the perfect day to indulge in playing hooky.
    He suddenly remembered he wasn’t in his own room when Ellie leaned over him to shut off the alarm. “Get up,” she demanded with a sleepy yawn. “Last time you stayed over, you almost made me late for school because I had to keep coming back in here to tell you to get your lazy butt up.” She whipped the sheet off his head in an attempt to force him out of bed.
    Alec tossed an arm over his face, shielding his eyes from the bedside lamp as she clicked it on. “You get up way too early. Why do you need so much time to get dressed? I wake up fifteen minutes before I walk out the door.”
    “I need to shower,” Ellie informed him. “I need to dry my hair. I need to get dressed and put on a little bit of make-up and eat breakfast and—”
    “Alright. Alright. I get it. I’m getting up.” Contradictory to his words, he didn’t move. If he could just get a few more minutes of sleep…
    Ellie gave an annoyed huff, threw a leg over his waist, and climbed over him.
    A yelp of alarm escaped him, and he finally sat upright in bed. “Ellie!”
    She turned around from pulling clean clothing out of her dresser. The look of innocence in her eyes had him biting his tongue. He did not want to explain to her why it was dangerous to hop over a guy’s lap first thing in the morning. His best friend was more than a little bit naïve when it came to issues involving the opposite sex. He would save her the embarrassment in this account. Had she crushed him with an ill-placed knee, though? Yeah, she would have gotten an earful about the male anatomy then.
    He shook his head and slowly climbed out from under the blankets. “Okay, you win. I’m heading home.” He slipped his feet into the shoes he’d abandoned in the center of the room the night before. “I’ll see you in a little, okay? I’ll walk you to school.”
    She waved distractedly over her shoulder as she rifled through her sock drawer. “Yeah. Sure thing.” He was halfway through the window when she called out. “Don’t forget your equipment bag today. You have practice after school!”
    He chuckled at this. He found it amusing that she remembered his schedule better than he did half the time. He was fairly certain everyone needed an Ellie