Page 55 of Private Tutoring
HARMONY
Iwas still reeling from the fact that Roberto put his reputation at risk by coming to see me that I hyperfocused the entire drive to the penthouse. It made no sense that he would do that for me. He didn’t owe me anything, and I’d done my best to break things off so that they could move on with their jobs and reputations intact.
The elevator delivered us to the penthouse in a rush of air and a whooshing sensation that dropped my stomach to my toes. It shot right back up when the doors opened and I spotted Stephen and Matthew standing in the kitchen. They looked to be in the middle of an argument, with both men standing with crossed arms and fierce scowls twisting their expressions. I took a steadying breath, and Roberto’s hand skated up my spine, touching my shoulder in a motion he’d used to comfort me over the last few months.
That touch told me I had nothing to fear. Which was a lie. Weallhad something to fear. The truth being revealed was a huge thing to fear. If anything was going to confirm our involvement with each other, it was Roberto coming to talk to me outside of class. What was he thinking? I’d tried to ask him that a dozentimes during the drive over, but the words refused to leave my mouth.
Stephen straightened with a jerk when he turned and our eyes locked. “Harmony.” The way he said my name, the way his entire body relaxed and his eyes warmed; it all overwhelmed me.
Matthew took a step forward, concern evident in the way his mouth pinched and he held out both arms for me, ready to hold me tight. “Thank God.”
I very nearly fell into his embrace. I’d been fighting the urge with Roberto since I opened the door. I resisted now through force of will and a tight hold on my arms where I’d locked them over my stomach.
Damn it. Staying away from them hadn’t helped. Their absence was not a cure for the ache in my chest. Staying away had made me fall apart at the seams. I’d been coming undone since the day Leighona accused me of sleeping with Matthew.
Every stitch that came open became a gaping wound that nothing but their arms would heal. That was why I’d caved and agreed to come here with Roberto. Tears threatened as I realized what I’d have to do. I had to end things once and for all. It was the only way for all of us to move on and figure out how to heal.
I took a breath and held it, preparing the words. “I can’t do this.”
“What?” Matthew reached for me, his hands warm where they ran down my arms.
I shuddered beneath the touch. “We need to end this. It’s the only way to salvage things.”
“Fuck that.” Roberto spat the words in thick Italian, and I almost grinned at his vehemence.
The moment was too raw for laughter, and I concentrated on Stephen, the one I worried about the most. “You know I’m right.”
“I know you were confronted in the middle of class by someone who’s jealous of your talent.” He didn’t touch me, but the way his eyes softened was as intimate as being in bed with him.
Matthew rubbed my arms again, then guided me toward the couch. “She had no right to say anything to you, and especially not in front of the whole class. It’s not like she knew we had been together. No one knows.”
For a brief moment, I considered telling them about the threats. Someone knew, and it made perfect sense that someone was Leighona. I didn’t know how, but she’d made a connection. And she wouldn’t hesitate to ruin all of us. Even Matthew? Would she destroy his reputation knowing that it would put the entire production at risk and potentially eliminate her last musical before graduation?
The fact that I didn’t know kept me silent. They’d worry, and we all had enough of that going around without adding more.
“She tried to play it off like she was joking.” I reminded Matthew with a shake of my head. “But it still hurt.”
“Of course it did. Betrayal of any kind is painful.” Stephen sat on the far side of the couch.
It was like the emotional distance I’d tried to create had manifested in his inability to sit close to me.
I valued his control, because mine was slipping. “It’s not just that. Even if she doesn’t know the truth, it hurts because it’s true.”
“Wait.” Matthew sat on the arm of the couch and drew his knee up so that it rested against my shoulder. “Are you saying you believe her? You think that your grades improved because you’ve been sleeping with us?”
It sounded crass coming from Matthew, the one professor whose class I was passing without any trouble. I resisted the urge to shrug and picked at a thread on the hem of my shirt. The openneck slid further down my arm, and I remembered that I’d raced from my room without putting on a bra.
“Harmony?” Stephen’s tone demanded an answer though he spoke with a sensitivity I found endearing.
I looked up enough to meet his eyes. “I’ve been studying my ass off, but you and Roberto both worked so hard to make the tests easier for me. You never would have done that without…without…” I flapped my hands at the room in anall thisgesture.
“No.” Matthew placed his hands on my shoulders. “No. Harmony. That is not true.”
“He’s right.” Stephen scooted closer and patted my knee. It might have been an offhand gesture, but I’d had those hands on my body too much not to feel the increased intimacy.
Roberto moved to the coffee table and sat, leaning forward the same way Matthew had that first day. “Do not believe such lies, sweetheart. You are a jewel, a star among dust. You have done nothing wrong.”
Matthew swept my hair off to one side and bent to kiss the back of my neck. “None of what you accomplished has anything to do with how we feel about you.”
