Wow… a lot of people liked the last chapter. I feel special. Let me knowww…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo Chapter 2 OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Emily walked into the band room that morning, looking eagerly around for Andrew. She spotted him in a corner talking to what she recognized as a group of saxophone players from Wind Ensemble. She broke into a smile when he turned at the nudgings of his friends and their eyes locked. She made her way towards him, drawing the attention of almost everyone in the band room, most of whom she still had yet to meet.

“Dude… who is that?” one of Andrew’s friends who wasn’t in Wind Ensemble asked incredulously.

“Emily. She just transferred here,” Andrew explained.

“Wow… she is HOT!” another friend exclaimed. “I think she likes you. Wait… Jack hasn’t snapped her up yet?” he laughed.

“He’s trying. Even if she does like me, he’ll probably win her over eventually,” Andrew sighed.

“Well that’s no way to…” they trailed off as Emily approached.

“Hi,” she said, looking up from under her dark lashes.

“Ready for your second day?” Andrew smiled.

“I hope so,” she smiled. “I just hope I don’t get lost. I was so overwhelmed yesterday,” she twirled a soft curl around her finger and bit her lip. “Do you think you could help me out in case I get lost?”

“Isn’t Jack supposed to be…” Andrew was cut off as one of his friends, who obviously understood the more subtle nuances of women, kicked him discreetly in the leg. “I mean sure, I’d love to.”

“Great. And… about the math tutoring… do you think maybe we could work two or so days a week after school?”

“We can work whenever you want to,” Andrew smiled.

Emily grinned.

“Where?” Andrew asked.

“Well… I live about ten minutes away from here. We could work at my house,” Emily suggested.

Andrew struggled to believe that a beautiful girl had just asked him to come tutor her on a regular basis at her house with presumably minimal supervision.

“Alright, that could work. Do you want to meet today?” he asked hopefully.

“Sure.”

The bell rang.

“Want to walk me to class?” Emily grinned.

“Of course,” Andrew smiled back.

He followed her, looking back at his friends who were laughing and giving him thumbs up signs.

They made small talk until they arrived in math class. They passed the class pleasantly enough, finding out that they had more in common than they had realized. They liked the same types of music, they both liked the same movies, and most importantly, they both liked each other immensely. There was an inexplicable connection between them that seemed to grow with every moment their eyes locked. They day progressed and the pair seemed to be best friends by the time band rolled around.

“Andrew!” Jack called, looking extremely serious for the first time Emily could remember in the short days she had known him.

“I’ll see you after school. Wait for me here,” Andrew smiled at the girl who was capturing more and more of his heart by the hour.

He strode over to his friend and Emily watched them talk, becoming concerned when Andrew’s features drew taught and grave. If she had overheard their conversation, she would have been even more concerned.

“Where have you been all day?” Andrew asked.

Jack looked around to make sure they were out of ear shot, running his hand through his brown hair.

“Hudson and I have been in meetings with the other directors and drum majors all day. It doesn’t look good,” Jack said grimly.

“What’s going on?” Andrew asked in low tones.

“Donnelly and the other drum majors are getting impatient. They want to know what’s taking so long,” Jack sighed.

“Well don’t they realize that these types of things take time?” Andrew asked. “God, I hate Donnelly. Arrogant jerk,” Andrew complained.

“We all hate him, but he’s got the most influence and he’s got his director and all the other directors wrapped around his little finger,” Jack banged a fist on the wall.

“What did Hudson say?”

“He wasn’t too pleased. He doesn’t want to push things, but Donnelly and the rest convinced the directors to put the pressure on,” Jack sighed.

“Is he caving?” Andrew asked, holding his breath.

“Afraid so.”

Jack cursed and hit the wall again.

“What if I can’t do this?” Jack turned to his taller black haired friend. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“Jack, you’re been training for this all your life. You’re the best there is and you know it. You know everything there is to know and you’re good at what you do.”

Andrew clapped a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you, man,” Jack said gratefully. “How’s Emily doing?” he suddenly perked up.

Andrew winced at the smile he saw in his friend’s eyes at the mention of Emily.

“She’s fine. I helped her out today and I’m tutoring her after school,” Andrew said nonchalantly.

“Tutoring?” Jack asked.

“Yeah. Math isn’t her strong point,” he specified.

“Ah. Well I’d help… but it’s not mine either,” Jack smiled, easing the tension lines that had formed on his forehead.

“Alright. Is the meeting with Hudson and leadership still on for tomorrow?” Andrew asked, relieved that he had eased his friend’s fears.

“Yeah. Before the game. Hey,” Jack’s blue eyes met his friend’s green ones. “I’m glad you’re going to be there with me. I couldn’t think of anyone better to be my second.”

“Thanks,” Andrew smiled.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on for Emily as she entered the band room. She couldn’t wait for her tutoring session with Andrew. She wanted to get him alone without the interference of Jack. She broke into a smile when she saw Andrew’s tall athletic frame enter. She walked over to him as quickly as she could (which was difficult considering her excited state). However, before she could reach him, a hand was gently placed on her shoulder. She turned and found herself staring into a pair of icy blue eyes.

“Hi, Jack,” she said politely.

“Hey there. Sorry I wasn’t here today to show you around,” the drum major smiled suavely.

“It’s ok, Andrew handled it. Not that I need taking care of,” she reminded him.

“Of course not,” Jack smiled. “So… how do you like school so far?”

“It’s fine,” she said, standing on tiptoe to look over his shoulder at Andrew.

“That’s great. So… what are you doing tomorrow afternoon? Because there’s a leadership meeting with Hudson and he wanted me to invite you,” Jack smiled.

“Um, sure,” Emily said ambiguously.

“Geez! Can this guy not take a hint?!” Emily thought incredulously to herself. “There’s only one way to deal with him.”

Jack swallowed hard when Emily began twirling one solitary strawberry blonde curl around her index finger and bit her lip. She fluttered her eyelashes and looked up at him.

“Thanks for being so helpful and taking care of me. I really appreciate it,” she gave him her best flattery smile. “I know you’re so busy being drum major and all. That must really be… time consuming,” she looked up at him with her emerald eyes and knew she was winning.

Jack had lost his train of thought.

“Yeah…” he trailed off.

“I mean, all those people to organize, all those things to do. You must really have to be… talented to do it. You must work really hard,” she smiled.

“Yeah…” Jack wondered where his basic speech functions had gone to.

Emily wrinkled her nose.

“Oh no!” she said, looking distressed.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, concerned.

“I’m supposed to have Andrew tutor me for math. I’m just so worried about math…”

“Oh! Well… don’t let me keep you… I’m sorry,” Jack said apologetically. “You know… if you need help with any other subjects… I could help you out.”

Emily smiled and put her hand on his upper arm.

“Thanks… but I wouldn’t want to distract you from your job. It’s so important. I mean, the band couldn’t function without you. So I’ll see you at that meeting tomorrow, alright?” she smiled, keeping her hand on his arm as she glided past him, leaving him looking after her vacantly.

Andrew’s eyebrow was raised.

“What was that all about?” he asked.

“Jack can’t take a hint. It was the only way to get him to back off for now. Let’s get out of here before he comes to his senses,” Emily giggled.

The pair looked back and laughed as they saw Jack distractedly pacing and running his hands through his hair. The walked to the parking lot.

“Ok, just follow me. I’ll go slow,” Emily smiled.

Andrew opened the door to his truck and grinned at her over his door.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep up,” he smiled back.

They drove for about ten minutes before turning into a nice looking subdivision and pulling up to a pretty two story brick house. Andrew smiled when he saw Emily bounce out of her car.

“Come on in,” Emily smiled, unlocking the front door.

“Nice house,” Andrew remarked.

“Thanks,” she smiled.

“Where should we work?” he asked.

“Can we work on the couch? I’m not a table/desk person,” she grinned.

“I didn’t think you would be,” he laughed. “Should I meet your parents so they don’t find a strange boy in their living room?”

Emily giggled.

“Well… first of all they’re divorced, and this is my mom’s house, and third, she doesn’t usually come home until eight or nine. Workaholic. It runs in the family,” she grinned.

Andrew gulped, wondering if he could be trusted to stay in a house alone with a girl he was quickly falling for.

“So…” he said.

“Come on,” she smiled invitingly, gesturing to the cushion next to her.

Andrew sat down gingerly next to her, wondering how close to sit.

“Ok, so limits…” he started.

After about an hour of studying, Emily burst out giggling.

“What is it?” Andrew asked.

“You’ll laugh at me,” she said, pouting.

“Probably. Now tell me,” he laughed.

“I was just thinking. I wish I were a derivative so I could lie tangent to your curves,” she burst out into giggles, falling over on the couch.

Andrew also burst out into laughter.

“Wow. That was quite possibly the nerdiest thing I’ve ever heard,” he laughed.

“I’m making math jokes. I am so sad,” Emily laughed, looking up at him from where she had fallen backwards from her laughing fit. “I’m also extremely hungry.”

“Come to think of it, I am too,” Andrew remarked.

“Want to stay for dinner?”

“Sure. Where do you want to go?”

Emily smiled.

“Ohhhhhh no. I’m making dinner. It’s the least I can do for you tutoring me.”

“I don’t want to put you to all that trouble,” Andrew said tentatively.

“It won’t be any trouble. You’re doing the dishes,” Emily laughed, bouncing off to the kitchen.

“Says who?” he laughed, following her.

“Says me and what I say goes,” she fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously. “Take a seat over at the bar and watch me work my magic.”

Andrew watched as Emily began to cook something over the stove. His eyes followed her as she moved around the kitchen, admiring her figure. He noticed tempting smells coming from the pot she was cooking over. He smiled as he watched her struggle to reach a spice located on the top shelf of the pantry. He got up and stood close behind her, reaching around her to get down the shaker for her. She turned to thank him and found that they were centimeters away from touching. They stood that way for a few seconds.

“Um… thanks…” she said softly.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, his arm still around her waist.

They heard a bubble in the sauce pop.

“Oh… the sauce… I should um… get that,” Emily said, still staring into Andrew’s eyes.

He moved back slowly and watched her go back to the sauce. Every once in a while she glanced back at him, smiled and quickly turned back to the stove.

“Ok. Here we go,” she said, setting a steaming plate in front of him. “Pasta Puttanesca. My specialty. It’s got a little bit of everything.”

“It smells fantastic,” Andrew smiled.

“Suck up,” Emily snorted.

Andrew took a forkful of pasta.

“Wow… this is… fantastic…” he said in surprise.

“Thank you,” Emily blushed.

They finished up their dinner and went back to the couch.

Emily was going crazy. She was extremely attracted to Andrew and couldn’t wait much longer to have some sort of contact with him. Andrew was having the same thought process, conveniently putting Jack and his seeming crush on Emily out of his mind.

“So… integrals…” Andrew began.

Emily scooted over so that she was millimeters away from touching him.

“Um… integrals are…” Andrew was thrown off by her proximity and couldn’t focus on math.

“Are what?” she whispered, looking up at him.

He turned to face her.

“Are… are…” he couldn’t finish his sentence.

All Andrew could see were Emily’s green eyes staring into his. He leaned closer, knowing that he couldn’t resist for much longer.

“Yes?” Emily smiled, her hand conveniently slipping under his.

Andrew suddenly didn’t care what integrals were and closed the short distance between them. They both let out sighs that denoted the breaths they didn’t know they had been holding. Their lips met and there was a spark between them that seemed to urge them on. Andrew tentatively put a hand on Emily’s small waist, and Emily put a small, delicate hand on his neck. She kissed him ferociously, feeling like she couldn’t get enough of him. Andrew was surprised at the need and the passion behind her kisses and returned the favor. Emily wrapped her hands around Andrew’s neck and deepened the kiss.

Andrew was surprised but couldn’t complain and drew closer, leaning her back against the arm of the couch. Emily smiled and sighed happily. Andrew growled in response and began to kiss her harder. Emily was surprised, but responded in kind, hardly believing that she was kissing the same gorgeous guy she was quickly falling for. Andrew began to kiss down her jaw line and her neck, sending shivers up and down her spine. She was breathing hard and began to return the favor. Andrew was in absolute heaven. He was kissing a beautiful girl that he had discovered he had very strong feelings for, and she was kissing him back like there was no tomorrow. The clock suddenly struck 7.

They broke apart and stared at each other. Andrew was looking down at Emily and breathing hard.

“Wow…” she whispered, smiling up at him.

“Yeah. Just a little,” he grinned. “You’re a bad influence, do you know that?”

“Yes. It was my evil plan to seduce you the entire time,” she laughed.

“Well it worked,” he nuzzled her neck, shifting his weight to his elbow to make sure he wasn’t crushing her.

“This was really bad… but it feels really good,” she sighed.

“I know what you mean,” he kissed her neck softly.

“Mmmm…” she smiled.

Andrew stopped and looked at her.

“Do you feel like… there’s something between us?” he asked.

Emily looked up from where she was currently cuddled against him.

“I think it’s more than something,” she smiled shyly.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone. We’ve only known each other for a few days… but it’s like I can’t get enough of you,” Andrew tumbled out.

“I feel the same way. It’s like… oh I don’t know, it’s never happened to me before either,” she sighed contentedly and cuddled closer against him.

“I’m so glad you came,” Andrew whispered, stroking her hair.

“Me too,” she looked up, brushing a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. She glanced at the clock.

“Oh no! You should probably go… I don’t know when my mom will be home and I don’t want you to get in trouble,” Emily said, looking worried.

“You’re right. Hey… let’s do something tomorrow. I’ll do all the work this time,” Andrew grinned.

“Sounds good to me,” Emily laughed. “Thanks for… everything,” she blushed prettily, bringing color to her cheeks.

“I’ll miss you,” he kissed her lightly.

“Hey… what were you and Jack so upset about earlier?” she asked, walking him out to his truck.

“Nothing, he was just stressed because of school,” Andrew said quickly, kissing her on the forehead and then kissing her again on the lips.

“See you tomorrow,” she smiled.

“Bye, gorgeous,” Andrew grinned.

Emily sighed happily as she watched him drive away, wondering how she got so lucky.

So? Like It? No like it? I have no life. Oh God. I just saw a commercial for Dora The Explorer Live and it made me shudder…