Blind Spot - Katana Collins Page 0,31

later, I sat next to my student at the tutoring center, showing her the proper way to outline a paper. But no matter how hard I tried, my eyes magnetically drifted to Tate every few minutes. And each time I did so, he was already looking my way. By the third time it happened, his lips lifted into that dimpled smirk.

I smothered a chuckle and pointed to Sophia, mouthing, “Pay attention.” His grin widened, and his fingers tapped the back of Sophia’s chair as he finally dipped his head, directing his focus back to his student.

If I wasn’t mistaken, he actually seemed to be enjoying his time with Sophia. She had him laughing as she mimicked his mannerisms, everything from the way he tipped his chair back on two legs to how he would tap his pen when thinking.

If someone had asked me a week ago if I thought Tate Michaelson would be good in a room full of kids, I would have rolled my eyes at them. But this Tate? The one helping Sophia and not aiming to impress a class full of friends and girls? He was attentive and nurturing and playful. And the sight of it sent tingles racing down my spine.

“Shelby?”

“Huh?” I snapped my attention back to Kendall, my student.

“Is this right?”

“Oh. Here, let me have a look.”

A snicker came from a table away, where Tate sat, eyes on me, all hard muscle and sexy dimples. I touched a hand to the corner of my mouth to make sure I wasn’t drooling like a Labrador.

Damn him.

“Distracted?” Tate asked.

“Nope.” I pressed my lips together, shook my head, and brought my focus back to my student’s notes. “Not even a little,” I lied.

I made some notes on Kendall’s outline, and got her set up at a computer to begin writing. There was a ton of paperwork that Ryan had left for me, so I slipped into the back room to finish up. Grabbing the stack of donation forms, I opened the spreadsheet to put in the amounts for bookkeeping purposes.

The sense of a presence behind me grew thick, and I stiffened, my body clenching. I held my breath, waiting for Tate’s voice.

These stupid nerves of mine made no sense. He was just a guy. I didn’t need to freaking collapse into a bumbling pool of stress every time he walked by. I turned to say hi, and standing there behind me wasn’t Tate. It was Ryan—my boss. I looked around and realized Tate wasn’t even in the room—he was still out in the common area with Sophia. It had all been in my head. My stupid, over-reacting, awkward head. I felt a twinge of disappointment needling the base of my rib cage at seeing Ryan, not Tate. He gave me a warm smile then quickly looked back to the screen, reviewing my paperwork from over my shoulder. “Hey,” Ryan said. My cheeks flushed red—oh, Jesus, I hoped he didn’t think I was hitting on him. He was young—a couple of years older than me—and had graduated from CSU a few years before. But still, damn, that would be embarrassing. “I hate doing the bookkeeping—it’s the main reason I keep you around,” Ryan said with a wink.

He put a hand to my back, squeezing my shoulder before setting his own stack of papers on the table beside me. He slid into the seat, and I buried my nose in the laptop and the stack of paperwork. Why, oh why, did I have to be such a spaz?

I cleared my throat. “It’s the only reason you keep me around.” I smiled, though it was tight, more forced than usual, and he narrowed his eyes, seeming to notice immediately.

“I’m sorry.” He leaned forward, gathering his papers. “Did you want to work in here alone? I can go into the other study room.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder and pushed to his feet. “I just hate working in my little cubicle. It’s so stuffy.”

I slid a hand across the table and placed it over his stack of work. “No, it’s fine. I’m sorry…I thought you were someone else at first.”

He nodded, eyes narrowing just barely. “The new kid, right?”

I swallowed. Was I that obvious? “No…I–I thought Kendall’s computer had frozen again.”

Ryan’s face relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair, that easy smile returning. “Oh, good. Geez, those dinosaurs. I can’t believe they’re still running.”

I froze once more, fingers hovering over the keyboard. “Good?”

He shrugged, grabbing a pencil that was