A Tutor's Education (closed for ChaseMePleez)

[saedo]

(closed for ChaseMePleez)


"How goes the studying?" I inquired, poking my head around the corner.

"Fine, Dad," replied Ryan. His companion, a bespectacled brunette named Cassie, smiled politely and nodded her agreement.

"Okay, I'll be in my study if you need me." I watched them for a moment before heading through the den and down the hall to my study. Could Ryan be that oblivious?

I'd spotted it within five minutes after they'd arrived. Ryan often drove back home on the weekends to use our washer and dryer and raid our fridge. Usually if he brought a friend, it was one of his frat brothers, but this time it was a girl. Not a girlfriend, either, but his calculus tutor.

What I'd sensed so quickly was that the "not a girlfriend" aspect was clearly not her preference. Cassie doted on my son. The dreamy-eyed gazes she shot him when he wasn't looking bespoke a serious crush.

Ryan tended to attract female attention. He played on the university basketball team and had a lanky, athletic build. Ryan, however, appeared oblivious to her interest. I'd seen him around girls before and he treated Cassie as nothing more than a buddy.

Even if he had been aware, it probably wouldn't change things. Ryan always favored tall, skinny girls. You could see their type striding down runways and red carpets everywhere. I suppose they have a certain appeal, but I always supposed that once you peeled them out of that ultra-expensive haute coteure dress that it'd be this really pretty face perched atop a stick figure. Not my cup of tea, but to each his own.

Cassie definitely did not fit that stick figure mold. Though her oversized sweatshirt made judging exact dimensions difficult, she clearly had a lot of flesh beneath that. Unfortunately, because the sweatshirt made her torso so amorphous, it gave the impression that she was rather chunky. No doubt many a young man - my son included - gave Cassie a quick glance before dismissing her as a fat chick.

I, however, had the benefit of four plus decades admiring the female form. In my experience, plump women tended not to be plump in just one location. Cassie, however, didn't evidence such chubbiness in her face, hands, or even what I could make out of her ass in her loosely fitting jeans. Consequently, my supposition was that beneath that unflattering clothing lurked not a plump, roly-poly girl, but a slender-figured one who was quite possibly a bit self-conscious about her unusually large rack.

If I was right, then my son's apparently cluelessness was truly regrettable. A young beauty - with apparently intelligence to match - who obviously liked him seemed like a perfect match. Pity that he didn't seem to see it. A girl like her deserved attention and appreciation.

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

((Filling in for ChaseMePleez))

Cassandra, or 'Cassie' as she was better known by her friends, was trying her best to play it cool, as she sat across the dining room table from Ryan - her newest tutee, and crush for the past year. Finals were just around the corner, and Ryan needed to score high on his Calculus final, in order to pass the class. So, when he arrived at the Student Center requesting a tutor, Cassie was more than happy to volunteer. She was ecstatic, when he proposed the idea of accompanying him on the weekends when he visited his parents, and even offered their guest room for her to stay in.

All she knew right now, was that she was on Cloud 9, being in such close proximity to Ryan. For the next few weekends, and probably a few days out of the school week, Cassie would be able to steal close-up glances of the dark-haired, green-eyed man that starred in her most recent fantasies. Well, at least until finals.

Cassie wasn't daft though. She knew their meetings were simply out of necessity (and probably desperation) on Ryan's part. As a student athlete on the basketball team, he was required to maintain a certain GPA to keep his court time and scholarship intact. Still, it didn't hurt to daydream. And, maybe, with the extra time they would be spending together, he'd notice her and ask her out. Maybe.

They were friends - well, acquaintances, really - at school, and had a few things in common, enjoying the same music, movies, and even video games. But, like most guys she tended to like, she always fell into the dreaded "friend zone". Cassie was always seen as "one of the guys", or worse, their "kid sister". She didn't exactly help matters with her consistent attire of hoodies and relaxed fit jeans.

It wasn't that she had issues with her femininity - well, maybe a little. Who wasn't a little self-conscious about their body image? At 20 years old, with a triple D-cup, she dressed for comfort over sex appeal. Her focus was on her academics anyhow, not turning heads. As a swimmer and runner in high school, her frame took on more of medium build with strong shoulders and toned legs. Add that to her Spanish heritage which gifted her with a curvaceous figure, and she was quite the contrast from the tall and willowy-looking girls that most guys seemed to like.

And so, she simply accepted her perpetual status of being in the "friend zone". It was just easier that way.

"How goes the studying?" Ryan's dad inquired. Cassie adjusted her glasses slightly, politely smiling and nodding, as Ryan noted that things were going "Fine". She couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between father and son. Same dark hair (with a touch of salt and pepper) and deep green eyes, but where Ryan had more of a lithe athletic build, his dad was built more solidly. He seemed friendly enough, but Cassie could sense his no nonsense attitude just below the surface. She gathered that if she was going to be a guest, tutoring his son, results better be had.

Opening her notes and flipping through chapters, she started, "Alright, let's go over Rolle's and Mean Value Theorems..."

 

[saedo]

I looked up from my book as Ryan entered my study. "How goes the studying?"

"Pretty good," Ryan responded. "Cassie thinks I am making improvement, so we're going to wrap it up for today."

"Good to hear," I said. "I guess that means you'll be headed back to campus?"

"Actually, that's what I came in to talk to you about....," Ryan began. "Could you do me a big favor, Dad, and drive Cassie back to campus?"

I set down my book and furrowed my brow. "I don't follow. Why can't she ride back with you?"

"Because I'm not going back to campus. Britton called and we're getting some people together to go out.

I rolled my eyes. Britton was Ryan's oldest friend. The two had been thick as thieves for the better part of two decades. On balance, Britton was a good kid and I appreciated his loyalty to Ryan. However, he was also a bit of wild card, which made him fun as a friend, but disconcerting as a friend of your child.

"Why don't you take Cassandra with you? I bet she'd enjoy meeting your friends." Given the crush she was nursing, I felt sure that was true."

"C'mon Dad," my son retorted, a plaintive note in his voice. "She won't know anyone."

"Introduce her," I replied. "She seems friendly."

Ryan sighed dramatically. Teenagers. "Dad, there are going to be girls there!" he hissed in an emphatic whisper. "If I show up with Cassie, they'll think she's my date or something. I can't hook up with anyone if she's there!"

I sighed much less dramatically. I wanted to point out that Cassandra was probably light years beyond the silly girls he was liable to meet with Britton. However, I'd learned long ago that it was foolhardy to meddle much in the love lives of others. If Ryan couldn't see the appeal of Cassandra already, there was no point trying to force him.

"Fine, fine," I muttered. "I'll do it."

He smiled. "Awesome! Thanks, Dad."

"But don't tell her that you're ditching her to go hang out with other people. That'd be rude and insensitive." Given the moon eyes she'd been sending his way, I figured it might just break her heart, but no point in mentioning that to him.

I held up my index finger to tell him to wait while I thought. "Tell her that you can't take her back because you promised to clean out the garage this weekend and I won't let you go back till that's done. But since that will take you a few hours at least, your father will drive her back so she doesn't have to wait."

"Okay Dad, sounds good." Ryan turned towards the door.

"One more thing," I said, prompting my son to look back at me. "You can hang out with your friends tonight, but tomorrow you are cleaning out the garage before you go back to school."

"Yes, Dad," his lack of enthusiasm for the hot, dirty task readily apparent.

I sat back in my chair. I didn't mind that drive - there and back was only about 90 minutes. Still, I hoped Cassandra wouldn't find being pawned of on me to be too much of a letdown.

 

[TheOneThatGotAway]

"Hey, are we heading back to school?" Cassie asked expectantly, as Ryan returned to the living room.

"Ah, yeah, about that. I've, uh, gotta take care of chores around the house before I head back." Ryan groaned, "On top of laundry, my dad's making me clean out the garage-"

Cassie piped in before Ryan could completely finish his sentence. "Do you need help? I don't mind helping. Make things go a little faster-" Spend more time together... she thought to herself.

Ryan cut in this time; his eyes wide at her offer. "Oh, no. No way. You're already helping me out with tutoring. I can't have you working my chores too. My dad's actually getting ready to drive you back..."

Cassie's brows knit in thought, "Your dad's driving me back? While you stay here...?"

The young man broke eye contact with her, as he started to scratch the back of his head, "Um, yeah. Y'know, I figured you had things to do, and I didn't want to interfere with any plans that you may have had. Seriously, my dad is cool with driving you back."

She considered the potential, awkward hour and half drive with Ryan's father, and scrambled for an excuse to avoid it, "I don't have anything pressing at school, and I don't mind helping you with your chores so that we can drive back together." Cassandra was rambling now, "If you don't want my help, I can stay and wait. Study in the meantime-"

"No! Cassie, just-" Ryan, let out an exasperated sigh. He hadn't meant to snap like he had, but Cassie's very presence was the only thing holding him back from focusing on the events of the evening. "Sorry, I just want to take care of the chores on my own. Thank you, though." He cleared his throat, "Dad's getting ready to take off. He should be back here in a bit."

Cassandra blinked a few times, slightly taken aback by the last minute change to their schedule. She couldn't help feeling like she was being shoo'd away, like a gnat. Cassie decided to shake it off, figuring she was probably over-thinking things, per usual. "Alright, well, I'll just get my things then," she said with a half-smile.

As she packed her books away, Ryan closed the distance between them and enveloped her in a hug - the kind he'd give to his sister - if he had one, "Thanks, Cassie. For all your help and stuff."

The young woman ducked her head as she noticed she was blushing profusely, being in Ryan's embrace. As she wrapped her arms around his waist, her earlier distress at the schedule change, and feelings of being unwanted, were instantly forgotten.