Maya woke at 6:47 a.m. on Saturday after a restless night, her phone silent and her mind still stuck in Jake's dorm room.
The memory of their hands brushing. The way his eyes had darkened, the air thick with unspoken words.
She stared at her screen.
No messages.
Not that she expected any. They didn't do casual check-ins.
So why didn't it feel simple anymore?
Across the room, Elena was already at her vanity, dabbing eye cream beneath her eyes as she got ready for an early lab. She glanced at Maya through the mirror.
"You okay? You were tossing and turning all night."
"Fine. Just stressed about midterms," Maya lied, tugging on a faded cotton hoodie.
"Liar." Elena turned fully, studying her. "This is about Jake, isn't it?"
Maya's stomach dropped. "What? No. Why would you—"
"Because you get this look whenever his name comes up. Or when you talk about those tutoring sessions." Elena shifted to sit on her bed. "Maya… be careful. Guys like that? They're different in private than they are in public."
"I know that."
"Do you?" Elena's voice softened, but the concern lingered. "Because from where I'm sitting, you look like someone who's starting to catch feelings. And I don't want to see you get hurt."
Maya opened her mouth to deny it. To remind both of them this was business.
The lie wouldn't come.
"I'm being careful," she said.
Elena looked like she wanted to say more, but her alarm went off.
"Okay. Just… don't sell yourself short, yeah?"
After Elena left, Maya sat on her bed, staring at her phone.
She had a session with Jake on Thursday. In his dorm room again. The memory of that almost-kiss would still be there between them, impossible to ignore.
She thought about canceling. Or maybe suggesting they move back to the library.
But changing the location wouldn't change the problem.
She still wanted to see him.
Jake's grip on the barbell was slick. He was supposed to be mid-set, but he kept feeling it again—her fingers barely grazing his, the shock of it traveling up his arm.
He could still see her face. Startled. Wide-eyed. And for a second… she'd wanted it too. He was sure of it.
He'd wanted to close that gap so badly his chest still ached thinking about it. Then she'd pulled back.
"Dude. Where's your head?"
Riley's voice cut through the fog. He loomed over Jake, looking unimpressed.
"Nowhere. I'm fine."
"You're not fine. You've been all weird since Thursday. Did something happen with your tutor?"
Jake tightened his grip on the bar, the knurled steel biting into his palms. "Nothing happened, Riley. Leave it."
"Then why do you look like that?"
Because nothing happened. That was the real problem. Jake had been ready to cross a line, and she'd pulled back, treating him like just another risk to avoid. That look – like he was a mistake, hurt him more than he'd admit.
His phone buzzed. He ignored it. Knew who it was anyway.
This was his reality, grades, football, his family's legacy.
Maya wasn't a part of his world. She was just the girl hired to keep him from failing. He needed that to be true. So he told himself it was.
Homecoming weekend took over the quad that Saturday afternoon, the Oregon sky a sharp, crystalline blue. The campus looked like a movie set—carnival booths everywhere, string lights draped through the trees, and that heavy, sweet smell of kettle corn and cider permeating the air
Maya stood on the outskirts with Chloe, her hands shoved deep into her pockets. She'd gone through three outfit changes before leaving, settling for dark jeans and a gray sweater.
"Come on," Chloe said, linking arms with Maya. "You can't just stand here like you're at a middle school dance."
Maya let herself be pulled along, but her eyes kept drifting, scanning the crowd.
She found him near the stage. He was surrounded by the usual suspects, Riley, Noah, and a few other teammates. They were loose and loud, enjoying the attention.
Jake was in jeans and a flannel shirt. For a second, he looked untouchable. Then he saw her.
He gave her a small smile that made his eyes crinkle. It was the same smile from his dorm room.
Her face warmed. She smiled back at him.
"Wait, are you smiling at Jake Thompson?"
Chloe asked, her voice dropping an octave in shock.
"No."
"You definitely are."
"I'm really not."
"You are a horrific liar, Maya. Are you and Jake—"
"No. We're not anything," Maya cut her off."He's just... we've been studying together. That's all."
Before Chloe could dig any deeper, a girl strolled past. Blonde hair catching the light. Expensive sweater, sunglasses that screamed money. People parted for her, calling out hellos. She waved, but didn't stop.
"Oh no," Chloe whispered, her grip tightening on Maya's arm.
"Who is that?"
"Brianna Carlisle. Jake's ex. She transferred to NYU last year. What's she doing here?"
Maya's stomach twisted as Brianna zeroed in on Jake. She sauntered straight up to him, one manicured hand settling on his arm as she leaned in to whisper something. Her other hand slid to his shoulder.
The moment Jake felt Brianna's hand on his, he froze. He had no idea she was back. They'd ended things sophomore year when she moved to NYU—a "mutual" split, or at least that's how he'd justified their diverging lives.
"Jake," she purred. "Surprise."
"Brianna. What are you doing here?"
"Family weekend," she said, fingers sliding down his arm. "Forgot my parents are donors too. Had to catch up with some of the deans, you know how it goes. Besides, I've missed you."
Jake's eyes met Maya's across the quad. He saw the hurt in her eyes.
He wanted to step back, shake Brianna off, cross the quad and tell Maya everything. That Brianna was history. That Maya was the girl who made him genuinely happy, who saw through his bullshit, who made him feel less like a disappointment.
But he couldn't say any of that. Not here. Not in front of everyone.
So he stood there, frozen, while Brianna's touch burned his skin.
"Maybe we should just go," Chloe whispered.
"No." Maya replied sharply. "I'm fine."
A second later, Maya felt eyes on her.
When she turned, Jake was staring.
Brianna noticed.
Her eyes slid to Maya, looking her over. She grinned.
She leaned toward Jake and murmured something Maya couldn't hear. Jake gave a small, uneasy shake of his head, but Brianna was already moving, her fingers grabbing his arm as she steered him straight toward them.
"Oh God," Chloe muttered. "Here we go."
Maya wanted to bolt, but she held her ground. She straightened her back, refusing to give them the satisfaction of seeing her run.
"Hey," Jake forced out. "What are you doing out here?"
"Just enjoying the weekend, Thompson." Her voice flat.
He winced.
Brianna's smile didn't fade. "Jake, darling, who is your little friend?"
The word little felt like a slap.
"This is Maya," Jake said, jaw tight. "She's… we're in a class together."
"A class," Brianna repeated. "How lovely. I do hope you're keeping up with your studies, darling. I know how difficult you found some courses last year."
"So I'm guessing you're his tutor, right?" Brianna's eyes moved to Maya. "How's he doing? Has he actually learned anything, or is it a lost cause?"
Maya's hands balled in her pockets. "Jake's doing great. He's brilliant. He just needs the right conditioning."
Jake looked at her. "Maya's been a huge help. She's the only one who can make me understand."
"That's wonderful. I'm glad you found someone to hold your hand." She slid her arm through his. "But you won't need the extra help much longer, will you? Not with your father's connections. I was just telling Jake we should do Aspen again for spring break. And then there's that New York internship this summer."
Aspen, New York.
He already had a future mapped out in boardrooms, a world Maya could never be a part of.
All the hope she'd let herself feel after their conversation in his dorm room, it collapsed under Brianna's itinerary. They belonged to the same world.
She looked at Jake, waiting for him to say something. He met her eyes, and she saw it all, the regret, the frustration, the shame. But he didn't move. He stayed rooted to Brianna's side.
Jake felt like he was being pulled apart. He could feel Maya's piercing gaze. He wanted to explain the situation, but he couldn't find the words. Maya was his tutor. He paid her. She was a "complication" his father would never stand for.
And he was just too tired to fight them all.
"We should probably get going," Jake said. "Got to meet some people."
Maya's expression changed. "Sure," she said. "See you around."
He lingered for a second, but Brianna was already tugging him away, her fingers interlaced with his.
Maya stood frozen, watching him walk away laughing at something Brianna said. He vanished into a world that had no room for her.
"Maya?" Chloe said softly, her eyes softening.
Maya shook her head.
"Let's go."
The walk back to Spruce Hall was a blur. Chloe stayed close, her presence an anchor Maya appreciated.
The dorm room was empty—Elena probably still at the homecoming events. Maya shut the door, muting the hallway chatter, and dropped onto the edge of her bed.
She checked her phone. Nothing.
Not that she truly expected anything.
Her mind went back to their sessions. The feeling of being in his room, those stolen moments when he opened up about his deepest fears. For those hours, they'd been on the same level.
But out there, in public? She was just his dirty little secret.
Maya stared at the ceiling, feeling stupid.
She'd known better than to hope.
Her phone buzzed.
Chloe: You ok?
Maya typed back without hesitation: Fine. Just tired.
She flipped the phone face-down and pulled the duvet over her head. Tears pricked at her eyes, as she curled into herself, the emptiness suffocating. She'd gotten through worse.
She'd get through this too.
Three hours later, Jake sat in his dorm room, staring at his phone.
He'd ditched Brianna and her friends after an hour, mumbling excuses about homework and practice. She'd pouted but let him go, sensing he wasn't good company.
Now Maya's contact stared back at him, his thumb hovering over the call button.
What would he even say? Sorry about all that? Sorry I let Brianna treat you like that? Sorry I'm a coward?
All true.
Riley barged in without knocking. "Dude. What the hell was that?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Too bad. You fucked up." Riley dropped onto his bed. "How could you do that to Maya?"
"I know."
" Why didn't you say something?"
"Like what?" Jake snapped. "Announce to the whole group that I've been paying her to tutor me because I'm too stupid to pass on my own?"
"That's not what's going on."
"Isn't it?" Jake tossed his phone onto the bed. "I'm Jake Thompson. Star quarterback. And she's... she's Maya. From some nowhere town. We don't fit. We never will."
"So that's it?"
"She's my tutor, Riley. That's all."
But even as the words left his mouth, he knew they were a lie.
"You're an idiot," Riley said.
"I know."
"So what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know."