thanked him, telling him she’d like to see her again soon. Lucian seemed touched by her gratitude and
wished her a good rest of the day. Next it was off to her lesson with Jason.
***
As she sat, distracted by the clock, impatient for Lucian to return home, Jason read a page from the
light chapter book they were working on. It was about a seal named Sam. Or was he a starfish? She
wasn’t paying much attention.
“Evelyn, it’s your turn.”
She looked away from the clock on the wall. “Oh. Sorry.”
He laughed. “Just like the rest of my students. Here,” he said, pointing to the paragraph they were
on.
She fumbled over the words slowly, mispronouncing several. Jason never gave her the answers like
she sometimes wished he would. Rather, he prompted her to take a second look and notice certain
letter combinations. Evelyn easily became frustrated with her inability to simply read, but Jason had
patience in spades.
“Very good,” he said when she finished the paragraph.
He read the next one, and she admired the way his voice easily flowed over the words. She hoped
one day she too could read so smoothly. It was as if he somehow predicted the tone in which the
characters intended to speak. Her words always came out jagged and segmented in a way that made it
difficult to comprehend the purpose of each sentence.
They worked for several hours and she was getting hungry. His phone vibrated quietly on the table.
He glanced at it and she paused in her reading. “Keep going,” he said, typing into his phone and
putting it aside.
When she finished he shut the book. “We’re done?” she asked.
“Looks that way. Lucian asked that I wrap things up.”
“Oh.” She should’ve never given him Jason’s number.
“I’ll be back tomorrow at ten, so no homework tonight.”
“You’re coming tomorrow?”
“Yes, but not again until Monday afternoon. I’d like to see you do the pages I circled in your
workbook by then. And I have another assignment for you, a sort of project.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
“I want you to start texting. No abbreviations, real words only. You have a smartphone, so there’s
auto correct. Seeing the full spelling pop up will help with your recognition and increase your fluency.
You’ll start picking up on sight words from the first syllables. I want you to try to send a text every hour you’re awake. Do you know how?”
She shook her head and he reached for her phone. He explained how to open the little speech bubble
icon and plugged Lucian’s name in from her contacts. “Once the message is opened, all you have to do
is click on the line and type your text. Try writing ‘On my way.’”
He slid her the phone and she searched the keys. “They aren’t in order.” Where the hell was the O?
“You’ll get used to that after a while. Just take it one word at a time.”
After several minutes of hunting for the right letters, she typed “On my wa,” and then auto correct
plugged in the y she didn’t know went with “way.”
“Good. Now hit Send.”
She did, and her phone made a little vip sound that sent a little thrill through her. “I did it!”
“Yup.” Jason stood and collected his things. Her phone whistled and she frowned at the screen. “Did
he reply?”
She slid her thumb over the screen and there was a text from Lucian. “It says . . .” The words were
big. “I can’t read it.”
Jason looked at the phone and frowned. “We’ll have to tell him to start with smaller words. That
first word is anxiously. You try reading the rest. Remember to break them down.”
She sounded out the next word. “A-wait-ing you.”
Jason smiled and she grinned as well, feeling her cheeks warm slightly. “Better get going.”
They parted at the elevators and she traveled up to the penthouse suites. The private elevator
announced her arrival with a soft chime and her phone whistled. Reaching in the pocket of her shorts,
she withdrew the cell just as she slid her key into the door. It was another text from Lucian.
Stop
She stilled, knowing the word stop. The door shut behind her and her phone whistled again. Her feet
remained planted in the entrance of the suite just by the coat closet.
Clothes off
Her lip curled in a half smile as her neck stretched, trying to spot him. His tie coiled in a circle on the small accent table to her right. He was home.
She removed her shirt and shorts and toed off her flip-flops. Her thumbs glided under the band of
her panties, and her arms slid out of her bra. Lastly, she undid her ponytail.
Her fingers snatched up her phone from the table and texted back. It took forever to find the keys.
She tried to type done, but the word didn’t look right. So she went with a word she knew.
off
She heard the soft buzz of his phone receiving the text and assumed he was at his desk. A moment