Let Me Count the Ways I Fell in Love With You

“My mother forced me to create a study session with you. She retracted my car and now…” Shane sighed as he forced the next few words out, “I have to convince you to teach me.”

Shane stood sluggishly in front of Tania. After school that day, Shane had came up to her and told her that he hated his life. Then, went on about why he was in front of her. Tania stared into the mesmerizing brown eyes. She would not take her eyes off of his if she had a choice.
She cocked her head to the left, as if thinking about his half-hearted proposal. They were standing in front of the school’s double door entrance, and probably blocking one-third of the entrance.

“Ah, No.” She said before moving past him.

Unfortunately, before she had a chance to walk down the steps, Shane’s warm fingers circled her upper arm. She slumped her head down when she realised that there was no way she could escape him now. Shane was strong and has muscles built for breaking… Pencils in the least.

“No! You can’t just walk off! Someone is in need here!” He whined.
“But, Shane… It might start rumours. And look,” She pointed towards his group of friends that were staring daggers – or butcher’s knifes – at her. “They’re definitely not happy about you talking to me, or in their case, me talking to you. Besides, they need you to… do… whatever it is you guys do after school.”
Shane glanced over at them, “Don’t mind them. They’ll live without me. Just teach me the damn subject already! My mother kept pestering me.”
Tania thought for awhile. Finally, she sighed, “Alright… But, the days and dates will be according to my schedule. And you cannot, must not, should not complain or argue with me. If I set it on that particular date, you are not allowed to have any other plans or excuses unless I think it is valid. Am I being clear?”
He stared at her before whispering, “Crystal.”
“Great! We’ll start today. Now. Or would you prefer to have lunch first? Studying on an empty stomach can make you crazy. I speak from experience.”
“No… I’m fine…” He looked at her in awe.

“Awe? Awe?? Since when do guys like Shane Owen looks at girls like Tania Audrey in Awe…?” Tania cleared the thought away.

Instead she - with him still holding her - led them towards the bench area. She approached a bench that was shaded by a tree to keep the glare of the sun away.

“Hands off Shane,” She ordered.

Shane jerked his hands away. Talk about awkward. He had never felt skins like Tania’s. She had milky, white skin and it felt smooth under his rough, big hands. He had to hold himself back to avoid kissing her skin.

“Ok, Robin, what are the topics that you are weak at?” She asked as she seated herself.
Shane gave her a funny look when he realised that she had just called him “Robin”.

“The name’s Shane. And I’m weaker in Trigo than the other topics.”
“Well… First, things first… And take a seat please Shane,” She waited for him to seat before continuing, “How much did you get for your Maths last year?”
Shane gave a quick shrug and said, “Bout 95.”
There was silence. He turned and saw Tania’s mouth hanging open. He had a mental image of her jaw touching the ground. Was it really that surprising?

“What? Seriously?” She asked confused, “Then… Why are you getting bad results this year?”
“Have you been listening to Mr. Robertson? He’s got an accent as thick as honey! Would it be surprising if majority of the class failed? Half of them actually aced maths last year.”
“Well… that makes sense…” She nodded.
“Of course it does,” He said, annoyance starting to edge in his voice. “Can we start now?”
“Oh, Yeah. Let’s start with Trigonometry first then…”

Tania glanced at her watch for the hundredth and six time and frankly, it was getting on Shane’s nerves. She looked at her watch again.

“Will you stop glancing at your watch?! It’s very distracting,” Shane finally spoke.

Tania jumped at the sudden noise and muttered an apology. As if on cue, his phone rang.
He flipped it open in irritation and looked at the ID caller: His mom. Shane sighed and answered.

“Hello?”
“Shane?!” A manly voice spoke through the phone, his voice indicating that the man must be panicking.
“Yeah? Who is this?” He demanded back.
“Shane! Is Tania there? Is she okay?”
Shane glanced at Tania who was frowning at her watch.
“Yeah… She’s fine. Could this be Mr. Evans?”
“Yes! Yes… It’s me. Could you, perhaps, bring Tania home? Its getting late right now.”
“Yeah, sure… I guess?” He muttered. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was only 6:14 PM. Confusion lined his voice when he said he goodbye to Tania’s father.

He looked at Tania and asked, “Do you have a curfew or something?”
“Huh? Yeah, I guess,” She gave him a weak smile. That was when he noticed how pale Tania looked at that moment.
“Oh, I’m sorry to have held you up. We should go home now…”
“Thank you…” She replied weakly.

Shane stared at Tania while they packed. She had said “Thank you”. What did he do?
As they got ready to walk away, Tania’s knees suddenly gave way. Fortunately, Shane was quick enough to hold her onto him.

“Hey… Are you okay? You should have told me that you were tired…” Shane asked, his voice a mix of worry, concern and anger.
“I’m fine… I just. Sorry…” Tania muttered back.
“Why are you saying sorry?! Come here, I’ll carry you,”

Shane hoisted her onto his back and carried their bags on his shoulder. Tania laid her cheeks weakly on his other shoulder. The journey back took 30 minutes but, when Shane finally reached her house, he saw that her father stood worriedly at their front porch. As soon as he saw Tania and Shane, he rushed towards his daughter. He cursed as he took over carrying Tania. He said his thanks before carrying her into the house. Shane stood outside the house in confusion.

“What the hell just happened?” He thought aloud.

He made his way slowly towards his house where his mother stood waiting outside their porch.