by Carly White
“Thanks for actually making it to class Claus. I see that you realized you were going to fail if you didn’t take this test.”
He didn’t know it was that bad, but it didn’t change that he had to do well in the test. He just nodded to her, his face apologetic while he took his seat. “Now, back to the announcements. This test will make up twenty percent of your grade, so do your best. It’s open book, so there is no reason that all of you can’t ace it. All you have to do is put in a little effort. That is what law is. You won’t remember everything, so finding your answer will always be the most important part. Finding the answer in a sea of information.”
Claus slumped in his seat. He didn’t like the teacher or the class, but at least there was an open book. He turned the test around and started going through the book. He didn’t know any of the answers, but was able to find them. While Claus could have cared less about his business degree, he had promised his mother that he would make sure to get some kind of degree, as a safe guard if hockey didn’t pan out for some reason. She was all about back-ups, so he would keep his word to her and graduate. Not even Business Law was going to stand in his way.
When the class was over, his teacher pulled him back and wanted to talk to him about his grades. “I was talking to Couch Carl and he said that you are not getting a pass anymore. You must have pissed him off good Claus, because if you don’t do makeup work, you will no longer be able to play the last few games.”
“Good, it is not like I really want to play for him anymore anyways.”
“If you don’t play, how are you going to play when you get out of here?”
“It’s already decided.”
She nodded, Mrs. Wilkinson knew more about his prospects then he did after the long conversation she had with the coach. He wanted her to fail him, but she would be persuaded. “You will lose them if you don’t play and I don’t know what you did to Carl, but he wants me to fail you now.”
Claus smiled. “It wasn’t what I did, but his daughter.”
“I haven’t seen her around campus.’
“She went to another college after what happened.”
She didn’t press him and he didn’t offer anything else. “Well whatever is going on Claus, you have to ask yourself if it is worth it to ruin everything you have worked so hard for. Turn in the old assignments for some credit and prove him wrong. That is the best advice I can give you.”
“Thanks Mrs. Wilkinson, I will get to work on my makeup work.”
“Please do. I would hate to give him what he wanted.”
“Me too.”
***
Claus left out of the class wondering what she had been talking about. What had the coach done and said to her? He felt like it was time to pay him a visit and see for himself what the man had to say.
He walked across campus to the small office of the hockey coach. He had always railed about how much smaller his office was then the football coach and with good reason, it was a lot smaller. Cross College was like most colleges in the country, more worried about their football stars, than the hockey ones. Claus had never been so bothered. There were always enough women for him and his teammates. While football was funded, hockey was violent and dangerous, thus always good for getting the chicks.
It had been all it was for in the beginning. He had never been good at football, but he had loved to skate and when he found out about his high school’s team, he had been a natural. When he got a full ride scholarship to Cross College to play, Claus was elated. For the first time in his life, he was able to see a future and it was centered around hockey.
“Coach?”
“Claus, what are you doing here? It’s before noon?”
Claus slumped down into the seat. “Well since the conversation I just had with my teacher, it would seem that you don’t want me on your team anymore.”
“Can you blame me? You punched out two guys last night for no reason. I get that spirit gets high in a game, but what were your reasons beyond wanting to get kicked out?”
He shrugged. “I just didn’t want to play. I told you that. If your daughter won’t stop calling me, how am I supposed to focus?”
“She called you?”
“Repeatedly and I have already changed my number once. Why don’t you handle that and I can handle what is going on in my life.”
Coach Carl looked down. It was not unknown to him what was going on. His daughter had to come to him with news that had broken his heart, but it was her decision and he had to stand with her. But it didn’t take away what he knew the boy was feeling. They had dated for almost a year and Claus was heartbroken. His way of dealing with it was to get in fights and turn aggressive. It did no good for anyone, but Carl couldn’t deny the reasoning behind it. It was Ashley that had changed him and though there was nothing he could do, it was hard to give up on someone that he had looked to as a son-in-law.
“You have to let this go Claus or you aren’t going to make it to the professionals. There were recruits in the stands last night and they saw your performance. Do you really think anyone is going to take you on if they see you as merely a liability?”
Claus shrugged like he didn’t care, but he did. Carl knew he did and though it was clear what side he was supposed to be on, there was no way for him to deny the pity he felt for the young boy. If he had been in the same situation, Carl didn’t suppose he would do any better with it.
“I’m serious Claus. Get your grades up and come to play on Thursday. We need you to be present so we can make a real go of the championship. Everyone wants a ring, but we need our enforcer.”
“I will try coach.”
“Sorry I said something to Mrs. Wilkinson, but I knew that she would get the message to you. She always was a softy.”
“How is she?”
Carl stopped and sighed as he sat down again. “Do you really want to know?”
Claus shook his head. “She is good Claus. Ashley is moving on and you need to do that same. I know it is hard now, but one day, it will just be another part of your past. Soon you will be a big time star Claus and you deserve it. I love my daughter, but she is not worth losing the dream because of her and her decisions.”
It was the closest he had or ever would come to admitting her guilt in what she did, but it was enough Claus stood up and though he was feeling emotional, he didn’t show it. He had learned to hold it all in, channel it to something else.
“Thanks for the talk coach. I will be ready to play Thursday.”
“And less time in the penalty box?”
“I will only fight if I am provoked.”
“I guess I will take what I can get.”
Claus left feeling slightly better, but there was still a lot of work to be done. He had not been making the best decisions and even though he was mad at the coach, he knew that what he said was true. Acting out wasn’t going to change anything or make it any better. He had to get it together and make it work.
Chapter 3
As Claus made his way to the Student Services office, he ran into Denise. He groaned inwardly as she spotted him and called out from across the street. She was excited to see him and practically jumped into his arms when she made her way to him. “I have been looking everywhere for you Claus.”
“Well I am kind of busy Denise. Did you need something?”
She leaned in and whispered some naughty things she would like to do to him in his ear. Claus shivered, but had to remind himself that he had more important things to think of. “I can’t Denise. I have to make up some work and I need some help.”
“What class?”
Claus smiled at her, like she would ever be able to help. “Business Law.”
She smiled back and kissed him again. “I have a cousin that goes to Jefferson that can help you. She won’t charge you like they do in the SS building.”
Claus wasn’t trying to be mean, but if her cousin was anything like her, it wouldn’t do any good. “I don’t think that your cousin i
s going to be able to help, she doesn’t even go here.”
“No, but she is pre-law and she owes me a favor. So it will be fine.”
He liked the idea of free, having spent all of his stipend on too many parties and not enough put back for a rainy day. Claus didn’t want to have to ask his parents for any more money, so he took her up on her offer. Denise came in handy sometimes. The only downside would be that he would have to keep her around for a little while longer. “I will see you later Denise. Give me a call when you have heard from her. I need to go study because I have a month’s worth of work to do.”
She pouted. “I was hoping that we would get to spend some time together. Last night you were too tired and I was hoping…”
Her hands had gpne to his hard chest to trace the lines, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her movement. It was easy to get sidetracked from her touch. She was just so good at it. “Not tonight. Let me get this class fixed up first and you call your cousin and then I will make you cum into you pass out.”
She shivered and smiled up at him. He had done it before. It was the whole reason Denise stayed. While he may have thought her ignorant, she was not blind. He used her for his pleasure and she stayed, not because she was in love with him, but because Claus gave her more pleasure than anyone else ever had. There was no way that she was ready to walk away from that, knowing that the sex would never get any better than him.
“Fine, but I don’t know what her schedule is like. She is doubling up on classes lately to graduate sooner. She is one of those go-getter types, so I am sure she will find a way to fit you in.”
“She sounds lovely.” Claus could already see her in his mind, mousy, dumpy and no doubt glasses that she looked down her nose at everyone else with. “Just give me a call when you have talked to her. I am going to go work out and try to get my mind right before I start studying.”
Denise went to her tiptoes and kissed him on his lips. He grabbed her up and pulled her against him for just a moment before releasing her with a sound coming from her telling him of her disappointment. “Are you sure you don’t have time for a quickie? My house is just around the block.”
He wanted to for a moment, but then he would be ruined for the rest of the day and he was going to have to eventually let her know that he was not that into her. She never spoke of love, but she looked at him in a way that told him she cared more than he did. Once the balance was off, it never lasted. If only he could keep it together long enough to get some free help from her cousin, it was all he could ask for. Claus was nothing if not practical, even though he sometimes lost his cool and did something stupid.
It didn’t take long for Denise to come through for him. He was still working out when she rang him back. The cousin was busy, but could squeeze him in that day if he could get over to her place in the next half an hour. Claus didn’t like to be on someone else’s time, but he would do what he must. He was hoping that she would be easy to talk into helping him with the actual work. Ugly chicks were easier to convince and from the way Denise described Anai, she wasn’t going to be a stunner.
***
Fifteen minutes later he was pulling up to a townhouse on the other side of town, the door opening in front of him and as he swallowed hard, he realized that he was so wrong. She wasn’t ugly and he almost blushed to himself that he had thought she would be dumpy.
Anai moved back to let him in, her clear blue eyes matching the Nordic traits in her hair and cheekbones. There was a faint resemblance to Denise, but not much. Anai was tall and slim. She smiled up at him, but didn’t have near as far to look. “Claus?”
“Yes, you must be Anai. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
“Anything for Denise. She must really like you if she was calling in a favor for you. Have you two been dating long?”
Claus didn’t want her thinking they were, but she certainly couldn’t tell Anai that he was using her cousin for sex. He just kind of gave her a noncommittal answer and she nodded. “Ah, so the dumb jock of few words. How cliché. So what can I help you with?”
He did not like the snark, but he didn’t blame her. He finally realized that he was staring at her like an idiot. What else was she supposed to think? So he told her what he needed and how far behind he was. She stopped listening after a time and got up to get something to drink. They were at her table and he looked around the neat place and saw that she did have a cat. At least that part of his theory had been true.
“Do you live here by yourself?”
She nodded and walked back in with something for him. When he took a drink, he grimaced. It was just tea and he had been hoping for something stronger. Claus was out of his element with the blonde bombshell.
“Do you have something stronger?”
“I do, but not for you and not tonight. You have to get some work done and getting wasted isn’t going to help. By the look of you, it would seem that a good night sleep is well in order.”
He didn’t like her assumption, but then he remembered what it would be like to ask for the money. He could deal with a little smart-mouth if he didn’t have to ask for money for a tutor. After he agreed and just went with it, the evening went by quickly and though she was no nicer to him than when it started, he was finding that he liked her honest answers and even the hint of sarcasm made it easier to digest. She was like Jeff in the way that she didn’t lie to him or sugar-coat anything. Anai just told him how it was.
With her help and several hours of work, Claus had completed almost half of the month before and was ready to turn it in. He couldn’t believe how quickly it had all came to him. Anai had phonetic tricks to remember all of the case law involved and it helped him to see that it wasn’t so hard to remember. When she finally told him it was time to stop for the evening, he was still sitting there, wanting to stay for a little longer.
“Well I guess you aren’t such a dumb jock after all.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“It’s as close to a compliment as you are going to get. Do you think you can handle the rest of it on your own or do you still need help to finish what’s left over?”
He could do it on his own. In the beginning he could have, but her help had been invaluable and he had the strange want to see her again. It wasn’t like with most women, where they started to get on his nerves and he only liked them as long as they were kept busy. With Anai it was different. He wanted to be around her, talk to her, get to know her and the less she gave, the more he wanted. Claus had always thought that he wanted a quiet woman, one who knew her place, but now he knew that it wasn’t that way at all. He wanted a woman that he could look to as an equal.
“I was hoping that you had some free time to help me again Anai. You make everything so much easier to understand.” It didn’t hurt that when he was right, she smiled back at him in a way that made it hard to breathe. Pleasing her was enough of a reason to try and Claus hadn’t had that in a long time.
“Let me see what I have going on next week.”
“What about this week?”
“Too busy, but I think I have a couple of hours Tuesday.”
“What about this weekend?”
“Well I have a date Saturday and a family thing Sunday. I will let you know if I can do it any sooner, but it looks like Tuesday.”
“Okay, great, I will see you then.”
“Okay.” She was giving him that strange look again and he was sure that he was smiling like an idiot again. Why did he feel so out of sorts with her around? He leaned in, about to kiss her before he remembered himself.
“I’ll see you Tuesday. If you find yourself without plans Saturday, you should give me a call. I would love to see you again.”
He walked out with a lightness that he hadn’t felt in a long time. When Denise called later, he ignored the call and instead went home. It was the first time he had gone without a drink in months and he slept better than he had since then. Anai was changing him and she didn’t even know it, didn’t ev
en mean to.
Chapter 4
“I called you a bunch of times last night Claus. Why didn’t you call me back?”
He had barely opened his eyes before the calls had started again. It was becoming clear to him that he had to somehow end things with Denise, but in such a way that Anai wouldn’t hate him for it. It was tricky when it came to family, having learned his lesson with a pair of sisters when he was in high school. Claus just had to give her a reason not to want to be with him or someone else to gravitate towards. His mind went to his friend Jeff.
“I’m sorry. I was up most of the night studying with your cousin. I was just too tired to do anything last night. We could get together after class. Jeff wanted to get some lunch. You remember him, don’t you?”
There was a silence on the other end of the phone. “Yeah I remember him.”
She didn’t seem to fond to hear that he would be there and Claus wanted to know why she felt that way. Jeff was a good looking man and never seemed to have trouble getting the ladies. He didn’t keep them very long, but the man was known for his wily ways and the way women seemed to want to do anything he asked of them.
“You don’t like Jeff?”
“No, I do, he was nice every time I met him. I was just hoping that we would have some time alone. You made promises Claus that I want you to keep.”
He chuckled. “How can I not. It may not be this evening, but soon Denise. Besides, Jeff just had a bad break-up, his girlfriend cheated and I know that you would want to help cheer him up.”
Claus left it at that and when he hung up, he sighed to himself. Now he just had to tell Jeff that he was saddened by a break up and for him to take her off of his hands. If she fell for his friend, that would leave him in the clear to go after the cousin. He doubted it would be easy, but he had to try or regret not trying the rest of his days. Women like Anai didn’t come around that often and he wasn’t going to miss the chance to have something more.