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to teaching on my own. My students seemed to like me. I had a few who would give me a hard time, but I was slowly wearing them down. Every time they smarted off, I would make sure to call on them several times during the rest of class. Since most of them didn’t want to be the center of attention, they would stop acting like brats.
    Arie had called me almost every day since Friday night, trying to get me to go out for dinner or even a movie, but I’d refused every time. After my last disastrous attempt at having a life, I decided that I would be safer staying in at night. I knew she felt bad for what had happened, but I assured her that it wasn’t her fault and that I wasn’t upset with her. I didn’t think she believed me though.
    A knock on my door pulled me back to the present. I put the papers I had been trying to grade on my coffee table. I’d ordered pizza, so I grabbed my purse and pulled out a few bills before opening the door. I froze when I saw Alec standing there with a pizza box in his hands.
    I raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. You own a pizza place, too.”
    He grinned. “Nah, I saw the dude walking to your door. I thought I’d pay for it, so I had an excuse to talk to you.”
    “You didn’t have to buy my dinner to talk to me. All you had to do was walk across the hall and knock on my door.”
    “I wasn’t sure you’d answer. I knew if I had food, you’d have to.” He smirked at me.
    Ah, there’s that smirk I love to hate.
    “Good point. I’d never slam the door in food’s face,” I joked.
    I held out my hands, and he gave me the pizza. We stood there awkwardly, neither of us sure what to say next.
    “Do you want to come in?” I finally said.
    “I thought you’d never ask.” He stepped into my apartment.
    I closed the door before following him to the couch.
    He sat down and picked up the stack of papers I’d been grading. “What’s this?”
    “A one-page report on the Revolutionary War. I have to say, grading homework is probably my least favorite thing about teaching. I have to keep searching random phrases online to make sure they didn’t plagiarize. The little shits are smart.”
    He chuckled. “When I was in school, I had dial-up. It would’ve taken me longer to copy something online than to write the paper myself.”
    “Careful, you’re telling your age, old man.”
    I put the pizza down on the table and opened the lid. I picked up a piece and gestured for Alec to do the same. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I took a bite. He looked relaxed as he ate. I couldn’t help but notice the difference in his attitude now compared to when we’d first met.
    “Why did you act like an asshole in the hallway that first day?” I asked him.
    He frowned. “I already told you why. I know your type, Rebecca, and I saw the way you were looking at me. It was better to scare you off and be done with it.”
    “So, you don’t normally act like that?” I asked.
    He grinned. “No, I do.”
    I sighed. “You’re so confusing. I hope you know that. If you’re normally an ass, why weren’t you being one that night? Why aren’t you being one now? The guy I met in the hallway would never have cared enough to break into my apartment to apologize.”
    “I didn’t technically break in. I just opened the door,” he pointed out. “I don’t know why I’m being nice to you now. Maybe I’m just hoping that we’ll end up as friends.”
    “Are you normally friends with chicks?”
    He hesitated. “Not usually.”
    “Then, what’s so different about me?”
    He seemed thoughtful. “I don’t know.”
    We were quiet for a while, both of us lost in our thoughts. I nibbled on my pizza as I tried to figure Alec out. He was a walking contradiction. He’d claimed to be an asshole, and I’d been a witness to more than one episode proving that, but there were times when I’d wondered if he was really as bad as he acted. An ass would never have apologized for what he’d done to