Read The Dating Tutor: Alec's Story for Free Online Page B

in her date heels. She looked like a zombie the way she was shuffling about…and not a fresh one. “No. No. No,” he chastised with a growl in his voice. “You’re doing it all wrong!”
    Ellie shot him an annoyed look that did not go unnoticed. “What did I do wrong this time?” she snapped. Her irritated bark caused her to teeter dangerously on her heels. Her arms shot out as she struggled to keep her balance, making her look like a tightrope walker at the circus.
    Ignoring her frustration, Alec took her arms and pressed them down to her sides. “Don’t walk with your hands outstretched like you think you’re going to fall.”
    “I am going to fall.”
    “If you can’t handle heels, then you shouldn’t be wearing them.” His tone was clipped and full of disapproval. Teaching his best friend to behave like a lady was turning out to be more difficult than he’d first expected.
    She let out a relieved sigh, misunderstanding his comment. “Oh thank goodness.” Bracing one hand on his shoulder, she lifted a foot and began sliding her shoe off. “I didn’t think I would last—”
    “If you take that shoe off, I will beat you with it! Then I’ll flunk you.”  She’d obviously missed the point of his tirade. It wasn’t to let her get out of wearing heels; it had been to motivate her to learn to walk properly in them. This made him wonder if she’d been paying attention to anything he’d been telling her over the past hour.
    Ellie froze with her finger inside the strap of her shoe, and her eyes slowly lifted to his. “I thought you said…”
    “I was telling you to man up and learn to walk in high heels!”
    “Man up?”
    He nodded vehemently. “You’ve only got a little over a week before you need to be perfect at this. Stop whining and learn to saunter in heels!” He gave a sound of frustration and stepped back to look at her. As he did, a notion started forming in his head. Much like the Grinch, he got a wonderful, awful idea. With a grin that very much matched the holiday figure’s, he said, “We’re doing a crash course here. Come on.” Grabbing her wrist, he tugged her out of her bedroom and down to the first floor. “You’re either going to learn to walk in those, or you’re going to break an ankle.” He shot her a wicked grin over his shoulder. “We’re going to play ping pong in the basement.”
    “ Ping pong ?” Her words came out a screech as she wobbled unsteadily down the steps behind him.
    “If you can learn to play ping pong in heels, you can handle dinner and dancing no problem.”
    Ellie came to an abrupt halt behind him, tugging with resistance against his hand. “ Dancing ? No one said anything about dancing!”
    He rolled his eyes in response. “That’s what DeNuzio’s is known for! Where have you been living? Under a rock?” It was as if she’d done no research for this date. She was going in blind, something he hadn’t expected from someone so studious.
    “Excuse me, Alec,” she said cuttingly. “Most boys our age can’t afford a place like that. It’s usually burger joints and mini-golf.”
    This reminder drew a snort of disgust from him. No one else could come up with the money for places like DeNuzio’s. Jake was like a peacock, preening and showing off. He was fake. “You’re the one dating a preppy rich boy. Complain to him, not me.”
    Ellie opened her mouth to object, but thankfully her mother walked into the living room that fanned out at the bottom of the steps and caught sight of them on their way down. She saved Alec from listening to his friend’s retort.
    “Good afternoon, Alec,” Cindy Harper greeted. “How is hockey coming along, dear?”
    He grinned sheepishly. It was flattering that Mrs. Harper took such an interest in his sport. She’d even come to a few of the games with Ellie to cheer him on. “It’s alright.” Then he realized he hadn’t seen her since he’d gotten some very exciting news. “I got that A on my jersey