Chapter 2The First Day Home: My Mom Handed Me a Gorgeous Younger Guy, and I Took the Hint.

My mom is the classic traditional parent: absolutely forbade dating in high school, but the second I hit college, she started relentlessly hounding me to get married.

During undergrad, she told me to go after my classmates. During my master's, she told me not to let the frat boys or teaching assistants slip away. After graduation, she told me to lock down a coworker or a boss.

Every holiday, weekend, and vacation, she was setting me up on blind dates with local "eligible bachelors."

Despite her frantic efforts, there was zero spark with any of them.

Either they were complete toads, or I was the ugly duckling.

The only few who actually met my standards? I was always too cowardly to make a move.

She constantly complained about my lack of guts.

She loved bragging about how my dad was the crush of their entire town back in the day. She wasn't the prettiest, and her family wasn't the richest, but she was bold. She basically hit him over the head and dragged him home.

She always said if she hadn't taken the initiative, I wouldn’t even exist.

She told me to learn from her.

If I saw someone I liked, I needed to strike first.

So, when she gave me that knowing wink while handing over this gorgeous younger guy, I completely understood. I boldly dragged him upstairs.

I figured I'd lock him down first and deal with the consequences later.

When he pinned me to the mattress, I realized I might have been a little too bold.

An entire afternoon passed. I lay in bed, gasping for air, lacking the energy to move a single finger.

The guy kept looking at me, hesitating as if he wanted to say something, but I was too exhausted to speak. I closed my eyes, drifting into sleep.

Suddenly, a demonic voice pierced my eardrums:

"Chloe Davis! Where is Liam?!

"Wasn't he coming over for you to tutor him for the GRE? Did he leave already?

"Why didn't you invite him to stay for dinner?!"

...

I shot up in bed like a startled fish.

Liam?

The chubby kid from next door who was three years younger than me?

The kid I helped with spelling in elementary school, algebra in middle school, and SAT prep in high school?

The same kid my mom mentioned a few days ago who needed help prepping for his grad school entrance exams?!

I remembered what he used to look like. Did losing weight really make him this hot?!

I pointed a trembling finger at the guy in my bed. "Liam?"

His eyes widened, and he nodded obediently.

"You came for GRE tutoring?"

He nodded obediently again.

"Then why didn't you say so?!" I hissed. I genuinely thought he was a blind date my mom had arranged!

When I first saw his face downstairs, I had almost cried tears of joy.

I used to suspect my parents were secret billionaires pretending to be poor to build my character. Then I suspected I was adopted and my real billionaire parents would find me.

When I saw Liam today, I thought, Billionaires have nothing on this! Only my true, flesh-and-blood mother would save such a premium asset for her own daughter!

But he was just a studious younger neighbor coming over for test prep!

Liam looked incredibly wronged. The flush hadn't faded from his face, and his gorgeous hazel eyes were swimming with emotion.

"You never gave me a chance to speak."

I felt like I was having a heart attack, a stroke, and an asthma attack all at once.

Hearing my mom's footsteps climbing the stairs, I inhaled sharply and locked the bedroom door.

When I turned around, Liam was already pulling his shirt on. His V-shaped torso was flawless, marked only by the long, red scratches down his back.

He was terrifyingly calm. He shot me an innocent look. "Why did you lock the door? Let's go out together. We should take responsibility for what we did."

I slapped him lightly on the back of the head. "Look who's suddenly full of responsibility!"

I grabbed his arm, shoved the window open, and pushed him toward it. "Out the window!"

Liam froze, looking highly offended. "Chloe, what is this supposed to mean?"

I was sweating bullets. I shoved him again. "What does it mean? It means today was your lucky day!"

He grabbed the window frame and sighed. "Chloe, we're on the second floor. Are you trying to murder me to silence the witness?"

Click! Rattle!

The doorknob jiggled aggressively.

My heart leaped into my throat.

My mom’s demonic voice echoed again: "Chloe! What are you doing?! Why is the door locked?!

"I asked you where Liam went!"

My brain spun at hyper-speed. Hundreds of excuses flashed through my mind until I grabbed one, swallowed hard, and steadied my voice:

"He finished his session and went home!"

I lowered my voice, adding a tired, whiny tone. "I was on a train all morning and I'm exhausted! I knew you'd come in and rip my blankets off, so I locked the door.

"I just want to get some sleep!"

My mom instantly felt guilty. "Oh, honey, I'm sorry. Get some rest. I'll go downstairs and start dinner."

Downstairs?!

That was Liam's only escape route!

I quickly shouted, "Mom! I'm actually starving! I feel like I'm dying. Could you ride your bike down to the diner and get me some of that famous BBQ brisket?!"

In that moment, I truly admired my own genius.

But my mom sweetly replied, "Your dad is on his way home. I'll call him to pick it up."

I gasped in horror. "Mom, I'm so hungry my stomach hurts! If you take the e-bike, you'll be back in ten minutes! I'll eat it while we wait for Dad!"

"Alright, alright! Brat. You're always craving junk food."

Hearing her footsteps retreat down the stairs, I let out a massive sigh of relief. I scooped up the rest of Liam's clothes, shoved them into his chest, and dragged him toward the door.

He stood planted like a tree, his eyes dark and unreadable. He was clearly pissed. "Chloe. We're just going to leave it at this?"

My brain was complete mush. I just needed him out of my house. Without thinking, I blurted, "You already ate me, do you want to stay for brisket too?!"

I pushed him down the stairs.

He resisted, his expression stormy as he used my full name. "Chloe Davis, are we really just leaving it at this?"

What else was I supposed to do? I couldn't afford to pay him for his services!

I stopped walking. "I genuinely thought you were a blind date. I was a little impulsive. I'm sorry..."

His eyes instantly turned red, like he was about to cry.

I was completely baffled. I quickly grabbed two toasted bagels from the kitchen counter and shoved them into his hands. "Don't cry! You worked hard all afternoon, eat these on your way home. Be a good boy and hurry up..."

Before I could even finish my sentence, Liam turned on his heel and stormed out.

Watching his tall silhouette disappear down the winding suburban road, my heart finally settled back into my chest.

A wave of exhaustion hit me so hard my knees buckled, and I nearly collapsed onto the floor.

But I still had to clean the evidence off my bedsheets.

Wanting to cry but having no tears left, I stripped the bed and started scrubbing the sheets in the sink.

Having fun in bed is great, until the aftermath hits you like a freight train.

As I reminisced about the steamy afternoon, I was also dying of embarrassment.

"What are you doing?!"

I jumped so hard I fell backward, landing square on my butt. The impact sent a shooting pain up my spine.

I stammered, shivering, "My... my period started early. I accidentally got it on the sheets."

My mom rolled her eyes. "It's perfectly normal. Look at you acting so guilty, people would think you committed a murder."

She set down the takeout bags of BBQ brisket, parked her keys on the counter, and started nagging. "Liam's dad throws a lot of contracting work your dad's way.

"You need to do a good job tutoring Liam. Don't make him walk over here tomorrow. Take the initiative and go to his house to tutor him."

Go to his house?!

My brain was about to explode. "He got his undergrad from an Ivy League school! Why would he even struggle to get into grad school?!"

"You're just as dense as your father! With the economy these past few years, if it wasn't for Liam's dad throwing us projects, we would've starved!

"It's rare that they actually need a favor from us. It's only right that we repay them properly."

My mom's tone left absolutely zero room for argument. "Tomorrow, right after lunch, you're going over there."