It's been a few hours since I called Hakeem, and I still haven't gotten a response. I'm currently laying in my bed, using my laptop to find an internship. It would strengthen my college application. 

I am about to give up when I stumble across a law firm that's looking for "a hardworking young intern looking to learn about the legal field." I skim the requirements, expecting to see a college degree listed. However, this one has none. The pay is also very generous for a position that requires so little experience. I decide to fill out the application. I attach my resume and send it. 

Such hard work calls for a break. I think to myself.

I decide to pamper myself a little. I turn on some music and walk into my bathroom to put on a face mask. 

Just as I'm adjusting the mouth cut out, my phone rings. I assume it's my mom, so I pick up without checking and put it on speaker. 

"Hello." I say, moving back to the bathroom with my phone. 

"What do you want?" A deep voice asks, subconsciously making my heart flutter.

"Oh, Hakeem." I say. "You're always so sweet." I roll my eyes. 

"I assume you need help with the math homework." He announces.

"Yes, I do." I respond, trying to ignore the way the low rumble of his voice reverberated through the room and wrapped around me like a warm caress. 

"Okay, I'm coming." He says. 

"You're what?" I exclaim. But, he's already gone. 

I stare at my phone in confusion. I grab it and go lay on my bed. I'm texting Ruby when I hear the front door open. 

Finally, my parents are back from the mall. I think as I jump up and out of my room to go greet them. 

"Hey Roxie." My mom smiles, giving me a hug. 

"Hey Rox." My dad greets, carrying all the shopping bags. "Someone's here for you." 

"Who?" I ask. 

As if on cue, Hakeem walks in. The cold air from outside rushes in and sends chills through my body. I look down at my unicorn patterned pajama shorts and immediately regret my life choices.  

"I like the new look. It really hides your flaws." He comments, putting his jacket and boots away as if he lives here. 

"Thanks. I was hoping to scare you away, but I guess you just can't get enough." I shrug. I lead us to the living room and tell him to sit on the couch. "I need to go upstairs and get my work." 

"You both should just go upstairs. Your father is making dinner and we wouldn't want to disturb you guys." My mom says, popping out of thin air. 

"Upstairs?" I repeat. 

"Yes." My mom says. "Just keep the door open." 

And with that she's disappeared back into the kitchen. Hakeem gets up and heads toward the stairs. 

"The quicker we get up there, the quicker this can be over." He points out, gesturing for me to lead him up the stairs. 

"You're really kind and patient for an uninvited guest." I say, plastering a huge fake grin on my face. 

"Wow, you can use sarcasm. How cool." He rolls his eyes. His beautiful warm brown eyes. I notice something different about them today. They aren't as cold. I push my observation aside and lead him up to my room. I leave the door wide open. I have nothing to hide, anyway. 

I pull the two beanbags I have in the corner of my room to the foot of my bed. "Make yourself comfortable." I say, pulling out my math homework and a clipboard. 

I sit down with the clipboard, ready to learn. 

"You're ready?" Hakeem asks, raising an eyebrow at me. 

"Of course." I respond. 

"You can do homework with that on your face?" He questions. 

"Oh. Is it bothering you?"

"No, I'm glad I can't see your face." 

"Why? You can't handle it?" I ask, tilting my head to look at him.

"I can't. Every time I see it, I have nightmares." He says, the corner of his lips curving up slightly. 

"So, I keep you up at night?" I smirk. 

"It's unfortunate..." He mutters. 

"Well, I can't let you down." I say, before heading to the bathroom to take the mask off. I look at myself in the mirror and almost laugh at how comedic the sight is. My curls are up in a messy bun, my face resembles that of a ghost under the white sheet mask, and I'm wearing matching unicorn pajamas. I push my thoughts aside and peel off the mask. I'm happy to find soft, glowing skin under. 

I walk out of the bathroom and return to my seat next to Hakeem. 

"Finally." He sighs. I roll my eyes and prepare for him to go into teacher mode. 

About three questions in, my mom enters my room with a tray. "I know you guys are working hard, so I brought you some snacks." She smiles. She places the tray in front of us. It holds cut up fruits and veggies, two small bags of chips, and two bottles of water. 

"Thanks, mom." 

"Thank you, Mrs. Williams." Hakeem says. He smiles widely, revealing pearly white teeth. His dimples make another appearance and I'm suddenly reminded of how attractive he is. 

"No problem, Hakeem. I haven't even thanked you for helping Roxie with math." My mom responds. 

"No need to thank me. I enjoy sharing my knowledge of math with Roxie." He smiles, placing a slight emphasis on "Roxie". 

It sounds so cute when he says it. I mentally gush. I can feel heat rushing to my cheeks, but I try to keep my facial expressions as neutral as possible.

"I'll let you kids get back to it." She says, going back downstairs. 

"Your mom is really nice." He says once she's gone. "She spent time cutting all of these for us."

"Yeah, I guess." I shrug, popping a grape into my mouth. "I bet your mom would do this if you had friends over, too." 

"I wish." He mumbles, visibly tensing. "So, problem number four..." 

I can tell that I've struck a sensitive topic, so I allow him to change our focus back to the homework. I've already hit the world record for "number of sentences Hakeem says to Roxanne without insulting her." No need to push it. 

About a half an hour later, we finish the worksheet. 

"Thank you." I say. 

He simply nods. He gets up from the bean bag and picks up the bare tray and the trash. I get up to lead him downstairs. "I can take the tray. You can go get your stuff from the closet." 

"No, I want to thank your mom myself." He says, walking out of my room. 

Once we reach the top of the stairs, the smell of something delicious hit me. It smells like my dad's fried fish. 

"This looks so delicious." I grin at my dad, who's checking on the rice. Hakeem is already talking to my mom. 

"I hope you're hungry." He says, patting my shoulder. 

My mom comes to the sink to clean the snack dishes. "Hakeem, you should stay for dinner." 

My jaw drops in shock. 

"I appreciate that, Mrs. Williams, but I wouldn't want to impose." He says, backing up slightly. But, I notice his eyes lingering on the food. 

"You've been so gracious in helping Roxie. You're pretty much a part of the family." My mom says kindly. "As long as your parents don't mind." She adds. 

I notice him tense up, again. "They won't." He says, looking down at his feet. 

"I made enough for four, so make yourself comfortable." My dad announces. With that, our dinner table grows from its usual three, to four.