~ Three ~

You're Going to Make Me Lose My Mind A woman in her fifties opened the door to Phoebe's bedroom. Not waiting for Evandros who was lagging behind her, the girl immediately went inside the room. "Ntantá, I need my phone. I need to call someone," she said as she paced towards her bed while the woman whom she just called 'Nanny' followed her. "Sorry, my dear, but your Ba-ba told me to restrict you from using your phone while the tutorial session is going on." The woman related what her master just told her. She had been working in the Perkos household for sixteen years as Phoebe's nanny and never once in her life that she did something Hector Perkos forbid. She loved the Perkos couple, Hector and his wife, Julie, and she always acquiesced what they desired of her to do. Of course, she loved Phoebe with all her heart like a daughter but she would always follow the master's rules. Phoebe sat on her bed. "So dad has already briefed you about it." "Yes, Phoebe dear." "Did Ba-ba also tell you that you have to be here in my room during the session?" Phoebe asked curiously, hoping that her dad did. She just felt she couldn't stay in one room alone with that guy. She definitely needed a back-up. Recalling the guy, Phoebe looked at the doorway and saw that Evandros had still not come in. "No, my dear. I actually came in to tell you that I am strictly reminded by your Ba-ba to stay out of this room during the tutorials." "Oh, Ba-ba was getting so strict these past days," she complained to herself. The old woman, at this time, noticed Evandros in the doorway. "Oh, come on in," she said, inviting him. Evandros finally went in and stopped in the middle of the great space. He looked around and saw that, though there was an accent of red and gold, almost everything in this room, from the wall to the furniture and even the sheets and curtains were mostly beige. The bed where the girl was sitting was all in beige except for the red pillows on it. At one corner, he saw a study table beside a bookshelf with books that looked like girly stuffs. At the foot of the bed, there was a sala set, carved chairs in red and gold and a coffee table. At the other side, there was a big vanity table with a built-in vanity mirror of exquisite carvings. The area definitely looked like that of a princess' bedroom but with a mature taste. "I'm Cynthia, Phoebe's nanny," he heard the woman saying. "You are?" "Evandros Xenakis, madam. Evan for short." "Oh, no! Don't call me madam. Just call me by my name, Evan." This woman was very protective of Phoebe so the main reason why she needed to come here this very moment was to meet the tutor. To her scrutiny, the man, who was physically gifted like the gods, seemed trustworthy and reliable. He didn't look like somebody who would take advantage of a young girl. Eventually, she was able to muster a smile to him. Then, she turned to Phoebe and asked, "Agapité, where shall I place the books?" "Just place them there, ntantá, please," Phoebe answered pointing to the coffee table in front of the bed. The woman went to get some books from the study table and placed them on the coffee table. She knew which books to get for the master already told her that the subject to be tutored was mathematics. Later, the nanny asked to leave, went out, and closed the door. Then, there was just the two of them. Breathing hard, Phoebe, with both of her hands gripping the edge of the bed in both her sides, sat rigidly on the bed as she watched the man making his way to the chair just across her. She observed him as he sat down and started to scan her books. Evandros, on the other hand, immediately thought of getting down to business. He smiled when he held the books. Algebra. "So, you're going to stay there?" he asked, looking at her. "Yes. That's my condition, right? That seat, by the way, is exactly two meters away from my bed. Obviously, this is the seating arrangement. You stay there while I stay here." He smirked at what he heard. He was right. This task wasn't going to be easy. How would he do his lessons when the tutee was this far from him? Phoebe furrowed her brows when she saw him smirking. "Okay," he finally pronounced, casting her a gaze. Serious, sexy gaze... Phoebe perceived. Hot! Smoking hot! Oh, she needed some air! Back-up! She needed a back-up! Casting her face away, Phoebe fanned her face with her right hand as her left gripped the sheet on her bed. Why did he have to look this hot? Why did he have to be much hotter than her Zarkos Rozena? Evandros noticed the reddening of the girl's cheeks. He stared at her even more. Phoebe Perkos, for him, was still young --- sixteen as told by her father --- but she looked a bit mature than her age. She was a sophisticated beauty and with those red lips, she definitely looked like a red apple too fresh from the garden and too luscious to --- Hey, wait! What was he thinking? For heaven's sake, Evan, he scolded himself, you are facing a sixteen-year-old girl! Phoebe, once again, looked at him. This time, he averted his gaze and decided to scan one of the books. "So, what do you know about Algebra? Tell me anything you know about it," he inquired, wanting to analyze her algebra background. "I didn't know this is going to be a language class where I have to make an impromptu speech based from an impromptu question," she retorted back. Wow, this girl is impossible! He told himself. "I'm just doing a background check. Or would you rather want me to give you a written quiz first and I'll see from the result?" "Are you kidding me, Mr. Xenakis? Quiz on our first session?" Phoebe exclaimed, standing up from the bed. "Then, answer my question orally," he said firmly. "I repeat, what do you know about Algebra? Tell me everything you know... so we can focus only on the things that you still don't know about." Realizing that there was nothing that she could do anymore, Phoebe sat down again on the edge of the bed. "X and Y," she said. Waiting for an elaboration, Evandros narrowed his eyes at her. "Isn't Algebra about boring X's and Y's?" she said sarcastically. The guy breathed hard. "Is that all?" Phoebe crossed her legs. "You are the tutor. Why don't you just impress me with what you know about Algebra rather than asking me with what I don't know?" With her baby pink blouse, Phoebe looked like a young girl to him. However, with her crossed legs next to her printed mini skirt, he actually felt she appeared like a young woman flaunting her most precious pair of fair, attractive thighs. He instantly felt some blazing heat at his nape. Evandros touched the back of his neck with a palm. Why did he feel that this girl was going to cause him a problem in the next months or years ahead? "Then, we will be seeing more often after your daily classes," he said. "I thought I'll be done with you in a couple of weeks. It looks like I've got to do a lot of teaching then." "I loathe maths," Phoebe stated honestly this time as she played some strands of her hair with her fingers. "Then, I will you make you love it by the end of this tutelage," Evandros spoke softly yet confidently, gazing at her. All of a sudden, she felt one beat of her heart skipped erratically. Love maths? Or love the tutor? she asked herself as she met his gaze. "Love mathematics..." the guy in front of her repeated like he was able to read her mind. Phoebe felt again the blazing of her cheeks. Why did his voice sound so sexy? Ba-ba, I need a back-up! She screamed to herself, gripping again on her bed sheet. Evandros definitely was not able to read the girl's mind but, deep inside him, there was that feeling that he wished her to like the tutor as well... along the way. Then, there was that ringing of the bell in his head! No, he couldn't flirt with a sixteen-year-old girl... For heaven's sake, he was twenty-four... And this girl was his master's daughter. Definitely a big NO, NO! "Then, you have to do a lot of teaching then..." Phoebe assented finally, this time, in a softer tone. With the change of her tone, he smiled. "I can't teach when you're that far. Are you planning a long-distance relationship with me?" Relationship! She yelled at herself shockingly, almost jumping from her bed, thus uncrossing her legs. Evandros bit his lower lip. What was wrong with him? Was he trying to scare a young, innocent girl? "I mean tutor-tutee relationship," he corrected himself, sensing the girl's uneasiness. Once again, Phoebe wanted a strong gust of wind to come to her direction. She needed air to breath --- much, much air. With enough determination, she managed to say in a forceful tone, "No breaking of the rule here. Two meters away." "Why do we have to stay that far from each other? There's nothing for you to worry. I don't bite, despinis," he said, almost joking and testing her temper. Bite her? Where? Phoebe almost shrieked. Good that she was able to manage herself not to speak it loud. "I don't bite," he repeated like he was able to read again her thoughts. Did this man have the ability to read one's mind? Why did he always have an answer to every question in her mind. She began to panic now. Was he a real god? "Do you have some sort of mental power, Mr. Xenakis?" Phoebe asked unconsciously. Evandros became perplexed. He couldn't get what she just asked. "Mental power?" he echoed with a thin smile in his lips. This girl was starting to amuse him. Eventually, Phoebe recovered from her crazy idea about him. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "Uh, never mind, I'm just... I'm just a little lost..." Not getting the idea that the girl was battling with her attraction on him, Evandros commented, "We haven't yet started our lesson and you're already lost. I don't like an absent-minded tutee here. If so, it will definitely be a big problem." "Then, you may start treating me as a problem right now," she said but not too loud to be heard by the tutor. Because I really, really feel like you are going to make me lose my mind, Mr. Xenakis, she told him in her mind.