Page 22 of Power Play

“Exactly.”

He says it as though I’ve finally stepped onto the path he was trying to lead me toward.

“Klein isn’t asking you to dig through the book until you find the opinion she buried inside it,” he continues. “You make a claim, support it with the text, account for whatever contradicts you, and convince her your interpretation can survive being challenged.”

“What happens if my interpretation is wrong?”

“You can be wrong and still build a strong argument if the reasoning is defensible.”

“I don’t intend to be wrong.”

“That’s your first problem.”

Aura gives him an approving look. “Please continue.”

He ignores her. “What’s the course worth?”

“Three credits.”

“Do you need it?”

“No.”

Bliss slaps both palms against the bar. “Thank you.”

Ryan keeps his eyes on mine. “Why take Klein?”

“Because she’s the best.”

That earns a slow nod from him. “Okay. That, I understand.”

Bliss looks between us. “Please don’t encourage her. This is her parents needing literature on her résumé, the four-point-oh, and absolutely no room for her to be a human being.”

“I’m not encouraging anything. If she wants the hardest professor because she’ll learn more, that’s valid. If she wants the hardest professor because graduating with anything below a four-point-oh will make her father’s left eye twitch, that’s different.”

My spine stiffens. “My father has nothing to do with it.”

Ryan holds my stare without challenging the lie directly. He has always possessed an irritating ability to let silence expose me without adding a word.

I reach for my wine, but his hand closes around the stem before mine does.

“You’ve had enough to look warm and still too little to stop worrying,” he says.

“That is an invasive assessment.”

“It’s also right.”

He releases the glass and finally picks up the pitcher. I expect him to return to the table, but he stays beside me.

“I have six weeks before preseason and conditioning start,” he says. “I’ll help you.”

The offer takes a moment to settle through the noise.

“With the class?”

“No, with underwater welding.”

Aura’s mouth twitches, but I ignore her. “You’re offering to tutor me.”