Mistletoe Kisses

Well, I assume. Maybe he is that big of a douche in actuality.

Turning my attention away from them, I grab my briefcase from beneath my desk and begin to shove papers into it.

My movements stop suddenly when I overhear what he says to her next.

“So, I was thinking. If you’re not doing anything this weekend, maybe we could hang out.”

I look up in time to see the shock on her face. I’m instantly relieved that she didn’t see this coming, and I wait for her to politely tell him to fuck off.

A flush creeps up her neck and blooms on her cheeks. She looks down and thinks quickly, but when sh

e looks back up at him, there’s a confounding twinkle in her eyes.

Is she going to say yes?

My muscles tense in anticipation. It’s like watching a car about to crash, and wanting to stop it, but being powerless to. An image flashes to mind of Noelle spread out naked on the jock’s bed with him hovering over her. It’s no more than a figment of my own imagination, and still it’s all I can do not to leap across my desk and rip his head clean off his shoulders.

Her mouth curves up in a smile. Her eyes twinkle a little more.

Oh my fucking God, she’s going to say yes.

“Miss Harper,” I bark.

Noelle’s gaze jumps away from the jock and she looks at me, wide-eyed. “Yes, Mr. McLaren?”

Blood and adrenaline twist together as they course through my veins. My whole body feels hot now, too, like the flush that crept up on her has spread to me. “I need to see you at my desk. Now.”

She couldn’t look more shocked, but she quickly nods and starts gathering her things. She does it awkwardly, since she isn’t the sort of student who ever gets called to the desk for disciplinary reasons, but my tone was so sharp, it must have sounded like that’s why I was summoning her.

She’s forgotten the jock completely, that’s the important thing. He stands there looking at her dimly while she stands and starts in my direction. When she doesn’t offer an apology or even glance back at him, he finally turns around and makes his way out of my classroom.

It’s only me and Noelle now. I’ve never been in a room alone with her. It’s strangely exciting, even with this desk between us, even knowing it means nothing and she’ll go about the rest of her day, never thinking about it again.

Noelle hugs her notebook against her tits as she approaches me. Her red hair is a little longer than shoulder-length, so just the edges brush the top and tempt my gaze back to her breasts.

It’s probably good she has the notebook there to block my gaze.

“Is something wrong?” Noelle asks. She only meets my gaze for a moment, then it drifts to my desk as if searching for some clue as to why I’ve called her up.

Our gazes land on her Dickens paper at the exact same time.

“Yes,” I say slowly, pulling an excuse together quickly. “This paper is…”

Noelle’s gaze jumps back to mine again, looking almost hopeful.

“Ungradable,” I finish.

A scowl transforms her face. “Ungradable?”

“It’s painfully inadequate.”

Her scowl deepens. “What? How? I thought I was very thorough…”

“You were,” I say, picking the paper up and handing it back to her. Meeting her gaze, I add, “And also excruciatingly naïve.”

Her jaw drops open, her eyes widening, and this time when her cheeks pinken, it’s with rage. “Excuse me?”

“Unbearable,” I say again, doubling down on my lie.