Bad Teacher

One that makes me wanna crawl under my desk and hope I’ll find the door to Narnia.

I can already feel the icy chill from miles away, and it makes me shiver in place.

“Cold?” Lesley asks. “I have a scarf if you want.”

“No, just feeling watched.” I nod at her and then at Thomas.

Her mouth forms an o-shape. “Oh … must be because I …”

“Yep.” I nod. “I can’t wait for this class to end.”

She chuckles. “What did you do? Bite his lip?”

“Class is over,” Thomas suddenly says, and before I can answer Lesley, she’s already gotten up from her seat.

“Where are you going?” I ask.

“Library. I’m study buddies with Layla.” She packs her bag quickly and shuffles away. “Sorry, I think I forgot to tell you.”

“No, it’s fine. Go study. I’ll just pretend I’m not here. Hopefully, I can sneak out unnoticed.”

She makes a face. “I doubt it.” Then nods toward Thomas.

The moment I lay my eyes on him, I just want to die.

That look on his face.

Wow.

“Well, see ya!” Lesley yells, and she’s out.

Along with all my other classmates.

And now, I’m left alone with him.

Just like that.

I frantically start packing my shit, trying to be as quick as possible, but apparently, it’s still not quick enough.

“Hailey.”

His low, blazing voice makes me look, even when I don’t really want to.

Oh, god. He’s coming over here.

Sweat drips off my forehead as I throw everything in my bag and stand up … only to come face to face with him.

“Sit. Down.”

I swallow and immediately sink back into my chair.

I don’t even know why I listen to him. Why he makes me want to listen.

Is it fear?

No.

It’s not seduction either because he seems pissed.

No … I think it’s … respect.

Just that admission alone makes me do a double take.

“That girl you were sitting next to. Lesley. You know her well?”

“She’s my best friend,” I say.

He bends over and places his hand on my desk, cornering me. “She saw us kiss. You went after her. What did you tell her?”

“I asked her if she could keep it quiet,” I say.

“What else?” he asks.

“Nothing …”

“There must be something else,” he snaps. “How do we know if we can trust her?”

“We can. She’d never betray my trust.”

“How do you know for sure?”

I frown from his attitude. “She’s my best friend. I don’t know about you, but to me, that means something.”

His lips twitch. “Don’t tell me what it means. I know damn well. I just want to make sure she’s not going to tell the whole world about us.”

“Why? Are you afraid someone could find out?”

“Of course, I am!” he yells. “It could ruin my career.”

“Obviously. That’s all that’s important.”

He sighs. “That’s not what I said. I just don’t want to risk it.” He cocks his head. “You should understand. This could ruin you too.”

I make a face. “I told you that you could trust her. You should trust me too.”

His lips part but then he slams them shut again, growling to himself. “Fuck. We should’ve locked that goddamn door when we could.”

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know she’d come and see you. She never used to be that interested in knowing her grades.”

“Grades? This was about grades? That’s why she saw us kissing?” He throws his hand in front of his eyes and slowly slides it down his face. “God-fucking-dammit.” He slams the table so hard it makes me jolt up in my seat.

“Jesus,” I shout.

“Fuck.” He turns away, his shoulders rising each time he takes a breath.

The tension in the room is killing me.

“You don’t have to be so mad.”

“Well, I am.” He turns to me again. “Look, I care a lot about my reputation.”

“I can see that,” I sneer. “Is that why you had sex with me? To boost your reputation?”

He puts his hand down right in front of me again. “You know damn well that you didn’t know I was your teacher, and I didn’t know you were my student. I would’ve never fucked you if I did.”

“Oh, really now? So you regret fucking me? Thanks for telling me.”

He sighs and growls again, turning around to collect his rage. “I don’t regret fucking you. And fucking you isn’t a fucking loss of my reputation. It’s the fact that people find out.”

“So you want to fuck me … only in secret,” I say.

“Didn’t we already establish that?” he asks, narrowing his eyes. “No, Hailey, I don’t regret anything. Except Lesley finding out about us. And that makes me very angry.”

“I can see …” I raise a brow and turn my head.

He takes another deep breath. “Okay … just … make sure she doesn’t talk. To anyone. About us.”

“She won’t,” I say.

“Just keep an eye on her,” he says, looking straight at me. “If this gets out …”

“It won’t.”

He closes his eyes, remaining quiet for a couple of seconds. “Okay, look. I think we need to quit.”