Bad Teacher

She gives me a look but then doesn’t say another word.

“Hey, I’m soaked too,” I say.

“You jumped in on your own,” she says.

“To save you.”

“I don’t need saving,” she hisses. “I can save myself.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re such a capable young woman.”

“Are you making fun of me?” She stops and looks me directly in the eye.

“No,” I say, holding up my hands.

“Yes, you were …” She narrows her eyes. “You think it’s funny that she dragged me into the water. That I’m not good with dogs.”

“I think you’re great with dogs. You just don’t know it yet.”

She looks up at me with curious eyes. Mad … but curious.

“Great with dogs? Yeah, right.”

“Yeah … She loves you. Look.” I point at Pepper who keeps looking up at Lesley with a smiling face and a tongue hanging out. The sight makes Lesley’s face relax, and for a second, there’s a brief smile.

“You’ll get the hang of it. You’ll see. Before you know it, you and Pepper will be making the perfect dog toy and creating the perfect marketing plan.”

“We’ll see. Right now, anyway, we’re soaked. We need to change clothes before we go back to work.”

“I’m fine. It’ll dry.”

“No …” She places a flat hand on my chest. “You are not going to work looking like this.”

I frown, cocking my head. “I’m not going back home. That’ll take way too long, and I’ve got other things to do today.”

“My place is right around the corner. You can change there.”

Whoa. She wants to take me to her home? That’s quick.

“Into what? I don’t have any spare clothes on me.”

“I do,” she says, grasping the leash from my hand and walking away. “C’mon.”

Confused, I follow her across the street and around the corner into an apartment building. We walk up three flights of stairs while I hold Pepper close to my body, so she doesn’t have to jump up the stairs with that wiener body of hers.

When we finally get to her apartment, Lesley shakes off the excess water, pulls a key out of her pocket and uses it to open the door. The room in front of me is small but cozy and filled with colorful furniture and miniature coffee cups and coffee figurines, which make me snicker. Guess I’m not the only one with a weird collection habit.

The walls are chipped, but nothing major. It looks just like I would imagine a starter apartment to look like. “Please don’t look at the mess. I didn’t have any time to clean up,” she says.

“I won’t,” I say, shutting my eyes and shaking my head, which makes her laugh.

“You don’t have to close your eyes,” she says. “But just ignore it, okay?”

“I’m much more interested in your coffee collection,” I say, pointing at the little porcelain man on the table holding a cup of coffee.

“Oh, that? Yeah … I just love coffee,” she says with a flush on her face, and she immediately picks up some of the figures and stuffs them in a cabinet like she’s trying to hide them.

“I like them,” I say. “They look cute.”

She smiles. “Thanks.”

It’s not just a regular smile.

It’s a thankful smile. A smile a girl only gives to those who make her happy.

It’s one that hits me hard. One that can take my breath away.

And it’s at this moment that I realize this girl is really going to mean trouble.

* * *

Lesley

I stare at him for a moment, taken aback by his easy acceptance of my weird collection. I mean, normally I tuck it all away before anyone visits because I don’t wanna be laughed at, and I know this is weird. I mean, c’mon, who has like twenty coffee figurines in their home? Me, that’s who. I just like cute shit. Plus, I’m a sucker for coffee. So basically, I just started collecting them after I found one of those cute figurines on vacation. It’s sort of my thing.

I just don’t like people’s reaction to them. Except his. That’s why I’m so flabbergasted. He just accepted it like it was no big deal. Him, out of all people.

I never expected him to be this understanding. I pegged him for a complete and utter ass, but maybe I’m wrong. Maybe there is more underneath the slick, sexy surface.

“Uh …” he mutters.

I clear my throat because, fuck, that got awkward fast. “The shower’s over there.” I point at my bathroom. “In case you wanna take a shower. Or something.” Oh god, why did I have to make it sound so pervy?

“I’m fine,” he says. “I just wanna get dry and get back to work.”

Damn.

For a moment there, I’m actually disappointed. Now I won’t get to see his sexy abs and imagine running my fingers all over them. I wonder what he looks like.

Seriously, Lesley? Stooping so low for some action?