Hot For Teacher (22 page)

When I arrived, Emma was in the classroom with Connor.

Alone.

              They were both at his desk, Emma standing and Connor sitting in his chair working his jaw and twisting a pen in his hand. He was obviously unhappy. They both looked at me as I walked in and closed the door.

“Hi, Vida.
”
Emma smirked. “I guess I should go and leave the two of you alone.”

“Emma, there will be none of that nonsense in my classroom. Please leave now,
”
Connor ordered in a low voice, standing up.

              “Watch how you talk to me, Mr. Tomlinson. I’ve seen the two of you together. I get it. We all want to get those good grades to get into the best colleges. I surely don’t want Vida to lose her dreams by having to stay here and continue to watch her dad whore around. Right, Vida?”

I slapped her hard across the face, snapping her head to the side with my hand.

              “You fucking bitch!
”
she screamed, holding her cheek. “You’re all going down! I won’t stop until I’ve ruined your lives!
”
She pushed past me and scrambled out of the classroom, still holding her face.

              Connor dropped back in his chair, his head in his hands. I stood where I was, trembling. What had I done?

He lifted his head, his blue eyes icy, all tenderness gone. “I need this job …”

“Connor, I’m sorry…”

“I was going to handle it
…
all of it. I was going to handle it, Vida. Nothing was going to jeopardize my career or your dreams. I don’t blame you. Actually, I’m damn proud that you did that.
”
He sucked in a breath. “But it has changed things …”

              I timidly reached for him, knowing the door isn’t locked. If we got caught, it would ruin us both. But as he gathered me in his lap and buried his head in my chest, I lost my thoughts.

"It's over again for us, isn't it? I'm losing you again,
”
I cried.

"No," he murmured, lifting his head and angling it back to look in my eyes. "For now we have to stay away from each other until you graduate. Things will start to get tricky after today."

"This is all my fault. Seven long months without you, I can’t—“

“Shh, we'll stay away from each other at school,
”
he smoothed my hair away from my face, “but I'll find a way see you after school."

My despair lifted as I kissed him deeply. He slowly pulled away, grabbing his phone off the desk and checking the time. "V, I'll have to see you later. We’re running out of time."

I stood. "See you later.
”
I blew him a kiss before walking out the door. I spotted the principal walking towards me, and he nodded as he passed. I turned my head to watch as he stopped at Connor’s door and walked inside.

I started to shiver with fear and panic.

              “Hey, I knew I’d find you here,
”
Amber said as she came around to stand in front of me. “Are you okay?
”
She frowned.

I closed my eyes and shook my head no.

‘What happened?
”

I wish I could tell you.

“Nothing, it’s fine. Let’s get to class, we’re late.
”
I pulled her hand, walking away from Connor’s door.

Please be okay…

              The day was long and dragging. All I wanted was to see Connor again. As we finally walked into Connor’s class, we were welcomed with the words FIELD TRIP across the board.

              Connor stood at the podium with his messenger bag across his body. He ignored us as Amber and I took our seat, but smiled at the other students as they arrived to class.

              Emma was the last to walk through the door. She headed straight to our desk. “Have you tried out your new ID yet?
”
she whispered to Amber.

Amber glanced at me before answering. “I did. I got beer at the fair.”

              “Nice.
”
Emma grinned and looked at me. “Do you want to buy one?
”
I blinked and narrowed my eyes. “Well, I take that as a no.”

“Emma, please go to your desk. I have an announcement to make,
”
Connor ordered.

She rolled her eyes. “Talk to you guys later.
”
She walked back to her seat.

              Connor turned to the board and wrote down the address of the art gallery. “Write down the address. I’ll see you all there.”

***

As we entered the massive art gallery, Connor turned around and walked backward as he addressed us.
              "I want you guys to experience art at its finest. Fall in love and appreciate every piece.
”
Connor looked to each student, holding my gaze for a beat longer than the others. "Before the end of the semester, I hope to teach each one of you to enjoy the simple things of life. Now go explore, and come back to me with any questions."

We scattered and I made it a point to walk the opposite way of Connor. Amber walked toward the sculpted arts and I sauntered toward the painting section.

As I stood studying a painting, Emma walked up to me. "You're a bitch," she hissed. "Don't think for a second I’ve forgotten what you did to me. But lucky you, Mr. Tomlinson is sprung on your vagina."

I glared at her. “You're just like your mom," I deadpanned before walking to the next painting.

She followed. "If I can't get you directly, I’ll hurt you through Mr. Tomlinson.”

I turned to face her, my blood boiling. "I can slap you again right now. Is that what you want?" I retorted. "Look, go live your life, be happy. Don't live a miserable life like your mom."

She took a step back, looking as if I'd just slapped her. "We were happy until your dad came into my mom's life, into
our
lives. I will always hate you all for what he put my mom through." And with that, she turned and walked away.

Connor walked over to me. "You should go home," he whispered. "I'll go over around five." He walked to the other side of the room.

I walked toward the next room, my mind a mess as I looked for Amber. I found her sitting with Tanner, a boy with long brown hair and skater clothes. He was flirting with her and I watched as she shoved him playfully.

“Hey, I don't feel too good. Can we go home?" I asked as I reach them.

She looked guilty, as if I’d caught her doing something bad. She blinked. "Yeah, sure. Did Mr. Tomlinson say it was okay?"

I nodded.

Disappointment crossed Tanner's face as she stood. “I’ll see you later.
”
She smiled.

We left the museum and headed home.

              I got home and changed into sleeping shorts and a tank top. I looked around the kitchen and living room to see if anything needed to be put away before Connor arrived.

Food.

Shit.

What would Connor eat? I lived on sandwiches and fast food when Dad was away. I opened the fridge, shocked to find a fully stocked fridge.

Thank you, Dad.

Connor might want a nice dinner. I slapped my forehead with my hand. I had ten minutes to learn how to cook.

I opened the drawer to find my mom's keepsake box that contained all her famous recipes and tenderly ran my fingers over the top. Her dream was always to teach me how to cook so we could spend dinner time cooking together. I kissed the tip of my fingers and then tapped the top of the box before lifting the lid. I shuffled through the note cards, trying to find the easiest one. I decided on baked chicken and picked up the note card to read closely.

Easy enough.

I opened the fridge again and pulled outthe wrapped plate of chicken. I set it on the counter and proceeded to open the drawers for spices, when I spotted a white Lexus pulling into the driveway. I turned slowly, waiting fo
r 
the driver to get out of the car. Connor stepped out and I blew out a breath as I watched him walk to the door. He let himself in.

"V?"

"I'm here in the kitchen."

He walked in and looked at me. "Hi."

He took my breath away. "Hi."

He glanced over my shoulder. "Cooking?"

"I'm going to try.
”

"I can help. I'm a pretty decent cook."

"Your mom teach you?"

“Yes, and then I took over. She doesn't have to cook anymore ..." Connor suddenly stopped talking, swallowing as if he’d said too much. He had secrets and that was okay. When the time was right, he’d share them all with me.

I hoped.

Connor rolled up his green and blue plaid dress shirt and took off his dark blue tie, hanging it over a chair. "Let me work my magic. You sit and watch me." He lifted me up and set me down on the counter far away from the chicken.

I smiled
. 
"My dad doesn't allow me to be on the counter. He’s kind of a neat freak."              

Connor smirked. "Oh, really. Should I punish you after I'm done cooking?"

"Hey, you put me here." I laughed. "Come here before you get dirty. I want a kiss."

"You're on time out until it's time for me to deliver your punishment."

I watched as he pulled out seasoning from the cabinets, then opened the fridge and pulled out bell peppers. ”What if I don't want to wait?
”

He set the bell peppers on the counter and opened up the chicken. "Be a good girl and wait, my love."

I stopped protesting, watching every sexy bend, stretch and flex as he cooked.
When he was done, he grabbed my face and captured my lips with sweet, gingerly kisses.
So worth the wait.
I moaned softly and scooted to the edge, wrapping my legs around him and crossing my ankles.

He pulled away gently and lifted me up, holding my butt as he carried me to the couch. "I used the recipe on the counter," he told me as he set me down. "It sounded good when I read it."

"My mom would be so proud of you,
”
I said, hanging on to his neck.

"And kill me afterwards for hanging out with her underage daughter,
”
he teased.

"Yep."

He laughed, then looked up to the ceiling. "I promise to be on my best behavior."

"She would've fallen in love with you."

Connor caressed my cheek with the pad of his thumb and pulled me to him. He leaned back and I fell on top of him. "I want to hold you until dinner is ready."

I hope dinner is never ready
, I thought as I buried myself in his chest.