Page 135 of Teacher's Pet

There it is.

That subtle jab. His way of testing me. Prodding at Noah’s absence, waiting to see how I react.

I give him a slow, syrupy smile.

And when I speak, my voice is pure venom.

“Absolutely.”

His grin twitches, just slightly.

“It’s actually good I caught you,” he says, placing his hands on my desk like he owns my time. “There was something I wanted to talk to you about-”

"Sit your asses down."

The voice booms through the classroom.

And my heart stops.

Every muscle in my body locks as the room falls silent.

Every single face turns toward the front.

My breath hitches.

My chest tightens.

Because standing there is the last person anyone expected to see.

Noah fucking Ackerman.

The man standing before me is a ghost of the professor I knew two months ago.

His hair, slightly longer, curls more prominent than before, unruly in a way that makes my fingers ache to tangle through them.

God, I miss running my hands through those locks.

The scruff on his jaw is new, his stubble forming the shadow of a beard—something he never let grow in before. The dark circles beneath his eyes are deep, carved into his skin like battle scars. His knuckles, bruised and beaten, tell a story I’m not sure I want to know.

He looks like a man who’s been through hell.

And yet, his gaze is locked only on me.

I can’t breathe.

Walker shifts beside me, ever the opportunist.

“Mr. Zimmerman-” Walker starts, his voice edged with amusement.

"I said sit the fuck down."

The command cuts through the room like a blade, sharp, brutal.

Noah’s voice is deeper, rougher than I remember.

"In the back."

Walker blinks, momentarily stunned.

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