Page 8 of Avoiding Temptation
With a smile spreadingacross my lips, I close down my email app and silence my phone. This has already gone too far. The moment I didn’t move when I knew he was checking out my cleavage was a step over the line, but this? This is way beyond the kind of rule breaking and excitement I was looking for.
Chapter Four
I’ve never beenthis nervous to start a class, but when my Thursday night students begin entering the room, my whole body is vibrating with anxiety.
I knew I shouldn’t have replied to his inappropriate email last week, but I couldn’t help myself. He’s just too tempting with the bad boy geek look he’s got going on. It calls to the wild side this boring English teacher has kept hidden for most of her life.
I expect him to be late just to push my buttons again, but it seems he took his warning from Eddie seriously, because he’s the fourth student to enter.
I follow his movements as he walks towards his normal desk and pulls out his folder, pad of paper and pens. Then he just sits and waits as everyone else gets themselves ready. At no point does he look up, and it annoys the shit out of me that I’ve been so worried about seeing him all day, and he’s totally indifferent.
My nerves give way to shame and embarrassment as I think about how easily I played his game, because clearly that was all this was to him.
I welcome the class and set them up on the first activity, which is to be done in pairs.
Sitting down behind my desk, I watch as they all move closer to their allocated partner and begin their discussions, but before long my eyes find their way back to him and the woman he’s working with.
The second I look up, I meet his blue eyes. My breath catches as a smirk spreads across his face before he turns his attention back to her.
Tingles erupt and my thighs clench. It’s not the reaction to a student I should be having, but my body doesn’t seem to care as I fight to drag my eyes away from where he’s leaning into his partner and absorbing every word she’s saying.
The next thirty minutes of my life are possibly some of the most frustrating I’ve ever experienced. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop myself from glancing up at them, and every time I do, I regret it. It’s like he knows and intentionally does something to wind me up.
His partner is young, and even I can admit how pretty she is. He makes sure that both she and I know it. He runs the back of his knuckles up her arm, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear when they’re both looking down and studying the text I’ve given them. He laughs animatedly in a way I’m sure isn’t all that natural when she says something. And although I’m pretty convinced he’s acting for my benefit, it hits the exact spot he was intending.
It’s infuriating.He’sinfuriating.
Once they all return to their own seats, Joe goes back to ignoring me. It’s much easier to deal with, but the nagging need to make him look up at me gets more and more impossible to ignore.
There’s only ten minutes left of the lesson, and I’m walking around, collecting what everyone’s been doing so I can mark it, when the sound of a pencil dropping on the floor in front of me catches my attention. I step towards it, my need to have everything just so too much to ignore, and just as I’m about to bend, someone shifts behind me. It’s only then that I realise this is a game, and I have a millisecond to decide if I’m going to play on the wild side.
Moving here was all about pushing boundaries.
In a moment of madness, I bend over and pick up the pencil. Excitement fills my veins, knowing that I shouldn’t be joining in with his games, but I can’t help myself. My stomach clenches at the thought of someone watching me openly flirt, but the risk isn’t enough to stop me.
I slowly turn and place the pencil back onto his desk, lining it up perfectly alongside his paper. Risking a look at his face, my breath catches when I find his dark eyes and his teeth digging into his bottom lip.
Every muscle in my body freezes as his eyes drop from mine in favour of taking a leisurely stroll around my body. I’m dressed differently this week, seeing as I haven’t been able to get to the laundrette yet, so my old trusty twinset and a-line skirt have sadly made a reappearance.
Desire still fills his eyes, but when he opens his mouth, something else entirely comes out. “Mr. Boring rubbing off on you, teach? Didn’t have you down as a cardigan and pearl necklace type.”
My shoulders stiffen at the reference to my old life, although I’m equally as glad I’ve managed to pull off my new persona as I am frustrated that he’s noticed the change.
“Don’t always judge a book by its cover, Mr. Kingsman.”
“I’m beginning to learn that, Miss Smith.”
When I eventually pull my eyes from his and glance to the clock on the wall, I notice that we’re about to run over.
“Right, well. Looks like we’re done for the day. I’ll have all these marked for you for next week. Any questions about this week’s assignment, feel free to reach out. I’m here to help in any way I can.” There’s a scoff from behind me, and my cheeks flame.
The sound of people packing up fills my ears, and I take my time in cleaning off the whiteboard I’d scribbled all over during the lesson and restacking some of the text books on the shelves beneath that were a little untidy.
A few ‘thank yous’ and ‘see you next weeks’ ring out, and I acknowledge each one with a hesitant glance towards the student.
I don’t turn back around until I’m confident everyone has gone, and even then it’s only to grab my bag so I can get away from here and all the thoughts he conjures up in my head.
“Shit. Fuck.” My hand comes up to cover my racing heart when I find him still sitting at his desk with his feet once again on the fucking top and his chair rocking back. A surefire way to piss off any teacher.
