Page 3 of Student Seduction
1
Emersyn
Iwas ten minutes late to my homeroom class. U.S. History and Government in room 219 the roster posted on the office door had informed me when I checked in. I didn’t look up before taking the only available seat in the front corner of the room.
I spotted my best friend Drew out of the corner of my eye and tried to give him a subtle smile. I was grateful we had at least one class together. His mom had likely already texted and told him what kind of morning I was having.
“Ms. Tyler, thank you so much for joining us,” the man in the tie at the front of the room called out. I wanted to crawl inside myself.
I was late on the first day and this guy had decided to make it An Issue. Great.
The carline at the junior high had been ridiculously long. With all the drama of mom slapping him, Ethan forgot the lunch I’d packed him. I didn’t have time to go home and I had no cash on me so I had to run inside, find Drew’s mom—who taught at the adjoined elementary school and was basically a saint—borrow five bucks then take it to the office to put in my little brother’s lunch account.
Judging from the tone of my teacher’s voice, this day was about to go from bad to worse.
I’d just sat my bag down when he spoke again. “Must be nice to be young, carefree, and so negligent with other people’s time.”
My head snapped up. I blinked in surprise, flames licking the back of neck as my eyebrows nearly hit my hairline. “Excuse me?”
Surely this complete stranger did not just say carefree to me like he had any idea what my life was like.
Hoping I misheard him, I looked directly into his handsome, familiar, albeit now-bearded, face.
No. This cannot be happening.
This had to be a nightmare. Like the recurring one I had about the time I almost drowned when I was eight.
Aiden stood there, in a tie of all things, glaring at me.
But I saw more than an uptight, yet freakishly handsome teacher.
I saw Aiden Singleton from my art history class at Southeastern this summer.
Convenient store Aiden, held me all night long Aiden, hockey jersey Aiden. Has-been-inside-my-body-taker-of-my-virginity Aiden.
Infinite giver of earth-shattering orgasms Aiden.
Aiden, who I ghosted after our unforgettable night together. For reasons he probably wouldn’t understand, which is fine since now is neither the time nor the place to explain.
But this man is not my Aiden. This Aiden is angry. At me. And he’s not done.
He crossed is muscular forearms across his broad chest. “It’s the first day of your senior year, Miss. Tyler. And you couldn’t be bothered to be on time like the rest of your classmates. My hope is that you do intend to fit school in somewhere between partying and Instagramming makeup tutorials.” A low snicker of laughter rolled across the room. “While your education is clearly not a priority for you, in the future, it’d be good if you were punctual, at least for my class. Do you think you can manage that, or is it too much for you?”
He placed the class syllabus and a blue index card containing my locker information and schedule on my desk. I stared at both without moving for a solid minute before looking up. I know because I counted to ten six times trying to calm myself.
My teeth clamped together and my hands shook as I held my schedule card. I didn’t get my mother’s red hair, but I had a touch of her temper. And this man had ignited it.
He was pissed, and maybe I deserved it. But we both knew it wasn’t because I was late to class.
When I glanced up, Drew made panicked eye contact from across the room and shook his head.
But it was too late.
I glared into the brightest, clearest, crystal blue eyes I’d ever seen. A sandy brown stubbled beard shaded his squared jaw. He was painfully good-looking, making it almost impossible to stare directly at him. Almost.
“I don’t know, Mr…” I made a big show of looking over to where his named was scrawled on the dry erase board at the front of the room. As if I didn’t already know it. “…Singleton.” I cocked my head and stood to gather my things. “I mean, yeah, I’m late. But I’m here now. Do you think you can manage not to be a presumptuous ass, or is that too much for you?”
He took a step back and sputtered out what might have been my name. I couldn’t hear over the ringing in my ears.
