Bad Teacher(33)
Just that admission alone makes me do a double take.
“That girl you were sitting next to. Lesley. You know her well?”
“She’s my best friend,” I say.
He bends over and places his hand on my desk, cornering me. “She saw us kiss. You went after her. What did you tell her?”
“I asked her if she could keep it quiet,” I say.
“What else?” he asks.
“Nothing …”
“There must be something else,” he snaps. “How do we know if we can trust her?”
“We can. She’d never betray my trust.”
“How do you know for sure?”
I frown from his attitude. “She’s my best friend. I don’t know about you, but to me, that means something.”
His lips twitch. “Don’t tell me what it means. I know damn well. I just want to make sure she’s not going to tell the whole world about us.”
“Why? Are you afraid someone could find out?”
“Of course, I am!” he yells. “It could ruin my career.”
“Obviously. That’s all that’s important.”
He sighs. “That’s not what I said. I just don’t want to risk it.” He cocks his head. “You should understand. This could ruin you too.”
I make a face. “I told you that you could trust her. You should trust me too.”
His lips part but then he slams them shut again, growling to himself. “Fuck. We should’ve locked that goddamn door when we could.”
“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know she’d come and see you. She never used to be that interested in knowing her grades.”
“Grades? This was about grades? That’s why she saw us kissing?” He throws his hand in front of his eyes and slowly slides it down his face. “God-fucking-dammit.” He slams the table so hard it makes me jolt up in my seat.
“Jesus,” I shout.
“Fuck.” He turns away, his shoulders rising each time he takes a breath.
The tension in the room is killing me.
“You don’t have to be so mad.”
“Well, I am.” He turns to me again. “Look, I care a lot about my reputation.”
“I can see that,” I sneer. “Is that why you had sex with me? To boost your reputation?”
He puts his hand down right in front of me again. “You know damn well that you didn’t know I was your teacher, and I didn’t know you were my student. I would’ve never fucked you if I did.”
“Oh, really now? So you regret fucking me? Thanks for telling me.”
He sighs and growls again, turning around to collect his rage. “I don’t regret fucking you. And fucking you isn’t a fucking loss of my reputation. It’s the fact that people find out.”
“So you want to fuck me … only in secret,” I say.
“Didn’t we already establish that?” he asks, narrowing his eyes. “No, Hailey, I don’t regret anything. Except Lesley finding out about us. And that makes me very angry.”
“I can see …” I raise a brow and turn my head.
He takes another deep breath. “Okay … just … make sure she doesn’t talk. To anyone. About us.”
“She won’t,” I say.
“Just keep an eye on her,” he says, looking straight at me. “If this gets out …”
“It won’t.”
He closes his eyes, remaining quiet for a couple of seconds. “Okay, look. I think we need to quit.”
“Quit? What?” My jaw drops. “Why? Are you angry at me or something?”
“No, I’m not mad at you,” he says, balling his fist. “I’m angry with myself. For letting it get this far. For letting her see us.”
“I told you it won’t happen again.”
“You don’t know that. It could be someone else. Anyone. This whole thing could blow up,” he says.
“So you just wanna give up? Quit?”
“Yes.” He takes another sharp breath. “It was fun, Hailey. While it lasted.”
“Fun …” I repeat.
The way he puts it makes my stomach feel like someone’s grasping and constricting it.
“Yes. And I mean that in a good way.” He leans in and grabs a loose strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear. “I like you, Hailey. And I did enjoy it while it lasted.”
“While it lasted? I don’t like this.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but this is my call.”
“And I don’t have any say in it?” I say, making a face.
“Unfortunately not.”
“Fuck no,” I say.
“Please …” He rubs his eyes with his index finger and thumb. “Please, don’t make this any more difficult.”