Chasing Miss Conner •NEW VERSION•

XXII

Twenty Two

"Shay."

I woke to Miss Conner perched above me, resting on her elbow. Her hair was mussed, her face slightly blotchy from sleep. Her eyes shone down at me.

"Good morning, mia bella."

Feeling bashful and slightly self-conscious, I ran a hand through my hair and brushed the sleep from my eyes. My phone said 7:30am, meaning we'd spent the whole night together.

A stupid-happy grin filled my face. "Hi."

She leaned in, but I pushed my fingers against her lips. "Wait, I have morning breath." She rolled her eyes and laughed as I got up off the couch and stretched. My face burned as I graced her with a side-boob shot, forgetting that I'd taken off my bra before we'd settled down to watch the movie. The little crop-top I wore left little to the imagination.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

She grinned and winked. "Oh don't mind me."

I laughed, standing up and making my way to the bathroom.

I finished up my business and found her in the living room, shrugging on a pair of sweatpants, gracing me with a delicious view of her toned ass for a split second. Her white tank top rode up a bit as she ran her hands through her long hair, exposing a strip of tan skin.

She turned and caught me staring, stretching her mouth into a grin as she sauntered over. "See something you like?"

My face bloomed scarlet and I blurted out the first thing I could think of. "Everything." My eyes widened and we stared at each other for a full few minutes before bursting into laughter.

"Don't we have to be at the school in like 20 minutes?" I said, distracting myself with checking my phone. I had a couple messages from my mom, saying she had a huge 24 hour surgery and wouldn't be home at all today. Which was a relief because having to explain to your mom why your English teacher was sleeping on the couch with you isn't exactly ideal.

Juliette's brow knit together as she sucked her lip in and out of her mouth in thought. "Probably," she agreed, but then her face took on a devious smirk. "But I think we could both use a little bit of a break. Do some shopping, maybe go to lunch."

My eyes widened. "Wait what?"

She laughed and spun me towards the stairs. "Go get dressed." I yelped as she smacked my butt, sending a retaliatory glare over my shoulder as I went.

I hurried up the stairs, frantically wondering what I was gonna wear. The weather outside told me that it was actually going to be a semi-nice day, so I finally settled on my American Eagle skinny jeans, and a soft cream sweater, finished off with a loosely wrapped black scarf. I quickly braided my hair into twin braids, letting them fall down my back. I was stuffing my feet into my calf-high combats when I looked up, seeing her out of the corner of my eye.

She leaned against my doorframe, her gaze curious. She'd gathered her hair back into a loose pony, with a few golden curls falling over her face. My eyes traveled over her form, taking in the the clothes she still wore. "Oh shit." I laughed. "We should probably take you back to your place so you can get dressed huh? We can grab your car later."

Her head tipped cutely to the side as she smiled sheepishly. "That would be nice."

"Let me just get some lotion onto my face and then we can head out."

She nodded. "Take your time, I'm not going anywhere."

I rubbed the lotion into my dry face as I bustled about, making sure my room was neat. After I was finished, I draped my favorite coat over my arm and turned towards Juliette. My breath caught at the intensity in her slate blue eyes. Slowly, I set my coat back down on the bed and walked over to her. Her eyes laughed at me, but she sobered up when I tentatively placed my hands on her waist and pulled her to me. Her fingertips dug into my shoulders, and then her arms wound around my neck, securing us together. I leaned my forehead against hers, allowing our noses to brush against each other.