Miss. Parsons is a fresh-out-of-college high school English Literature teacher who has a passion for love, Shakespeare and apparently, hunky southern cowboys. She pays close attention to detail, including the flirty smiles exchanged by students and...
I tugged the sleeves of my fuzzy pale pink sweater, pulling them to cover my knuckles, my leg slapped against the seat cushion as my foot uncontrollably tapped against the tiled flooring. It was the first day of school since break and I was awaiting the arrival of Mabel, my heart nearly lunged out of my throat as the bell rung to indicate the next period. Students flooded through the door, none of them anxious, I smiled as a few of them greeted me. Mable never walked through the door.
"Is Mabel here today?" I questioned, casually as I looked down at my attendance sheet.
"She is." A voice piped up and I raised an eyebrow in confusion, just then my phone began to ring.
"Hi, this is Miss. Parsons speaking," I picked up, something all teachers were expected to answer the phone with.
"Hi, Miss. Parsons, this is Mr. Valley, from guidance, I'm here with one of your students who is requesting to be removed from your class." It was as if my heart was on fire because in that moment it stopped, dropped and rolled.
"Oh, and who is that?" I asked, knowing the answer.
"Mabel McGuire." I made eye contact with Colton, who looked disheveled, I cocked an eyebrow at him but he shook his head. "She's telling me that she doesn't feel comfortable in your class anymore for personal reasons she doesn't wish to disclose. I've spoke to her guardian and he is in full agreement." If it were possible I would have puked my heart right onto the table right then and there.
"Oh," my hands began shaking beyond my control. "Well, I suppose if it's in her best interest." My voice was a whisper, in order to control my emotions.
"Thank you, Miss. Parsons, have a nice day."
"I'll try."
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That night I laid in my bed, my thumb hovering above Dustin's call button. I shut my eyes and in that moment Specks had jumped onto the bed, it shaking beneath his weight causing my thumb to jerk forward.
"Specks!" I reprimanded, his ears shot down and he laid his head across my stomach in an act of truce.
"Hello?" His voice was like music to my ears. I inhaled sharply placing the phone to my ear. "Hello? Who is this?" He deleted my number.
My pulse pounded into my ears, "Hi." My voice was unrecognizable as it was barely a squeak.
"Who is this?" He asked again the confusion in his voice was evident.
"Me." I replied, my voice a bit more steady.
There was a long pause from his end of the line, "oh." He didn't hang up and neither did I, we sat listening to each other's breathes for a moment.
"Can we talk." My voice cracked and I felt the familiar hotness of tears begin to form at the back of my eyes.
"Of course we can, Rae." My heart beat suddenly slowed, feeling relieved.
"Can you come over?"
"I'm in the truck already, I'll be there soon."
After hanging up I wrung my hands through Specks fur, he reveled in it, I was nervous though. "You're so lucky, Specks." He lifted his neck giving me better access to his sweet spot. "You don't have to deal with any stupid human drama." He pleasurably growled in response to my scratching. In order to keep my hands from shaking I kept them buried in his long hair, after what seemed like the shortest ten minutes of my life, there was a knock at the door. I moved as slowly as I possibly could,y loyal companion rubbing against the side of my leg, it was then I realized I was clad only in a short robe, I tugged it tighter to my body, though, that only accentuated my figure. Tugging open the door I was met with a man I had never seen before, his hair was longer than he had ever allowed it to be before and his face was clean shaven, revealing a cleft chin, he resembled a blonder Clark Kent.
"Hi." My breath was sucked back into my throat as I spoke and the slightest hint of a smile showed on his face as he shoved his hands deeply into his jean pockets, I suddenly felt smaller than, ever. "You shaved." I noted moving to the side to allow him access into my apartment.
He took a cautious step forward and let out a short, low laugh that filled my entire body with warmth, "yeah, you like it?" He yanked his left hand from his pocket and ran it along his chin and neck, unfamiliar with his new look. His eyes lifted and there was a glint of care, as if my answer mattered.
"No." I smiled at him and we laughed nervously. He looked handsome as ever, but he wasn't comfortable.
"Yeah, me neither." He told me, we walked over to the couch and sat farther apart than we ever had before.
"I'm glad you came over." I piped up, sitting cross-legged with my hands tucked between my thighs; leaning into the arm of the loveseat.
"Well, suppose there's some things that need to be said." My vision became blurry and I reminded myself to blink.
"I'm so sorry Dustin, I never intended for any of this to happen." I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes, if I could barely compose myself in looking at my floral accent rug, no way I'd be able to look at him.
"I know, you were just being a bit careless." He said, I could feel his gaze on me but decided to shut my eyes tight, a traitor tear running along the contours of my face.
"I know." The tears were silently falling now.
"And you got some people hurt."
"I'm sorry."
"But it's not your fault." His hand gripped onto my shoulder and my heart fluttered, wanting his hands to touch more that just my shoulder. "Yes you were being careless but you were only having fun. You paired them together, but the rest was up to them." He continued, his voice soft. My head whipped over to him, his one blue eye as striking as ever while his brown one still managed to dazzle me more and more. Dark freckles spotted his cheeks that were typically covered in a coat of hair.
"Dustin." My voice was bretahy, almost seductive.
"And Mabel's gonna need some time, that's why I allowed her to switch classes, but she'll come around." His smile sent a shock through my body at I replied my throwing my body on top of his, his hands roaming my back, caressing my hair to the side and planting butterfly kisses there. He had summed up all of my apologizing by himself.
I pulled back and slapped his shoulder, earning me a look in which Dustin scrunched his eyebrows together. "That's for making me miss you, asshole." Before he could conjure a response I smashed my lips hard against his, an unspoken promise to never place them against anyone else's.
"Why don't you show me how much you missed me, girly." Pulling back I looked at his dancing eyebrows and he lifted me up, my legs wrapping around him on command to his words as he all but ran to the bedroom.
