The Hard Crush 1 (Feelings For You)

TWENTY-FOUR

His breath caught at the sight of her. He hadn't realized how much he needed her until then. He wanted her, but he couldn't have her. She was so close but yet so far away. Tristian would never forgive him if he knew the thoughts that were going through his head.

What was it with this new girl? He knew nothing about her so why was she everywhere in his head. They'd only met a week ago and she'd suddenly turned his whole world upside down.

"Miss West, so nice of you to finally join us," Miss Dalton welcomed Winifred. She had this special friendly smile she often gave new students plastered on her face.

"I'm so sorry, I lost track of time," Winifred blurted out.

"Of course," Miss Dalton nodded, less impressed. "Quite an excuse you've got there. Fix yourself somewhere."

Winifred scanned the room and then her soft eyes met Jerry's. The way she stared at him made warmth bubble up in his chest and he didn't know why. Miss Dalton and the rest of his classmates seemed miles away. Jerry looked away, suddenly aware of the half smile she was now giving him. She carefully made her way to the back seat but her eyes stayed on him. He could see her out of the corner of his eyes as he subconsciously flipped through the pages of his textbook. Jerry didn't know how he was going to concentrate on the English lesson when her smell was practically surrounding the entire classroom.

Tristian and Ashley finally walked in and Miss Dalton sighed in frustration.

"Miss Martin," Miss Dalton said, leaning on her desk with her hands crossed over her chest. "Did you get to use the bathroom?"

"I did," Ashley nodded.

Miss Dalton glanced at Tristian. "Did you get assistance from Mr. Gutierrez?"

Some students snorted and Ashley blushed.

"Not exactly," Tristian answered with a light smirk. "I just happened to bump into her in the hallway."

"And what's your own excuse for late coming?" Miss Dalton asked him.

"Honestly, I don't even have any excuse right now, Miss D," Tristian replied, shrugging casually. "Well, not with you looking gorgeous as always," he added with a wink.

The whole class erupted into fits of laughter and it was their teacher's turn to blush.

"Go ahead and get seated," she told both of them.

Tristian hurried to sit behind with Winifred while Ashley returned to the seat beside Jerry with a scowl on her face.

"Smile often," Jerry told her. "It brings colors to your face and that's what you need to attract boys. Especially Tristian."

She scowled harder and chose to ignore him.

"Oh, and Tristian?" Miss Dalton called, using his first name. "I think you should know that my boyfriend won't be so pleased knowing that a teenager is attempting to flirt with me."

"Well, I think you should call him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind learning a thing or two from me," Tristian said with a small chuckle.

While some students laughed about this, Jerry just shook his head at his friend's absurdity.

"And I hope you wouldn't mind learning a thing or two from him about punctuality." Miss Dalton sounded offended. "Which brings me to the conclusion of this conversation. I will not condone any more late comings to my class. I expect everyone to be here before I walk through that door. Anyone who doesn't abide by this rule will face the penalty. Whoever shows up when I'm already here should be prepared for a five point deduction from their grade."