The Distraction Trilogy: Distraction Part 28

When I feel his eyes on me I nod, my heart beating faster. I wonder what he wants to say. My mind is conflicted. Part of me hopes he wants whatever we did to continue and the other part of me knows that he's just making sure I haven't said anything.

I bet he's scared, wondering when he'll be pulled out of cla.s.s and barred from teaching.

I bet he doesn't think I'm worth the ha.s.sle. I wouldn't blame him. I'm a stupid eighteen year old girl with zero knowledge of the world. Why the h.e.l.l would he want to continue anything with me?

"You look really pale," Hayley says, placing the back of her hand against my forehead. "You don't have a temperature."

"I'm fine, Geek." Slapping her hand away, I return to my work, wondering whether or not I should let myself fail so I get lunchtimes with Isaac again.

It seems a bit extreme, but I can't say that I won't give it deep consideration.

"I'm not feeling the love, b.i.t.c.h."

"Good," I retort, shoving her with my elbow. "Because I'm not giving you any."

"Girls," Isaac snaps, levelling us both with a stare that makes us instantly bow our heads over our work and giggle silently.

When the bell rings I tell Hayley that I need to talk to Mr Price about Judith and I'll catch her up, or see her over the weekend. As usual she believes me and leaves to walk with Wesley.

The second the cla.s.sroom empties, Isaac turns to me, his eyes sparkling with a hidden emotion I can't decipher. It looks almost feral, yet is masked by unease and concern.

He double checks the room and the hall before motioning for me to take a seat at the front. I pull myself up on Shannon's desk, a secret 'f.u.c.k you' to her that she'll never know about.

"So," he starts and clears his throat. He sits on his desk so his eyes are level with mine and chews on the inside of his cheek. I do the same. This is actually kind of awkward. "Are you feeling okay?"

I nod.

"No, umm... Is there anything you want to talk about?"

Can we do it again? "No, I'm fine."

His fingers tap against the underside of the desk after curling around the edge. "Well good then. So, I guess we're okay?"

My lips twitch. "I guess we are. Is there anything you wanted to talk about?"

He shakes his head, his eyes now on my lips. "Nope. As long as you're okay, then I am too. I was just worried about how you felt about what happened."

I have no words to express how I felt. "We f.u.c.ked. We had a great night." I say quietly, ignoring how his pupils dilate and his eyes darken. "It was amazing, but... I get the situation, Isaac. It was stupid and there's too much at stake for it to ever happen again."

"Exactly," he agrees and scratches at his neck. "Okay, well I guess you can go."

He slides off the desk and holds out his hand. I accept his a.s.sistance, even though it's not necessary, and instantly regret that decision. My hand remains in his for far longer than it should and the urge to kiss him and wrap myself around him is unbearable.

"You should go," he says, his heated eyes on mine.

"I'm going." My legs don't move as we stare at each other. I can't pull myself away, no matter how hard I try.

"Are you going to my mum's?"

"I was planning to."

He looks out through the window. "Can I give you a lift?"

My mind goes back to the way he carried me from the bedroom to the bathroom and my thighs automatically press together again. "Is that allowed?"

"I don't see why not." He shrugs and looks towards the door. "Can you wait while I pack up?"

"Is there anything I can help you with?" He finally lets go of my hand. I flex my fingers and wait while he moves around his desk.

"No, I've got it." He stuffs books from his drawer into his bag.

"Are you sure? You're not very organised for a teacher, are you?"

Blinking, he looks at me, torn between amus.e.m.e.nt and annoyance. "And for a teenager, you're far too tidy."

"We should swap places."

"I've got it," he tells me, still stuffing books into his bag. "You can rearrange it when we're at my parents'. Deal?"

"Don't you have more? You have like three hundred students in different years, right?"

He stands to his full height and rests the strap of the heavy bag on one shoulder. "Did you not see the boxes under my bed?"

I shake my head. "There was no way I was venturing under there after what I discovered in your living room." He opens his mouth to defend himself, but I cut him off. "There were breeds of germs and insects unknown to science. It was messed up."

"It wasn't that bad."

I love how adorably petulant he sounds. "The mould was moulding."

"So you say."

"You're lucky I was there." My voice is low as we step into the hall. "My dad is doing an inspection next week. If he'd seen it like that, he would have been keeping his deposit."

"Well in that case you might need to come around again." He winks and then blanches. "I'm sorry... I didn't... I just meant because you did such a good job and I'm a bit of a..."

"Slob." I finish for him, grinning cheekily.

"I work."

"I work and I go to college. You should see my bedroom." Now it's my turn to blanch.

This is so awkward.

"We can be friends," he says, the second we step outside. "It doesn't mean we can suddenly start going for coffee together or watching movies and having pillow fights, but I enjoy your company. I don't want to lose the ease we have together because of what happened. My mother loves you, maybe more than she does me."

My heart just got very warm. "I doubt that, but thank you. I'd like to be friends."

"Good." He presses the b.u.t.ton on his keys and his car beeps in the almost empty carpark.

I climb in the back, worried somebody will see and a.s.sume the worst. It's ridiculous because he's driven me home quite a few times and I've been in Mr Price's car with and without Judith. I think now that something has happened between me and Isaac, the paranoia is going to come down on us hard.

Before it was innocent, so we never worried, but now it's not and I'm petrified somebody will see straight through us.

I am putting way too much thought into this.

"You're quiet," Isaac says and the image of his naked body attacks my brain in the best way.

"Sorry, I was day dreaming."

He looks at me in the rear-view mirror. "Anything good?"

My eyes widen and my mouth falls open before snapping shut. "Nope."

"Do you feel uncomfortable?" He asks, catching my eyes again in the mirror.

I shake my head and unbuckle my belt. When we stop at a traffic light, I quickly climb into the pa.s.senger seat. "Nope. It's just a bit weird."

"Yeah." He lets out a breath. "It'll get less weird."

"You've had practise?"

"Not with students, that's for sure."

"I may be your student, but I'm not a child. I'm two years over legal age and I'm not technically in school."

His sigh is long. "It's still illegal."

"I know, but it's not like it's terrible. I'm not young and naive and unable to choose who I sleep with."

"Let's just stop talking about this. I think the best thing we can do at this point is pretend it never happened."

Ouch. "Right."

"And now you're upset," he says this like it's annoying him.

"I'm not upset." Okay maybe I am a little, but I don't want to pretend it never happened.

"I thought we agreed to be friends?"

"We did, but..."

He places his hand on mine, effectively silencing me. "Then just forget about it. Move on. It's the only way this will work."

I pull my hand away and fold my arms over my chest. "Whatever you say. Don't worry, I won't bring it up again."

"Girls are so infuriating. Don't you want to try to at least move past it?"

"You're the one who keeps going on," I snap and turn to look out of the window. "Just drop it. It's not a big deal."

I see his jaw clench and his hands tighten on the steering wheel, but he doesn't say anything more and neither do I.

The second we pull up outside of his mum's house, I climb from the car and head inside.

"Hi Judith, I'll make tea," I say as I pa.s.s the living room.

"Coffee with cinnamon," she calls after me. "It's good to see you, dear."

Isaac follows shortly after, but goes straight to his mum to greet her.

I boil the milk in a pan on the stove and add the coffee and cinnamon as it heats. I'm not really sure why I'm so irritated at Isaac. Maybe it's because I can tell he's trying to brush the situation off like it didn't mean anything. That hurts because it might not have meant something huge, but it definitely meant something to me.

I'm not in love with the guy or anything. It's not that now we've done the deed I suddenly want a wedding ring.

Screw that.

All I want is just... gah... I don't even know what my point is.

"Do you need help?" Susanna asks, stepping into the kitchen. She's young, probably mid-twenties, and very pretty in a cute sort of way. Her hair is tied into the usual bun atop her head and her clothes are white with blue seams, her carer uniform. I'm sure I recognise her from somewhere; I just can't put my finger on where. She's so familiar.

I've probably seen her in Crystal's cafe or something.

"I've got it," I respond kindly and start filling the mugs I'd already set out on a tray. "How is she today?"

She hesitates. "I shouldn't say because you're not technically family, but she's having a good day today."

"Her condition is getting worse."

"As expected, but the new trial medication she's on is slowing it down."

"What're we talking about?" Isaac steps into the room and immediately grabs the tin of biscuits from on top of the cupboard.

"Everything and nothing," I lift the tray, but Isaac places the tin on top of the cups and takes it from my hands. I roll my eyes as he flashes me with an infuriatingly charming smile.

Susanna giggles at his display.

"After you, my lady." He bows slightly to Susanna, still with that stupid smile on his face.

"Why, thank you." Susanna, still giggling, steps by him and skips into the room.

"After you..." He nods for me to go through, but I stand insulted.

"No 'my lady'?"

His grin turns wicked. "Ladies don't do the stuff you did last night."

"Oh!" My mouth remains open. I can't believe he just said that. I have no idea what to say right now. "You..."

Smiling wider, he struts out of the room, whistling.