Chapter 12
“I’m sorry, Mr. Bradford,” Eric, normally one of his best students, mumbled quickly as he averted his eyes away from Jason’s murderous glare.
For the past three weeks, he’d been biting everyone’s head off.
His normally easygoing facade was completely gone now.
It didn’t make any sense. He’d been getting the best sleep of his life, he was more focused, and Haley had quickly become the most important person in his life.
He couldn’t imagine living without her. He didn’t want to.
No matter what they did during the day, at night, they came together.
Not in the way he would like, but he was still able to find peace at the end of the day.
Two weeks ago, they both gave up on rushing out of each other’s bed to get ready for work in the morning.
Now, he had toiletries in her bathroom, space in her closet and bureau, and she had the same at his house.
It was weird, but probably not as weird as two best friends who slept together that didn’t so much as kiss.
It was like they were living together but alternating between houses for the hell of it.
They spent a lot of time together, but they also spent a lot of time on their own or with friends.
When he was away from her, he wondered what she was doing and thinking.
A few times, he had to stop himself from calling her to find out.
The only thing that was saving his sanity was the knowledge that she wasn’t dating anyone.
He didn’t know how he’d feel about that.
Judging by the urge to put his fist through a wall every time he thought about her with another guy, it wasn’t good.
Another loud cheer went up next door. He clenched his jaw tightly as he focused on the fifteen students in his Honors U.S.
History class. This was their two-hour study block to go over the material for the final exam, which was tomorrow.
They were only ten minutes into their review and he already wanted to throttle every last one of his students.
He threw his review packet on his desk in disgust, making his students shift nervously in their designer school uniforms.
“I don’t understand this. We’ve gone over this material all year and none of you have any idea what the hell I’m talking about!” Jason snapped, not really fucking care that several of the girls in his class looked like they were on the verge of crying.
God, he was fucking losing it.
Another roar of applause came from next-door, drawing his attention back to the woman who was always on his mind. He ran his fingers through his hair as he paced the floor. He was wound so damn tight right now and so goddamn close to snapping.
A soft knock came from the door connecting his classroom to Haley’s. Without waiting for a reply, she popped her head in with a warm smile. That smile was like a balm to his soul, instantly calming him.
“Yes?” Jason asked her in a much softer tone than the one he’d been using with his students.
Haley nibbled her lip nervously. “Mr. Bradford, I was wondering if I could ask you and your students a huge favor. I need some help preparing my kids for their test tomorrow and since both classes are studying the same material, I was hoping that you wouldn’t mind coming in here and giving me a hand? ”
“Yes, of course,” he found himself answering immediately. Who in the hell could say no to someone so adorable? She pushed her glasses back up on her nose and smiled again, damn near making his knees buckle.
“Excellent!” Haley said brightly, pushing the door open all the way. “Why don’t you join us?” She turned to face her class. “Alright, you bunch of miscreants, make some room!”
Jason grabbed the review packet he’d made over the weekend and followed his students into her classroom. As he walked past Haley, he couldn’t stop himself from grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. If any of the kids saw, they smartly kept their mouths shut.
He watched as his students filled the empty seats in her classroom. They kept shooting him nervous glances. No doubt they were waiting for him to start yelling again. Little did they know that his little grasshopper kept him grounded.
Haley hopped up onto her desk and crossed one beautiful leg over the other, drawing every guy’s attention. He had to stop himself from killing the little bastards then and there.
His little grasshopper seemed oblivious to the attention she drew as she reached back to grab a large, brown paper bag.
She winced a little as she picked it up and placed it on her lap.
She wrapped her arm around the bag as she grabbed a thick study packet off the desk with the other hand.
He didn’t wait for an invite. He sat down on the desk next to her.
“Alright, guys, for those of you who are just joining us, we’re having a review for tomorrow’s exam. We’ll each take a turn asking you a question. If you know the answer, you’ll get a prize,” Haley explained as he watched his students visibly relax.
Curious about the prize, Jason leaned over and gasped. How dare she hide these from him! He sent her a glare, earning an adorable roll of her eyes as he reached into the bag only to have his hand slapped away.
How dare she?
“You can have one after five of your students answer a question correctly,” Haley informed him with a firm nod.
He sent a scathing look at his students, letting them know that they damn well better answer every question correctly and quickly if they wanted to live.
The woman probably had twenty pounds of Hershey’s Kisses and mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and he’d be damned if he wasn’t getting at least fifteen pounds of that.
The hell with the kids. Did they really need an education more than he needed chocolate?
They all had trust funds. They could get by with a tenth-grade education.
He needed that damn chocolate. Once his five students answered their questions correctly, he was attacking that bag, consequences be damned.
“Alright, guys, first question,” Haley announced as she looked at her packet. “Who was the first President of the United States?”
Every hand in the room went up.
Jason snorted. “Are you trying to give my chocolate away? Make them work for it.”
Haley randomly picked a student, one of his, and tossed a Kiss. As she asked the questions, they got tougher. Nine questions later, he was patiently waiting for one of his students, John, to answer Haley’s question.
“It was eighteen-sixty…” the kid trailed off as he thought it over. Jason was going to fail the kid if he couldn’t answer the question. Not because it reflected poorly on his teaching skills, but because this was the fifth question for his class and he wanted chocolate!
While Haley waited for the answer, Jason discreetly raised four fingers.
“Eighteen sixty-four,” John answered quickly, trying not to look at Jason.
“Very good,” Haley said, tossing John a peanut butter cup.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Cindy, or whatever the hell her name was from the dance, cried. He should have known the little witch would be looking for revenge. “Mr. Bradford told him the answer!”
“Don’t be petty. John answered the question correctly,” Jason said, holding out his hand for the chocolate that was due him.
Haley eyed him carefully while he gave her his most innocent expression. “Did you just cheat so that you could get chocolate?”
He did his best to look insulted. “Would I do that?” he demanded.
She rolled her eyes even as she handed him a huge handful of chocolate. “This should keep your cheating ways at bay for a while.”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you,” Jason murmured, unwrapping his treats while Cindy scowled at him. He ignored her as he ate his chocolate between asking questions of his own. He only paused to reach back and snag Haley’s water bottle to wash down the chocolate.
While they sat there, hip to hip, asking questions, he reached back and casually rubbed a circle on Haley’s lower back.
He almost groaned when he felt her tremble.
Outwardly, she was cool and relaxed. She laughed with the kids and never had any problems carrying on with her questions.
He only stopped rubbing her back when she handed him more chocolate, which only happened when she caught him cheating.
When the lunch bell rang, Haley held up a hand.
“You’ve studied hard all year. I want you to go home, review, and then, I want you to relax.
This is just one test, guys. Just remember that and you’ll do fine.
Also, just a reminder, everyone that earns a passing grade of at least eighty will be joining me next week on the last day of school for a make your own sundae party. ”
Jason glared at Haley. First chocolate and now ice cream? What else was she hiding from him? He held up his hand to stop everyone from leaving.
“The same deal goes for my class,” he said.
“Copycat,” Haley mumbled.
“Damn straight,” Jason said as he gestured for the students to get the hell out.
They got up and left while he reached over and grabbed the bag from Haley. He settled it on his lap and started snacking away only to have Haley grab the bag from him and drop it in her desk drawer before locking it.
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, cause that will stop me.”
“Behave. If there’s any left by the end of the day, you can have more,” Haley said as she put her things away. She paused by the door and tried her best to look stern as she said, “That chocolate better be there after lunch, mister.”
“Of course,” Jason readily agreed.
She threw him one last look of warning before she headed off towards the cafeteria for lunch duty. He’d be right behind her since they had the same schedule. Only he had one thing that he needed to do first.