Sugar Boo

22

My eyes couldn't settle in just one place as they kept darting from one object to another in the deadly quiet room. Sitting unspoken to for nearly fifteen minutes, there was nothing I could do other than gazing around while feeling extremely nervous.

Mr. Gilinsky's office appeared just similar to the other teacher's room - it was tidy and organized. An open MacBook, a pile of thick Chemistry textbooks, reports, and students' papers adorned his cheery wood desktop. A tall filing cabinet centered the room, rested against the cream colored wall behind him with a striking red couch arranged next to a window.

The young teacher was too engrossed in grading a paper, he paid attention to nothing else which made me question myself if I had come to him at the wrong time. Though earlier Mr. Gilinsky was the one who said that he had been waiting for days to meet. Whatever things he wanted to address - which was presumably regarding my academic learning - must have been important considering he seemed to be keen about it in the last class. I was very excited thinking about the possibilities.

"So, uh, what could you possibly want to talk about, Sir?" I asked him in the politest tone I could muster.

"My students aren't getting my teaching skills," he replied as a frown clouded his handsome features.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Not the answer I was expecting. "Maybe there's a little bit of distraction."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Maybe they're not paying attention to what you're teaching them," I took a wild guess.

Mr. Gilinsky tossed aside the paper he was reading and eyed me curiously. "You saying I'm not a good teacher?"

"N-Not at all, sir." My voice came out panicked as I spluttered. "There could be something else catching their attention."

For a second, my heart dropped deep into my chest when the man abruptly got on his feet and went across the desk to sit on the edge, facing me.

"And what do you think that would be?" He questioned while crossing his arms.

His demeanor was intimidating, however it was hard not to stare when his biceps and forearms full of tattoos were flexing before me. First Ethan, and now my teacher? Oh boy, what's with me and gawking at men's body parts lately?

"Are you done checking me out? You look at me like I'm your food," he teased.

I mentally smacked myself in the forehead for being shameless. "My apologies, Sir -"

"It's Isaac to you," he corrected me. "We're not in the classroom. Plus, whenever people call me 'Mr. Gilinsky', I feel old."

My teacher wasn't quite done there. Instead, he leaned down, his face close - close enough for my eyes to almost cross when he said, "I'm only 22."

My heart was hammering so hard. "R-really?"

"Our age gap isn't so much. Give a few more years and I might start hitting on you," he bluntly confessed and I felt my face reddening.

Is my teacher just messing with me or does he actually swing that way?

"Has anyone ever told you, Andrew, that for a boy you have such a pretty doll face?" I felt a large palm brush my locks. "And the softest hair."

His touch was like an electrical zap and I spontaneously leaped to my feet and deliberately stepped back towards the door. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought this meeting shouldn't have happened.

"Uh, you seem very busy now. I think I'll meet you some other time. " I tried to make up a plausible reason to leave.

Isaac cocked one of his eyebrows and stood up. "Hold a sec, don't you want to hear about a program that'll secure you a college scholarship first?"

"Huh?" I stopped in my tracks as I watched him seat himself on the red couch, arms spread wide along the back.

"I'll tell you more if you come back and sit here with me, " he spoke with a hint of authority in his voice.

Like a good, submissive student, I obediently walked over and as I did I could swear, I caught a glimpse of my teacher's little smile of triumph as I sat beside him.

"Because you showed more determination than almost any other student I've ever taught, I think you're most suited to apply, " he asserted.

Truth be told, I was still perplexed. "What kind of program? I'm not following you."

"It's a summer program for high school students where you'll learn about careers in chemistry, college preparation, and such. If you get in you'll be working in real laboratories with real scientists," he explained.

I was amazed beyond belief. That sounded perfect since I'm a chemistry geek who had always planned on being a chemistry major in college.

He noticed my expression and smiled at me. "Also, I'm more than happy to write you a recommendation letter."

"Oh my, thank you!" I squealed before quickly closing my mouth. I probably shouldn't have screamed like that but I was pretty excited.

"You're so damn adorable. Like, you don't even know." 

His rich, brown eyes were fully trained on mine and they stirred up a burning feeling in my stomach. "So, what do you say?"

I replied without hesitation, "I'm interested."

"Great! I thought you'd say that," he responded and just as quickly he got up and wandered to his desk. Confused, I watched my teacher going through his drawers, searching for something important as if involving life and death.

"We should start filing up your application forms soon then explore what takes to prepare you for the program in our next meeting," he told me in between his loud rummaging act.

I guessed that was my cue to leave seeing that he was back to being preoccupied. With a contented heart, I swung my backpack over one shoulder and showed myself to the door. I couldn't wait to share the good news with Ethan and Elle.

Pushing the door open I stepped out and decided to thank my teacher one last time. "I greatly appreciate your help and time...um...Isaac."

"Ah, it's my pleasure. I think you're a very special boy and I wanna make you feel special, " Isaac said with a wink and walked toward me once again.

"I want you to have it..as a token of motivation." He stretched out his palm with a small black box in it. The shape and design were so convincing that it was a perfume box – the expensive designer one.

"But this must be expensive. I can't have it," I respectfully turned him down.

His lips formed into a wolfish smirk. "I insist, Andrew. Besides, don't you think it'd be rude to reject someone's gift? Especially your teacher's?"

"But-"

"No buts." Not letting me speak, he began taking the bottle out of the box instead.

"Okay, suit yourself," I tutted quietly.

"It's the same that I use," he claimed before grabbing my hand and spraying some on my wrist and also my neck, startling me.

I didn't have the time to process everything that had happened and what he did next surprised me even more. Isaac leaned in and sniffed near my neck. My heart pounded while I stood there, frozen in place and red in the face.

"Now we can smell like each other, " he whispered as he ran the tip of his nose along my neck bringing shivers. I thought I had enough surprises from his teasing yet but the last one shook me to the core.

Seeing me failing to speak, Isaac stood back with an earnest look and went to closed the door leaving me outside with wide, open eyes.