Teaching Mr. Graham

Chapter Thirty-Four

    The student with the Senegalese braids, as adorable as she was, was becoming a problem. Her name was Aisha Carter. She showed up to class early wearing low-cut tops and proceeded to lean across his desk while asking for help with assignments that should have been done the evening before. She asked for help during class. Aubrey caught her sneaking photos of him and issued a warning that her phone would be confiscated; she continued snapping photos anyway. It wasn't like she was the only one, but out of all of the girls in the class she was the most aggressive.

    Friday morning, she waltz into the lecture hall before any of the other students. Going by the clock posted on the wall above the classroom entrance, she was close to twenty minutes early for class.

    He was seated at his desk, going over the lesson plan while polishing off a bagel. Upon seeing her enter, he wiped off his mouth with a napkin. I need to start locking the classroom door in the morning to discourage her from coming in this early, he thought.

    She set her backpack on the floor and unzipped it. "You're not going to tell me good morning?"

    "Good morning, Aishia," he greeted.

    She beamed up at him while fishing a folder out of her backpack. "No need to be shy with me, Mr. Graham."

    He toyed with the remaining piece of bagel on the plate he'd brought in from the cafeteria. "It seems like you're coming in earlier and earlier."

    "It's like...I can focus better, when I've had time to just come in and think about my writing," she said, straightening her posture and walking over to his desk.

    He smoothed his crimson tie down with one hand. "What can I help you with?"

    "I just wanted you to read over my assignment," she told him, opening the floral-print folder in her hands.

    "You can hand it in when everyone else hands in their assignment," he advised.

    "I'd prefer if you read it now. Before everyone else got here."

    He stared down at the sheet of paper in her hands. "Why?"

    She shrugged and smiled coquettishly. "Just 'cause."

    It wasn't worth arguing back and forth over. With great reluctance, he accepted the sheet of paper from her and set it down in front of him while picking up his bagel. He bit into it while reading.

"Little did he know,

She wanted him to open her up like the petals of a

Lotus flower.

Little did he know,

She wanted him to open her up so wide that she

Felt his power.

Every orifice stretched to maximum capacity,

The perfect opportunity to display her flexibility,

She was willing to do just about anything,

but know little did he."

    He scratched his head and reread the words. "Interesting."

    "Interesting?" she repeated, trailing unnecessarily long, jeweled nails over the surface of his desk as she moved around it.

    His eyes anchored on her hand and all he could wonder to himself was whether those nails were manufactured in China or not. He lifted his eyes to her face. Her face was actually quite pretty, with well-proportioned features. If she adopted a more natural look instead of making sure her eyebrows were perfectly on fleek - or whatever status girls were giving their eyebrows these days - then she would be even more attractive than she was now. He tried to ignore the lusty look in her eyes. "Aisha, you should go back to your desk. Other students will be arriving any minute now."

    "But I don't want to go back to my desk," she said in mock-protest as she came to stand beside him. "I like where I am now."

    "Aisha."

    She leaned a hip against his desk. "Your tie is the prettiest color."

    "My tie is red, Aisha."

    "It's not red. It's crimson."

    "All right. It's crimson." He looked up at her. "The color isn't anything special. I have twenty other ties just like it."

    Her lips curled up into a smirk. "Trying to downplay how nice your tie looks," she remarked. "You're trying so hard to be a good teacher. You're trying so hard to be appropriate. When really...you don't have to try so hard. If you were to, say, be a little inappropriate, you wouldn't have to worry about me telling anyone."

    "Actually, I don't have to try to be appropriate," he corrected her. "Nothing is going to happen between me and you, Aisha. I'm your teacher. Have some respect for that. Have some respect for yourself and return to your desk. Now."

    She frowned at him, but didn't budge.

    "Did I stutter?" he asked, hoisting an eyebrow.

    "Who do you think you're talking to?" she snapped.

    "Someone who can be removed from this class if she doesn't learn how to follow instructions," he retorted without pause. "Now return to your seat."

    She turned on her heel just as the door to the classroom opened.

    Thank God, he thought, running a hand over the top of his head in relief. He looks towards the door to see which student had saved him from any further conversation with Aisha. His heart stopped in his chest, then started to pound so hard that it concerned him.

    Tatiana stood just inside of the doorway to the classroom. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun with dark, wispy strands framing her face. And that face...it looked like it belonged on a Barbie doll. Dark, smoky shadow and eyeliner were applied to her lids. Her already perfect, slender eyebrows were left untouched, but deep red lipstick was applied to her lips. The outfit she wore demanded just as much attention as her hair and makeup: storm gray dress pants, a fitted white short-sleeved button down shirt topped with a tight gray vest, and fashionable cutout bootie heels. She raised a hand to one hip and tilted her head to the side, sizing up the situation. "Good morning, Mr. Graham," she greeted.

    He couldn't even find the words to return the greeting. She looked too damned beautiful as she turned and climbed the stairs.

    Aisha was still standing near his desk. She tapped her nails on top of his desk, not even attempting to hide her aggravation. "She's cute, isn't she?" she asked him.

    He shifted his gaze to her. The first urge had been to agree with her, but he caught himself before making that slip. "What?"

    Aisha's eyes went cold. "I said, she's cute," she said again. "Too bad she's one of your students, right?" She closed the folder in her hands and turned away from him, making her way to her own desk.