The Teacher's Pet | Slowburn MJ FanFic

• | Chapter Ten | •

| Tuesday. . .

"So, are you and Craig a thing now?" Riley asked Jay as they sat in Mr. Jackson's classroom that afternoon, waiting for the bell to ring so class could start.

"I hope so." She replied as she continued to text on her phone. "We've been together non-stop ever since the party. What about you and Javen? Craig told me he was looking for you." She wiggled her eyebrows, something that Riley had now become accustomed to since she was doing it so often.

Riley smiled small at the thought of Javen. "We're only talking."

"Not for long." Jay said in a sing-song tone, "But low-key, I'm still rooting for you and Mr. Jackson."

Riley rolled her eyes and shook her head. "For the gazillion time, Craig, Mr. Jackson and I can't be in an intimate relationship."

"So you say..." Jay said under her breath and Riley sighed, no longer wanting to debate on the topic.

As soon as the bell rung and the entire class was almost seated, Mr. Jackson walked in and immediately greeted his students with his usual enthusiasm. However, there was something different about his look and everyone gaped at the obvious.

"Mr. Jackson, you wear glasses?" Malik asked as Mr. Jackson sat on the edge of his desk and had begun taking roll.

"Unfortunately, yes." He answered with a slightly sheepish expression, "I have to wait 'til after school to pick up my contact lens prescription. I'm not really too fond of wearing these things."

"But you look like a hot nerd!" Jay blurted out and the class chortled.

Mr. Jackson creased his eyebrows and lightly laughed. "Um, thank you?" He blushed and stood up from his desk, clearing his throat before he started on today's lesson.

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During the free periods, Riley had finished the errands for Mr. Jackson and was working on her class assignments. Mr. Jackson sat at his desk while skimming through his agenda book for the semester and she laid on the floor, furiously scrawling across her math worksheet.

When Mr. Jackson briefly glanced up, he immediately took notice of Riley's annoyed expression. Her eyes were crossed and her face scrunched in frustration. He laughed and her cheeks burned in embarrassment when she realized he was laughing at her.

"What's wrong with you?" He finally asked after calming down.

"Calculus." She sighed, "I hate it so much."

"You don't understand something?" He continued to ask and she nodded. "Come up here."

She looked up from the paper. "Come up where?"

Mr. Jackson rolled his eyes in a joking manner and beckoned with his hand. "Here, silly. I'll help you."

"You're good at math?" Riley questioned as she grabbed her things and stood up. She walked over and he scooted over in his chair for her to sit next to him.

"I wouldn't say that, but I know a thing or two." He shrugged as she got comfortable.

He pushed his agenda aside and she sat her things on top, opening the Calculus book and putting her worksheet next to it. Even though she didn't visibly show it, she was nervous that she was this close to him. It wasn't like they weren't near each other before, but sharing an arm-less swivel chair that could barely sit them both was another thing all on its own. Their arms between them were tightly pressed together and each one of their legs wasn't fully supported by the chair.

"So, what's the problem?" He asked as she flipped through the book and found the right page.

"Integration using power substitution." She withheld an annoyed groan. "I'm gonna need for math to start solving its own problems."

Mr. Jackson chuckled before skimming over the chapter and glancing at her worksheet. Annoyance soon etched onto his face, too. "Yeah, I agree with you on that. This looks complicated."

"Oh well, I give up." Riley shrugged and proceeded to get up, but Mr. Jackson quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her back down.

"Not so easily." He gave her a look before returning his gaze back to the book. "Let's just take this one step at a time."

"Okay." She barely breathed, glancing at his hand that rested on her thigh.

Mr. Jackson mumbled under his breath as he read the chapter's examples before slightly nodding in understanding. "Alright, so here's what we're suppose to do."

As he used his free hand to take her pencil and write next to a problem on the worksheet, Riley barely listened as she examined his physical features up close. His usual curly hair was straightened and she had a sudden urge to rake her fingers through it. She found that his small nose was quite cute and his doe brown eyes were very breathtaking. She admired his perfectly arched eyebrows that creased in intense concentration and tempting lips that formed each word flawlessly. His soft, low tone voice sounded like pure music to her ears. When his bottom lip was captured between his perfect teeth, she sighed at the thought of her taking his lip between hers instead. She slowly tore her gaze from his lip bite and back towards his eyes.

She didn't understand why Mr. Jackson despised his glasses so much. It didn't make him unattractive in any way. "Mr. Jackson?" Riley softly called, getting his attention.

"Yeah?" He turned his head, only two or three inches away from her face.

"Why do you hate your glasses?"

His face suddenly flushed and glanced down shyly. "Uh, I-I don't know. I just don't feel right with them on."

"You should." She continued to speak in a soft tone. "I think you look really sexy."

His face reddened and he bit harder on his lip before speaking. "With glasses on? I don't think so."

"You really do." She said, "You should wear them more often, honestly."

"Maybe." He shrugged, unable to hide his immense blushing. "But thank you, Riley."

She softly smiled and continued to observe his eyes. "Do you wear makeup?"

"Um, just eyeliner." He shyly admitted.

"It looks good on you. But," She carefully removed his glasses and studied his face, "I believe you'll look even better without it."

His cheeks reddened even more and he softly chuckled. "Riley, you're embarrassing me."

She giggled. "How? It's only just us."

He shyly averted his gaze and shrugged . "I never had anyone tell me these things before."

"Not even your wife?" She asked and he shook his head. "Well, Mr. Jackson, now you're hearing it from me. And I mean every word."

He softly smiled and they both looked into each other's eyes before the sudden bell rang, causing Riley to jump back in surprise and fall from the chair. Mr. Jackson stifled a laugh and leaned over. "Are you okay, girl?"

Riley let out fits of giggles and he laughed in response. "I'll take that as a yes." He stood up from the chair and quickly helped her up. "Do you think you have a few minutes to spare?"

"Yeah, I think so." She nodded. "Not much before Trent flips out again, though."

"I can deal with him." Mr. Jackson rolled his eyes and put his glasses back on. "Come on, I gotta help you with this homework."

He sat back in his chair and brought Riley down on his lap. She blushed profusely but didn't reject.

"This time you gotta focus on the math, Riley." He smirked and she laughed.

"Yes, sir."