The Teacher's Pet | Slowburn MJ FanFic

• | Chapter Eighteen | •

Mr. Jackson sat at his desk and quietly watched his class take a short pop quiz on the current topic they were going over. He drummed his fingers just above his top lip and occasionally glanced up at the clock to make sure they had enough time to finish the task before the lunch bell rang.

His eyes averted from the clock and onto the one girl that still wouldn't leave his mind. He tried to look away, but he couldn't force himself to. Her aura was just too captivating.

Riley's tight curls were styled in a half up half down look, and it made him appreciate that her hair no longer fell over her face and obscured her beautiful features from his view. He honestly could just stare at her all day and never grow tired. His eyes slowly moved down to the outfit he checked out earlier, then traveled back up and stopped at her neck, and he slowly licked his lips. Her skin was nothing short of smooth, and he had a sudden desire lately to trail his lips from her glossed lips and down to her collar bone to leave his mark.

Maybe it was the umpteenth dream he had about Riley in the last few weeks. Each one was getting more detailed than the last and he could still somewhat feel her ghostly touches gliding over his chest and back from those brief intimate scenes.

He managed to pull his eyes away from Riley and push the feelings to the back of his mind. He didn't feel right about how he felt yet at the same time it did feel right.

A few students popped their heads up and he took it as a sign that they were done with the quizzes.

"If you're done, you can bring them up here." He told the class and a couple of students began making their way toward him. The lunch bell rang just as he was taking the papers into his hand. "Enjoy your lunch, guys. I'll see you after."

Riley set her pencil down and looked over at Jay. "Are you going to be with Craig today?"

Jay nodded as she was finishing up the last two questions. "Yeah, you should sit with us. One of Craig's friends likes you."

"Nah, it's okay." She held back the frown that tried to appear on her lips.

"Alright then." Jay shrugged, then got up to hand her quiz over to Mr. Jackson. She gave a small wave to Riley before disappearing out the door.

Mr. Jackson furrowed his eyebrows. Normally, he would see the girls leave together for lunch, but he's noticed within the past week that they weren't together as often.

Riley didn't mind that Jay wanted to hang with Craig at times, but it began to feel like it conflicted with their friendship. She didn't hear often from best friend text or call wise, and their times during lunch had ceased to exist. It was now Craig this and Craig that. It irritated her even more after busting Craig in the hallway earlier.

He took notice in Riley's demeanor and could tell from her body language that she wasn't as happy as she normally was. He stood from his chair and kindly thanked the last two students just before Riley approached him.

Even her smile seemed sad.

She handed him her quiz and he took it to set it aside, then gently grabbed her wrist as she began to turn away. She looked down at his touch, then at him.

"Are you and Jay okay?" He asked and she nodded.

"Yeah, mostly." She sighed at the reminder. "Why do you ask?"

"Usually, you two were always going to lunch together and be around each other a lot. I don't see much of that anymore." He said, finally letting her wrist go.

She shrugged. "She's just spending more time with a guy she likes. We're good."

"Oh, okay..." He trailed off, unsure of what to say next.