I nod. “Okay…”
“That’s about it.”
“Wow.” I chuckle. “You’re an excellent teacher, Ms. Hawthorne.”
“Thank you.” She walks outside and I follow, taking wide steps to keep up with her quick feet. “So… do you have another question?”
“Yeah. What are you doing tonight?”
She doesn’t stop walking but I notice her posture stiffen. “I have a class.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“I have to review lesson plans.”
“How about Friday night, then?”
Finally, she pauses on the sidewalk. “John…”
“I told you to call me Johnny.”
“Well, I’m calling you John.”
I smile. “So, you did get my email?”
She takes a steady breath. “Do you have any more questions about the lecture today?”
Her eyes tremble with a touch of anger and I wonder if I’ve pushed her too far. “No, Ms. Hawthorne,” I answer. “I do not.”
“Then, I will see you in class on Friday.”
I nod as she turns away, once again disappearing into the crowd without even a quick glance back at me.
Well, shit.
* * *
“Hey, John. Can you spot me?”
I nod at Junior and step off the treadmill. I haven’t exactly made good use of my gym time today. This whole Rose situation has me pretty fucked up in the head. No girl has ever given me this much trouble before but, mostly, I can’t get that look on her face out of my mind. That cold resistance. That painful annoyance. All directed at me.
It makes me nauseous just thinking about it.
I stand over the barbell as Junior lays on the bench beneath it with his hands extended upward to grip the bar.
“You okay?” he asks me.
“Yeah, why?”
“You seem a little…” he lowers the bar to his chest and I keep my hand hovering beneath it, “serious.”
I stare down at his handsome, upside-down face. I’m usually the one giving advice on how to pick up girls but I’m clearly out of my element when it comes to Rose. The forbidden woman.
Junior Morgan knows a thing or two about that.
“So, how did you do it?” I ask him.
Junior straightens his arms, forcing the barbell upward. “Do what?”
“You know — bang the coach’s daughter.”
He pauses. “I never thought I’d have to explain the birds and the bees to you, John.”
I sigh. “I mean… the coach told us hands off Eliza, remember?”
“I do.”
“But you definitely didn’t do that.”
“No, I did not.”
“Okay, then. How did you convince her that was a good idea? Spill.”
Junior sets the bar onto the rack and sits up, staring at me through narrow eyelids. “What’s up, John?”
“I have a forbidden lady friend and she’s not going for my usual moves. I need to know how you pulled it off.”
“Ohh…” He grins. “This is about the trifecta, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
“Let me guess — the teacher?”
“Yeah.”
He rolls his eyes. “Professors aren’t allowed to mess around with students, man. She could lose her job.”
“You weren’t allowed to mess around with Eliza Pierce and you still did it.”
“Right… and we lost our chance at the championship because of it.”
“I don’t need a lecture,” I say. “I just need to know how you caught her attention and made her ignore the possible consequences in favor of hot, sweaty sex in the back of your van.”
He shrugs. “I’m Junior Morgan.”
I frown. “You suck at giving advice, dude. Thanks a lot.”
“Okay…” He chuckles. “What I’m about to tell you is sacred knowledge passed down through generations of satisfied men and must never be spoken of outside of this room. Agreed?”
I sit down on the next bench across from his. “I’m listening…”
“Have you tried…” he glances over his shoulders for prying ears, “showing an interest in her as a person and not just as a hole to stick your dick into?”
I blink. “Seriously? That’s your sacred knowledge?”
“Yeah. What’s she into?”
“Doggy style, I hope.”
“No…” He laughs. “What are her hobbies? What does she do outside of school? What’s important to her? That kind of thing.”
“Oh…” I think for a second. “I have no idea.”
“Find out,” he says. “Then, take an interest in that thing yourself or, at the very least, acknowledge it in a way that shows that you support it.”
“And that’s how you got Eliza’s attention?”
“Yeah. Eliza’s a theatre major, so I went to her audition. I helped her memorize her lines. I supported her.”
“It was that easy?”
“Oh, no.” He shakes his head. “I never said that it was easy… but it was worth it.”
I try to come up with ways of getting to know Rose, but I may have already screwed my chances. Something tells me this is going to be significantly harder than watching a damn audition.
Junior leans forward. “Look, John… you want some real advice?”
“Sure.” I shrug.
“Don’t fake this. Don’t lead her on, making her think you’re someone other than who you really are just to get in her pants and never talk to her again. If you just want sex, we both know you can get it somewhere else anytime you want.”
“Damn right.”
“If she doesn’t want the same thing, just move on to the next girl who will. I told Eliza from the beginning that I just wanted sex and she did, too. It was a nice, honest, casual fling.”
“But now you guys are getting married,” I point out. “You have a baby.”
“Well… like I said…” He looks over my shoulder and smiles. “It was worth it.”
I turn around to see Eliza standing out in the hallway through the glass door with their infant daughter balanced on her hip. The kid is a tiny replica of Eliza in every way; brown hair, light skin. Face like a damn supermodel. She waves at Junior and she grins as she takes the baby’s hand and waves it for her.
“And that’s my ride home,” Junior says, standing up. “Did this help?”
I rise off the bench. “Yeah.” I nod. “I think so.”
“Good.”
We walk to the door and step out into the hall. Junior instantly grabs his daughter and lifts her up into the air while planting kisses on her tiny cheeks.
“Hey, Courtney,” he coos. “Did you miss me?” She giggles loudly and Eliza smiles at them before looking at me.
“Hey, Eliza,” I say.
“Hey, John.”
Junior leans down to kiss Eliza’s cheek and for a brief moment, I feel a stab of envy deep inside. “I’ll go grab my stuff from the locker room,” he says, handing the baby back to her. “I’ll be right back.”
“We’ll wait here,” she says.
He takes off, leaving the three of us alone in silence. I look from her to the baby and back again, my mind running crazy until I realize I’ve been staring at them for way too long.
Eliza furrows her brow, glaring up at my inquisitive face for several seconds until she finally speaks. “What’s up, John?”
“Eliza, can I ask you something?”
“… Okay.”
“Last year, you and Junior hooked up, but you weren’t supposed to.”
“Yes, we did.”
“Why?” I ask. “What did he do that caught your attention?”
She pauses, thinking back while she sways her hips to rock the baby in her arms. “Well… he flashed me.”
I blink. “Wait, what?”
“Yeah, he flashed his pecker at me in the locker room.” She nods. “That definitely caught my attention.”
I scoff. “Junior told
me a bunch of crap about showing interest in your hobbies and shit. You’re telling me all I gotta do is whip out my Little John?”
She smiles. “He said that?”
“Yes.”
“Aww.”
I exhale with frustration.
“He’s not wrong, John.” She chuckles. “Junior’s confidence may have snagged my interest, but it was his obsession that sealed the deal.”
“Obsession?”
“He went out of his way to prove to me that I was the only woman in the entire world for him,” she explains. “He never gave up. He never backed down. He believed in us long before I ever did.”
I nod, letting the words sink in. “Obsession…” I mutter.
Her face softens. “Has it actually happened?” she asks. “Is there a girl out there that’s finally tamed the great John Kirby?”
“Oh, hell no. I just wanna bang my new Chemistry TA.”
She tilts her head and sighs. “I’m not sure why I expected anything else. Well, in that case, you know…” she bounces the baby once, “wear a condom.”
“Duh, I’m fertile as fuck,” I joke. “I’m wearing one right now.”
“Okay, that’s weird.”
Junior appears by her side with his gym bag dangling off one shoulder. “What’s weird?”
“I’ll give you two guesses,” she mutters with amusement.
He shrugs. “Yeah, that’s John. Ready to go?”
“Yep.” She looks at me and her eyes flick downward. “Little John?”
“It’s ironic,” I say.
“I’m sure it is.” She smiles. “Good luck, John.”
“Thanks, Eliza.”
Junior nods at me as they turn away and I watch as the three of them take off together down the hall. He leans down and kisses Eliza, stirring a little bit of that envy deep inside of me again. I might be just an old softy at heart, but Junior Morgan and Eliza Pierce are quite possibly the most adorable couple I’ve ever seen in my life. Maybe I’ll have something like they have someday.
But that day is not today.
Today, I have a hot teacher to seduce.
Chapter 6
Rose
“Pop quiz!”
The class groans but I flash a smile. I’ve always wanted to say that.
I grab the stack of freshly printed quizzes off the front desk. “Oh, come on, guys. It’s not so bad. It’s only ten questions, all multiple choice. If you’ve been slightly awake for the last two weeks, you’ll do fine.”
I take a few off the top to hand to the student at the end of the row and I pause for a second when I realize it’s John Kirby. He officially moved to the front of the lecture hall last week and I’ve felt his eyes on me every day since then. If he blinked at all, I didn’t see it. Instead of relying on the usual trick to not feel as nervous, I’ve spent the two weeks trying not to imagine John in nothing but his boxers.
He smiles as he takes the quizzes from me and I’m pretty sure he knows that.
After passing out the quizzes, I take my seat behind the teacher’s desk. As soon as my butt hits the chair, John rises out of his and walks over to me with a blank expression on his face. I brace myself as he lays his finished quiz in front of me, his dark eyes boring down at me and I shudder slightly.
He reaches into his backpack and my chest tightens.
Without a word, he withdraws a banana and sets it down on the desk between us.
I raise a brow, my eyes flicking from him to the yellow fruit and back again.
John winks at me and turns away, walking straight through the exit as if it never happened at all.
I sit in stunned silence, barely blinking as the rest of the students pile up to hand in their quizzes.
What the fuck?
* * *
I reach for the elevator call button. I miss it twice, as I’m far too preoccupied with the banana in my other hand to even think straight.
It’s a long walk across campus to the TA office from Prism Hall and I’ve spent every single step of it trying to figure out what the hell this banana is supposed to mean.
I pull out my phone as I step onto the empty elevator and I snap a photo of it in my hand.
Luckily, I have Daisy. I text the photo to her, hoping that she’ll shed some much-needed light on it.
Almost instantly, the phone rings and I answer Daisy’s call as the elevator climbs upward.
“Hey,” I say.
“Hey, so…” she greets, “why did you just send me a picture of a banana?”
I stare at it. “Because John Kirby just walked up, gave it to me, winked, and walked off.”
There’s a long silence. “He what now?”
“Yeah.”
“Where were you?”
“In class,” I answer. “He came up to hand in his quiz and—”
Daisy bursts out laughing. “Holy shit.”
“What?”
“He gave you a banana.”
“Uh-huh…” She cackles even louder and I sigh with frustration. “What’s so funny?”
“Come on. This is funny,” she says. “What fruit do students usually give their teachers?”
I think for a moment. “Apples?”
“I guess a banana was a little more on-the-nose.”
The elevator doors open on the fourth floor. “Oh, my god…”
“He wants you, Rose. Congratulations.”
“Oh, no-no,” I say, shaking my head as I step out into the hallway. “No congratulations, Daisy. This is not good.”
“What the hell are you talking about? This guy sounds awesome.” She laughs. “I like him already.”
I keep my voice down as I bolt toward the office. “No, this is not awesome. This is not okay. We are not pretending that this is okay.”
“Why not?”
“Hello?” I whisper with bite. “Teacher. Student. Inappropriate.”
She blows a raspberry. “No one actually follows that rule. Now, go cash in that phallic-shaped fruit bargain and then call me afterward to tell me how curved it was.”
“Ew.” I cringe. “No.”
She sighs with deep disappointment. “Your poor end zone.”
“Stop calling it that.”
“Start filling it with something other than bubble baths and battery-powered machines and I will.”
I push open the office door. “I thought he had moved on from me,” I say, tossing my bag onto the desk. “Almost two weeks without flirty emails or after class chats and now…”
“Penis fruit.”
“Yeah.” I set it down and stare at it again. “Penis fruit.”
“Do I detect a little excitement in your voice, Rose?”
I sit down and the chair squeaks loudly beneath me. “No…”
“Just admit that you’re attracted to the guy, please.”
“I never said I wasn’t, Daisy,” I point out. “John Kirby is extremely handsome, but…”
“Teacher, student, yada yada.”
“It’s not just that. I’ve done the whole big, dumb jock thing before, remember? It didn’t work out.”
“Don’t let that little bastard ruin mankind for you,” she says. “Not every football player is a manwhoring asshole. Besides, isn’t that what you need right now? Casual, no strings attached…”
“Maybe…”
“Look, sis, you do what you think is best for you. I just don’t like the idea of you passing up opportunities because you’re scared of what life is like outside of that safety bubble you live in.”
“I don’t live in a—”
“Rose.”
I sigh. “Okay, fine. You might have a point.” I tap the mouse to wake up the computer. “Daisy, I gotta go. I have some quizzes to grade.”
“Have fun!” she says. “And I mean that, by the way. It’s Friday night…”
“I will. Thanks.”
I hang up and flip open my bag to pull out the large stack of papers nestled in the bottom. Ten questions, all multiple c
hoice. I should be able to blow through these quickly, pick up dinner, and make it home with plenty of hours to spare to get some recreational reading in before bed.
Wow, I really do live in a safety bubble.
I grab the first quiz off the top and I pause, my eyes sliding across the desk toward that damn banana. My stomach growls but I don’t dare reach for it. I’ll stay hungry.
If John wanted to get inside my head, he definitely succeeded. It was hard enough not imagining him naked in class. I’ll never look at another banana the same way again, that’s for sure.
And that wink he gave me… oh, man—
Dammit. Focus, Rose.
I snatch the banana and drop it into the top desk drawer, quickly slamming it closed. Out of mind, out of sight. I just need to get everything that reminds me of John out of my space so I can get this work done.
I flip to the bottom of the stack and take the last quiz out, reading John’s name scratched at the top. A quick check of his answers shows that he’s definitely been paying attention in class. He got all of them right. I grab the computer mouse, find his name in my grade book, and type out his grade.
There. John Kirby done. No more John Kirby.
My eyes land on the student profile icon next to his name and my fingers twitch.
No. Don’t do it, Rose.
I click the icon and his student ID photo pops up on my screen above an overview of his activity. Even here he’s staring back at me with that shit-eating smirk. I scroll down, skimming over his clubs, his class schedule, his declared major, his transcript. Any and everything I may want to know about John Kirby, the big, dumb jock—
Wait a second…
I scroll back to his transcript again, thinking that maybe I’ve gotten him mixed up with another John Kirby but nope, this is definitely him.
John Kirby is a big jock all right but he’s not dumb. Not at all. Far from it, actually.
Maybe I am wrong about him. Maybe Daisy is right — maybe John Kirby isn’t just another manwhoring football player. If what I’m reading here is correct, then there’s a whole lot more to John than meets the eye.
My stomach growls again and I open the desk drawer to grab the banana. I peel it open and take a slow bite of it while I stare at his photo.
The Bad Baller Collection Page 25