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Don't Stand So Close To Me (bodman54&Mim)

Madam Mim

Madam Mim

One Big Modern Mess
Joined
May 30, 2013
She wasn't taking her eyes off of him, and she didn't quite care if that made him uncomfortable. Talia held the end of a pen between her lips and slid it in and out slowly as she watched Mr. Sale write on the blackboard, her eyes tracing his form through the Oxford shirt and navy slacks. The man knew how to dress, that was for certain, and he certainly knew how to show off his assets. Clear grey eyes met his for a few moments when he turned around before she forced a blush and looked down, pulling the pen out of her mouth and jotting down notes about tangents and sin waves. She had to suppress a smile as the memory came unbidden.

She'd known he was there. Talia had heard Mr. Sale walking across the gym floor and knew that David hadn't been paying attention. David's cock was in her mouth and his hand was in her hair as he moaned softly with his back pressed against the wall at the edge of the bleachers. She'd waited until Mr. Sale had found them, and when he didn't immediately say anything but froze and watched, she moaned around David's cock, sending vibrations through his body. That nearly undid him and Talia suddenly had the urge to just get it over with. While massaging his balls she took his entire length before running her tongue in a serpentine pattern along the underside of his shaft, sucking hard on his head until he came and she swallowed it with a moan, allowing a few drops to drip onto her lips and down her chin.

"Oh my God Mr. Sale!" Talia had shrieked, cleaning up the cum on her chin and sucking it off of her finger in a studiedly absent-minded way. They'd run off before he could say anything, but she knew he'd watched. She knew she might actually have him.

Talia had decided the first day of school, after all, that she would have Mr. Sale. There was no way she couldn't, no way to ignore what those pecs might look like under those button-up shirts, how firm that ass was under his khakis and slacks. She had to have Alex Sale. He was also, after all, the only decent-looking teacher under 40 in the entire school. She had in the past few months played the sweet and innocent girl many people thought she was--well, many teachers thought she was, anyway. If she had a habit of not noticing how low her shirt had slipped as she leaned on her desk in the front row of her Junior Pre-Calculus class, well that wasn't her fault, right? Sitting back in her chair with her knees apart under her short skirt was just bad breeding was all.

And all the time she'd watched Mr. Sale watching her. His catching her sucking off David DiMarco wasn't planned, of course, and had potentially ruined her image. If she blushed enough and was demure enough she might be able to save it until the time was right...but then again, there was no time like the present. Besides, she'd seen that wedding band and Mr. Sale himself seemed like a fighter; it wasn't like it wouldn't be fun anyway. Talia sucked harder on her pen, debating internally.

Fuck it, she decided. When his back was turned she discreetly pulled four Polaroids from her backpack and slipped them into the front cover of her copy of the book she was reading for English. Appropriate that the book was Nabokov's Lolita.

The Polaroids were stolen from her stepfather's nightstand drawer. He thought she didn't know that he watched her, but he was old and ugly so she certainly wasn't going to give him what he wanted. Each of the Polaroids featured Talia, sometimes changing, sometimes drying after a shower, one was of her from behind while she bent over in a short skirt to look for something; all of them were when she had thought she was alone in her room. She had only found them when her mother told her to go look for some spare change in his nightstand, and slowly she'd been taking one or two at a time for just such an occasion as this.

Talia was careful to blush and look down demurely a few more times, whenever Mr. Sale turned around from the blackboard. Finally the bell rang, and without meeting his eyes she turned in her homework and left, being sure to accidentally leave her book with the Polaroids on her desk, set inside the book cover so loosely they were certain to fall out.
 
Alex Sale works his way through the lecture, writing on the board as he explains how to calculate a sine wave. He can hear the scratching of pencils on paper as the students follow along, writing diligently everything he said. They were all very bright student, having taken accelerated math classes to be put in his Pre-Calc class as juniors. There was an occasional senior, sleeping their way through class due to heavy senioritis. But for the most part, they were all good, smart kids. These students were all very driven and were all looking at a bright future.

"Now. We've talked about Sine waves. It's time to move on to their inverse. Cosine waves." He turns back to the class, his eyes scanning the room, pausing for just a moment on one student. Talia Rogers. She was staring at him, sucking suggestively on a pen. He stumbles over his words as she meets his eyes, her steely grey ones holding his sky blue ones. And then she looks down, the moment broken.

He continues on and thankfully none of the other students seem to notice, too worried about writing down what he was saying. He refocuses on the lesson but he finds his mind drifting back to that day. Talia down on her knees, David DiMarco's cock in her mouth. He didn't get to see all of it but she was clearly enjoying herself. And from the sounds David made, he was too. Why didn't he turn them in? He didn't know. Technically they were both over the age of consent. But there must be a rule against giving blowjobs on school grounds, even after hours.

He finishes the lesson, the image of her with cum dripping from her chin as she ran from him. He found himself hard and skillfully shifts his cock in his pants as he is facing the board. The bell rings and he lets out a sigh of relief. He turns and collects the homework, shouting out the problems as everyone rushes out. Talia is one of the last ones to leave and as she is walking out the door some things fall from a book she was carrying. "Ms. Rogers," he calls as he goes to pick them up. He looks down and stops in shock as he sees pictures of her, naked or in various stages of undress. Why was she carrying these? He picks them up, looking around for her but she was nowhere to be seen. He quickly stuffs them in his pants as the next class files in.

During the class, the pictures feel like they are burning a hole in his pocket. He struggles to get through the lecture, sitting down heavily as the students file out. He has a prep class now so he doesn't have any students for the next hour. He pulls out the pictures, looking at them, unable to look away. His cock was hard in his pants again. Why was he turned on by a 16 year old girl? It was a disturbing line of questioning.
 
Two periods was enough to let him squirm. Talia happened to have study hall fourth period, which she knew was also Mr. Sale's planning period. She had seen him a few times while roaming the halls. Mrs. Makem didn't quite care what anyone in her study hall did so long as they were quiet, and while she occasionally commented on Talia's absences she did nothing to stop them. She strolled casually through the hallways, therefore, while making her way down two flights of stairs to the math wing. She paused at his door, looking through the window. Talia smiled as she watched him thumbing through the pictures. The same four over and over, unable to look away. His cock was visibly hard, even from here, laying against his thigh and straining against his pants. Damn what a package! Perfect.

She backed up a few paces to look as though she had been hurrying as she came through the door without knocking. "Mr. Sale, thank God you're here!" She laid a hand against her chest as she flew into the room. "I've got a study period and she let me have a hall pass to come look for my book. You haven't seen it, have you? It's really..."

Her eyes fell on the Polaroids. "Oh..." Talia covered her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. "Mr. Sale, please, I can explain. The other day, with David...and those..." She sniffed and pulled more tears to her eyes only to make a show of holding them back. "I...David and me, we were dating and he...he cheated on me so I broke it off." She allowed the tears to spill over and wiped them away. "But I...I was stupid, I was so, so stupid. I had thought I was in love with him, and he...well he wanted..." Talia gestured vaguely at the pictures. "I let him take those." She paused to cry a bit harder. "So when I b-broke up with him, he...he..." She sniffled and made a show of wiping at her tears again. "He said he'd photocopy them and post them all around school if I didn't...well...I mean you saw..."

None of it was true, of course. She had in fact been rewarding David for being a particularly good boy the night before. She didn't often bother with boys her own age, but when she was between conquests and bored, or just wanted a bit of narrow-shouldered amusement, she would string David along for a while. He had been developing a particular taste for whips lately. But Alex didn't need to know that, not yet. All he needed to know was that she was a good girl caught in a bad situation.

"Please don't tell anyone," she begged through her tears. "Please, I just...I just want it over."
 
He is so focused on the pictures that when the door flies open he jumps, his heart leaping into his throat. The last person he expected to see flew into his room, crying about a book she lost. Talia Rogers. The girl who is the focus of the pictures. The pictures he's holding in his hand and that he has gotten hard looking at.

He's so startled that he doesn't move to hide them. They're sitting on his desk for anyone to see. And by the way she stops, she clearly has seen them. She begins to cry, explaining where they came from and how they are being used to blackmail her. All the pieces seem to fall into place for him. She was a good girl. Top of her class. She would never do what he caught her doing willingly.

He stands up, giving her back the pictures. "Talia. Is there anything I can do to help," he asks with concern. "What he is doing is wrong. You shouldn't have your bright future ruined by some boy." He has a look of concern on his face, wanting to help her out of the trouble she has found herself in. "If you want I can talk to him, tell him about why what he is doing is wrong and to destroy the pictures."
 
Every man loved a good damsel in distress, and clearly he was no different. Talia looked up at him, eyes shining with tears, mouth slightly open. "It's..." Sniffle. "It's so sweet that you'd do that for me Mr. S. But I just want it to be over. I got the pictures back and everything's over between us. I just, just want to move on. Forget about it."

She sniffed again, dried her eyes, then wrapped her arms around his middle without warning, pulling him into a tight hug. His chest was firm and warm...God she couldn't wait to rip his shirt off! The scratches and bruises she would leave on that chest! But right now she played the helpless school girl, clinging desperately to her attractive male authority figure in a time of crisis. She looked up into his startling blue eyes from his place on her chest, a few tears still glistening on her cheeks but her face no longer splotchy or tear stained from her fake crying.

"You're a really good friend, Mr. Sale," she murmured, giving him a shy smile. "I'm really lucky it was you who found those and not someone else. I'd be in so much trouble, and I don't want David involved in my life any more than he absolutely has to be." Talia gave him another gentle squeeze around the middle then let go, but still stood intimately close. She smiled nervously again and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. "So um...I guess my book's around here somewhere, hm?"
 
He wanted nothing more than to wrap her in a hug and tell her that it was going to be alright. And apparently, she wanted the same thing. He is shocked when she quickly steps forward and wraps him in a strong hug, sniffling into his chest. He awkwardly pats her back, trying to calm her down. "If you need anything just let me help. You're a brilliant girl and could do anything you want. Don't let a guy in high school bring you down."

He is glad that she releases the hug, stepping back. It would make it less likely that she would feel his erection through his pants. She was one of those people who had blossomed very early and still had a lot of potential. So it made it very uncomfortable for him when she clung to him.

"It was. Um. I'm not going to say my pleasure. But I'm glad I could help." He looks around. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen it but you're welcome to look for it while I'm doing some grading." He goes back to his desk, sitting down and pulling over a stack of homework to begin to grade.
 
Talia was easily able to feel his erection through is pants, pressing against her thigh. Good boy. He seemed a little relieved. Well, that would change soon. She would have him begging for her touch, just to smooth out his hair or hold his hand. But not yet. Reeling him in was a part of the game. He invited her to look around for her book and she smiled.

"Thanks, Mr. S."

She took her time looking for her book, bending over to look behind chairs and under desks. Her uniform shirt was just short enough that her gluteal fold was just visible whenever she bent over. Every now and then, if he was looking, Alex would be able to catch a flash of white cotton. But after looking in several rows where she knew the book wasn't, she found it at last. With a sigh of relief she straightened and smiled at him.

"Thank you, Mr. Sale. For everything." She favored him with a grin. "I'll see you on Monday."

Yet another lie. Talia had every intention of seeing him before then. The Friday afternoon was rainy and cold, reasonably so for mid-October. Talia hung around after the final bell rang. Alex had mentioned before that he would be around until 4:30 that afternoon if anyone had any questions or needed help with the assignment. That was late enough to miss the last late bus and the last city bus that came out this far. It was a seven mile walk home, but that was a risk she would have to take. After the last bell she retreated into the girls room to unbutton her top button and remove the bra beneath her white uniform shirt, then emerged to stuff both her coat and her umbrella in her locker. A good girl, but forgetful, that was surely how he would justify it. Talia lurked in the hallway, watching him through his classroom window until it seemed that Mr. Sale was packing up to leave. She hurried to the nearest exit and, taking a deep breath, plunged into the rain.

The stop for the city bus was at the end of the school driveway. There was no shelter, just a sign indicating that the bus stopped there. The sign also indicated, in smaller text, that it had stopped running half an hour ago. There was no way for Alex not to see the shivering, miserable student standing in the rain on his way home.
 
He is going through the papers, looking up occasionally as he hears her shuffling around the classroom. Smart girl but a little flighty. His breath would catch in his throat whenever he caught her bent over, skirt riding up and flashing her panties at him. It made for an uncomfortable time as she searches around. His cock was trying to tear from his pants.

Finally she finds it, waving to him as she leaves his room. "Have a good weekend Ms. Rogers," he says as he does his best to not focus on her pert ass as she walks out of his room. As the door closes he let's out an explosive breath. He reaches down and squeezes his cock, trying to make it go down. By the time his next class comes in it has receded to a manageable size and he is able to teach without fear of anyone seeing it.

The end of the day rolls around and he hangs out in his room, preparing for tomorrow's lesson as he waits to see if anyone needs his help. One or two students come in to ask about a particular homework problem but they don't take to long.

As 4:30 ticks by he begins packing up. The cold winter storm that had been threatening finally broke, sending driving rain down from the sky. He runs out to his car, tossing his wet things in the back as he hops in the front seat. As he drives out he frowns. There is a student standing by the bus stop without anything to protect her from the rain. He is pretty sure that the buses aren't running here anymore, so he pulls up in front of her, rolling down the window. He stares in shock when he sees that it is Talia Rogers. "Ms. Rogers. What are you doing out here without a coat or umbrella? The buses are done running for the day. Do you need a ride?" He reaches over and opens the door, giving her the option to jump in.
 
He bit. Alex pulled up and cranked the window handle, gradually rolling the window down to ask what she was doing out there before reaching over to open the door. Without answering Talia jumped in, soaked and shivering. Her white shirt, soaked from the rain, clung to her breasts unrestrained by a bra. The top button of her shirt was undone, with her tie hung carelessly about her neck to hide anything worthwhile from view. She pushed a lock of wet hair out of her face and let out a breath while she tried to shiver herself warm.

"Thanks Mr. Sale," she managed after a few moments. "I was hanging out with some friends, lost track of time. They left before I realized I'd missed the bus, and I didn't think it was gonna rain until tomorrow." She looked sideways at him and smiled. "Thanks for the ride. It's um, my house is this way."

Talia took him down back roads, ones riddled with frost heaves so that her breasts bounced nearly constantly. The whole time she sat with her backpack between her knees, keeping them slightly spread and letting her skirt cling to her thighs as it gradually rode up her legs. By the time they reached her house, it was only just barely covering that prize she knew he wanted. Talia's house was a small but tidy bungalow in a clearly working class neighborhood: they weren't impoverished, but it was clear that she was at Saint Barnabas Parochial School on scholarship. In the driveway she dug around in her bag, then shook her head.

"Crap..." She looked up at Alex, exasperation in her eyes. "I forgot my key. My mom won't be home for a couple hours, and my stepdad just left for work like twenty minutes ago. We keep all the ground floor windows locked, and I can't reach my bedroom." She pointed to a small window on the second floor. With a sigh, Talia hung her head. "Wait...oh lemme go see if there's a spare."

Without giving him a chance to get a word in, the girl darted out of the car and up to the front door. She left her backpack in his car, denying him the opportunity to just drive away. He'd already kept the pictures, but it was unlikely he'd keep her bag too. That her mother wouldn't be home was true enough, but Darren was home behind the drawn curtains. She could hear the TV through the door. Talia made a show of bending over again, ostensibly to search for the spare key under the mat. It was there, just as her own key was safely in her backpack. But Alex needn't know that. She straightened and ran around the back as though to look for another way in. She counted to fifty, and while she was back there used a pair of garden sheers to snip off her second button; even if she re-did the first now, there would still be a gap with visible cleavage. She readjusted herself and ran back around the front and slid back into the car.

"No key and no one's home." Talia was fairly soaked again. She looked desperately over to her teacher. "I don't have any change for a payphone. Could you...I mean maybe..." She forced herself to blush. "There's a cafe a few miles away. Would you mind giving me a ride and maybe they'll let me use their phone?"
 
He cranks the heat as she jumps in and rolls up the window. "Its still cold outside," he chides. "You should at least have a coat." He pulls away from the curb, following her directions to her house. He drives slowly, both from the rain and because the distraction that she is unwittingly providing keeps pulling his eyes off the road. He can't tell her to cover up or make her adjust because that would prove that he was looking at her.

He follows her directions, hoping he'd be able to find his way back after dropping her off. Even though he had been in the area a few years, there were still many areas he wasn't familiar with. And he didn't know if his atlas was going to be helpful for these winding back roads.

The winding back roads which were a mess. His car was constantly going over bumps in the road, causing even more distracting jiggling coming from Talia. He is grateful when he pulls into her driveway. But that peace is short lived as she announces with chagrin that she forgot her key. She hops out of his car and dashes to the door, looking around for the spare. Apparently, the search is fruitless because she dashes around the house, staying back there for a minute before running back and hopping in the car.

He sighs as she explains that she doesn't have any key or change. As she speaks he finds his eyes drifting down her shirt, seeing that she has lost a button and that causes her shirt to gape open even more, exposing generous portions of cleavage.

His eyes snap back up to her face as she asks to be driven to a cafe. "Yeah. Sure. What kind of person would I be if I let one of my students stand out in the cold and rain?" He reverses out of the driveway and drives to the cafe she indicates, pulling into a parking spot.
 
Alex couldn't keep his eyes to himself. Talia hid the smirk by looking out the window as they drove, but she watched his reflection and he still kept glancing at her. They pulled into the cafe and she hesitated.

"Could you um...could you come with me?" She blushed and met his eyes briefly before looking down with a nervous giggle. "I don't wanna look like a weirdo, going in there all by myself to use the phone. Maybe we could get a coffee or something? Warm up?"

They hurried into the cafe and while the waitress got their coffee Talia used the phone, turning her back to Alex to tell her mother that she'd be coming home late. The coffee was poured and hot by the time she came back to the table and sat across from her teacher. Slowly she was drying, but her shirt was still soaked and a hint of dark nipples showed through as they pressed against the white fabric. She held the mug in both hands to warm up and sipped at the coffee, humming contentedly.

"Mmmm..." she groaned gently before opening her eyes and looking at Alex. "So Mr. Sale," she said eventually, catching his gaze at her cleavage again, "what're your plans for the weekend? Once you've shaken me off, of course." Talia gave a small, self-deprecating smile. Sitting next to the window, watching the rain while finally warm and dry in the cafe was actually rather cozy. She stretched her foot out under the table and gently rubbed it against his leg, as though she thought it was the table leg.
 
"Um. Sure. Ok," he says awkwardly. His wife was going to kill him for being late. But he couldn't just abandon this poor girl in this weather. So he gets out of the car and the two of them hustle into the cafe, selecting a table by the window. The waitress takes their order and Talia follows her to the phone, calling someone about getting into her house. He tries his best to not look, but it was proving to be difficult.

His task was even more difficult when she comes back to the table, her white shirt clinging to her, making it very obvious she isn't wearing a bra. He keeps glancing out the window as the coffee arrives.

"Not much," he says as he takes a sip if coffee, adding some sugar and milk. "I have some things to do around the house. And my wife wants to go see a movie."

His eyes bulge out of his head as she starts stroking his leg. he quickly moves it, trying to keep this as professional as possible. He was just a good teacher, looking after one of his students. "What about you? And big plans?"
 
"Me?" She shrugged. "I've got an essay to write. Probably gonna hang out with a few friends this weekend once that's done." Her foot found his under the table again. "So what sort of movie? Mrs. Sale gonna drag you to some chick flick or another?" Talia chuckled a little and sipped her coffee, black.

Conversation was stalling. She had to figure out something to pull it back around, around to her, around to them. This was their first date, after all. Talia pressed her chest forward and idly slid her fingertip around the coffee rim. She allowed her eyes to scan his face, to wander to his chest and shoulders, to his hands, then back to his face. They flicked over him in a way that was incongruous with her innocent schoolgirl act, but not quite so lascivious as to give the game away too soon.

"Must be something, finding a woman beautiful enough to spend the rest of your life with," she said after a moment's thought, sliding her foot slowly up and down his calf. "Forsaking all others and all that. You've never even been tempted before?"
 
He sips his drink as he struggles. He loved his wife but he was having terrible thoughts right now. Thoughts of a 16 year old girl, wet from the rain. "No. It's that new Eddie Murphy comedy. She loves him, thinks he's hilarious."

He moves his foot again, folding it under him to prevent her from touching him. "Is anyone coming to pick you up," he asks nervously, this day having taken a turn.

He is shocked by her question. "No. Why would I cheat on her? We swore oaths to each other that we would be together forever." He tries to keep the image of his wife in the front of his mind but Talia's naked body kept intruding. He swallows awkwardly, looking down into his drink as he resettles himself.
 
"Oh yeah...he's cool." Talia smiled a little and nodded, a carefully constructed tone designed to put down his wife's taste in movies without appearing outright nasty. His foot moved out of reach and she had to avoid visibly pouting. He asked whether anyone was coming to pick her up. She weighed her options for a moment, then shook her head. "Mom's not gonna be around for a while, but I figured I could just, y'know, hang out here until she's out of work. Not like I've got anywhere else to go."

The question about fidelity was the wrong one. She shrugged. "I dunno," she mumbled, taking a sip of coffee while pretending to look embarrassed. "I mean, my parents didn't..." She smiled sheepishly. "Well, my mom's remarried. So I just, it's hard for me to imagine it. Actually wanting to be with someone for so long. I mean sure when you're a teenager it's great. You're young and pretty, but I guess that's what happened with my parents...Mom hit 30." Talia shrugged and smiled ruefully. Alex was young yet, but he and his wife were starting to reach that age that crows feet were starting to appear around her eyes and her stomach was starting to sag. Probably, anyway. "Sorry if I overstepped."
 
He finishes his drink, his mind awhir with scandalous thoughts. He needed to get away. He didn't want to leave her here alone though. "Is there a friend nearby you can stay with till your mom gets home? You don't need to stay here for hours by yourself." Part of him was staying to make sure she was safe. Another part was staying because he didn't want to leave her.

Against his better judgement he orders a refill of his coffee and a cookie from the bakery. The waitress drops it off and he offers half to her. "I know its been a bit since lunch," he says in explanation.
 
Talia shrugged and shook her head. "All my friends live across town. That's kinda the way of it when you're a scholarship student." She smiled sheepishly again. "So unfortunately I guess I do. You're welcome to stay though, if you want. Keep me company." She looked out the window and sighed. "I'll need a ride home anyway, if you're up for it. My mom takes the bus home, so I'm gonna have to walk the couple miles back."

Alex ordered a refill, and when the cookie arrived she smiled. "That's very sweet, Mr. Sale. Thank you." Magnanimously she broke the cookie in half and gave one half to him. He would come to realize that this would be a rare treat; she would expect pastries from her favorite bakery from now on, and he'd only get one with her permission. But for now she would allow him to share. "What's your favorite kind of sweet then?"
 
"Shit," he thought to himself. That kind of sealed it. He wasn't going to say that this was a bad part of town. But it still wasn't an area where you left a young, pretty girl all by herself for a few hours. "I'll be right back," he says, as he gets up to run out to his car. A few minutes later he returned, carrying his school bag. It was stuffed with papers, homework from his various classes. Luckily as a math teacher, he didn't give papers or reports so he doesn't have as much to grade as other colleagues of his. "If we're stuck here for a while, how would you like to earn some extra credit and your teacher's favor?"

He grabbed the half of the cookie she offered him and took a bite out of it. "I'll be forever grateful if you help me grade some of these homeworks. That way I have less to worry about this weekend." It was a fairly big stack of papers. Alone, it would take him hours to do. Especially since he was forced to go through each problem and see how they did the equations. But with one of the smarter students in the class, he could maybe cut his time by 25%. "That is if you want. I'm not sure you want to sit and talk to boring old me until your mom comes home."
 
Talia frowned and watched curiously as he ran to his car. Was he going to ditch her? She cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head curiously when he returned with his bag, then smiled when he offered her extra credit in exchange for helping him grade papers.

"Oh I wouldn't call you boring, Mr. S," she assured him. "In fact, I think you're quite fascinating. Probably one of the more interesting teachers at school." Talia grabbed about half of the stack and started sorting them by grade, then by period. "Honestly this is probably going to be my most interesting night of the weekend, sitting here getting to know you better." That wasn't strictly true. She had a date with a bartender about Alex's age tomorrow night, but he wasn't quite as much of an accomplishment for her. Single, youngish guy who could get her drinks for free; easy target. Alex was her Everest.

They passed some time in companionable silence, with Talia occasionally asking a question or double-checking to make sure a student's work was correct. Every now and then her foot wandered to his, more cautiously this time so as not to alarm him. It wouldn't do to chase him off before they'd even got started. Gradually she dried out, her hair rather less sleek than usual. Her shirt was no longer see-through, though her nipples still pressed against the tight white shirt. Around quarter past 6, when they'd been there for the better part of an hour and a half, she checked her watch.

"I'll pay you back if you buy me dinner," she promised. "Mom's still got a couple hours left on her shift, and I dunno about you but I'm starving!" The next time the waitress came around to refill their coffees, Talia ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake. Chocolate and vanilla, she had explained, were too ordinary and predictable. She didn't like to be predictable. "So," she said between bites of her burger, "is this what I am then? Teacher's pet?" She favored him with a warm smile after she swallowed. "Not that I mind, y'know. There's far worse things to be, and there's far worse teachers who I could be a pet for." She winked, a tad flirtatiously but in a way that could easily be dismissed as comfort. "We should do this more often, Mr. Sale. I've been having fun."
 
He finally had started to relax as she took the papers, focusing on his request. "I wouldn't say I'm that interesting. I work, go home, workout, eat dinner, go to bed, repeat. It's not like I have a crazy social life. Not anymore. Those days are long past me. After I got married, my wife and I kind of relaxed." He doesn't know why he's opening up to her, but he is enjoying talking with her. She provides such a unique perspective, being so young.

He grabbed a pen and started to work his way through his stack, happily answering any question she had. They sit there mostly in silence, only the scratching of pens making any noise. He felt her brushing against his leg but since they were only light touched he figured that she was just swinging her leg they were accidental. He was starting to enjoy himself.

The stacks were shrinking even quicker than he thought they would. He might have some free time this weekend after all. There is a crack of thunder and the rain seems to intensify. "This storm is crazy," he says as he looks at the torrential downpour outside. "What would you have done if I hadn't come by when I did?"

When she mentions food he realized that his stomach was rumbling. "You don't have to worry about paying me back. Consider it my treat for helping with the homework." He was able to make eye contact with her again, now that her shirt had dried off and wasn't see-through anymore. "I'm not a fan of strawberry," he admitted as he ordered a chocolate milkshake. He seconded her cheeseburger and figured that they could share the fries.

"You are having fun grading papers after getting caught in the rain? Maybe you should think about being a teacher," he laughed at that statement. He was flattered that she was enjoying herself with him though. It did make the work more bearable.

"I'm surprised we've done as much as we have. You're very good at this. Maybe I should recruit you to help me during your study periods."
 
She followed his gaze and shrugged. "Walk home?" she suggested. "Then stand on the porch until it stopped or my mom came home, whichever came first. I dunno. But I'm really lucky, and really glad you did come along." Talia grinned and reached forward to touch his hand briefly. That was how to reel them in; little touches. Little smiles. It was the small things, she had found, that meant the most to men like him. She mentioned food and his stomach seemed to growl in response and she laughed.

"I dunno if it's the grading papers so much as the company," she admitted. Talia took the liberty of dipping a french fry in his chocolate shake, then laughed at the idea of being a teacher. "I dunno about that," she admitted. "I can barely tolerate other teenagers, I can't imagine doing it as an adult." Then he suggested that she help him during study periods.

Jackpot.

"I guess that'd be good practice for being a TA, if I went to college," she admitted as though mulling it over. "And I get most of my homework done during class or at home anyway. I guess I'd like something like that." Talia favored him with a warm smile. "Yeah, I'd really like that. Probably a better use of my study hall anyway." She stole another bit of milkshake with another fry. "So is that how you got into teaching? Grading papers?"
 
He didn't pull away as she touched his hand. She was warm now. Much warmer than when she had gotten into his car. The touch was brief but he could still feel her fingers lingering on his hand after she pulled it away. "I'm glad I could help. I wouldn't have wanted one of my top students to get pneumonia because she forgot a jacket." He gave her a warm smile as the food arrived.

He picked up the burger as she immediately reaches for one of the fries, scooping some of his milkshake and popping the fry into her mouth. "Don't you have your own," he asked with a chuckle. In truth, he didn't mind. She had had a rough day and deserved to be able to steal some milkshake. He took a sip of his milkshake and continued to eat his burger. The juices ran down his hand, dripping onto the plate that the food was delivered on.

"Teaching isn't so bad. You're shaping young minds. Helping them grow and find their passion. That is why I started teaching." He moved the milkshake out of range of her fries before grabbing a handful himself and dipping them in ketchup. "I'm glad to hear you're willing to help. Most students would hate to spend even more time than they had to with a teacher. Especially a math teacher."
 
Talia laughed when he chided her about the milkshake. "Well yeah, but see, strawberry doesn't taste as good with fries as chocolate does. See, chocolate milkshakes and fries are that perfect mix of sweet and salty." She reached and managed to steal just a little more before he moved the shake out of the way. When he moved it out of her reach she scowled, but allowed it to pass for now. He didn't know any better, after all; even she knew that it wasn't quite fair to punish him before he even knew the rules.

"I hate to be the one to break it to you, Alex," she said, dropping his name casually, as though speaking to an equal, "but I don't think geometry is many peoples' passion." Talia smiled and winked. "And I don't hate spending time with you. Most people don't see teachers as real people and I dunno why. But between you and me," she leaned in conspiratorially, "you're actually my favorite teacher." She crinkled her nose cutely, if only for a moment. "You're smart, you're funny, you make really complicated concepts easy to learn. And I like spending time with you. In your class," she added.

"I guess that's why I'm a bit surprised you don't have more of a social life," she continued after a pause and a shrug. "I don't know why you wouldn't be out there, living life to the fullest, taking advantage of being the interesting person you are."
 
He didn't notice the scowl but did notice her dropping his last name. "Mr. Sale please," he chided. "I may be buying you dinner but I'm still your teacher. Address me with respect Ms. Rogers." He finished his burger, wiping his hands on a napkin to clean off the spilled juices.

"I'm glad you think that. I do my best to make everything approachable for all skill levels." He brushed aside the comments about him being funny. "I'm not that funny. No matter how hard I try. Just ask my wife." The final fries were eaten and they were left sucking down the remains of their milkshakes.

"I spent plenty of time when I was younger living it up. But it's time for me to settle down and start a family. We're trying for a baby. No luck yet but half the fun is in the attempt," he said with a chuckle. "Not that you should be thinking about that at your age. Focus on your education and career. You have plenty of time to decide if you want a baby."
 
She blushed when he reprimanded her. "Sorry I um, I guess I was just doing it for effect." She shrugged and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear demurely. "But I'd like it better if you called me Talia." Miss Talia was her proper title, but he didn't know that yet. He would soon. When he brushed aside her compliments she shook her head. "Well I think you're funny," she insisted.

Alex talked about starting a family. Well, that just made the game all the more enjoyable didn't it?

"Yeah I don't have any designs on a family any time soon," she admitted. "I don't see a baby in my future any time soon. I've got too much I want to do." Talia sucked down the rest of her milkshake, curling her lips around the straw and sliding it slowly out of her mouth. "I always thought you were still young enough to be, y'know, jet setting and clubbing and stuff. I mean you don't seem that much older than me. And I've got a friend whose brother's in college and he's all about like, partying and stuff." She looked at him thoughtfully. "Seriously, you should go to this club he goes to, Sinnerman. He's always talking about it, it sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe take your wife on like, a real date night. Y'know?"
 
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