Wicked Games (Student/teacher)

Chapter 7

Hayden bit her thumb as she waited for her name to be called. "Hayden Scott." She got up from her seat and approached Reed. He slid the paper face down on his desk towards her. He eyed her as she carefully turned it over. She bit her lip and tried to keep the wide smile from growing.

"Eighty three percent," she thought with satisfaction.

"Guess I owe you a drink now," Reed said, without hiding his pride in her. "Guess you do," she said with a flirtatious smile. Pleased with herself, she trotted back to her seat.

"You will be attending that wedding, do you understand me? I don't care whether you want to or not," Alex's father raged on the other end of the phone. "I don't see why I should go through all the trouble of attending a wedding where I'm not even welcomed," Alex explained. "Son, you will be going and that's final!" The last three familiar words echoed in Alex's ears long after the other end fell silent. Alex rubbed his eyes as he dropped his head. The wind blew a chill across his neck. The feeling of a cold hand on his back made him turn around violently. Hayden giggled, "Relax, it's just me." Alex moved so that she could sit down beside him, "Sorry about that." Hayden placed her black shoulder bag on the table and took a seat on the bench beside Alex. "What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the distant look on his face. "It's my dad, he just won't take no for an answer," he told her. A look of understanding and sympathy stared back at him. She laid her head on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it, it won't be that bad." Alex snorted, "You clearly haven't met my stepbrother." Hayden thought of a way to make it better, or rather a way to make it less agonisingly dreadful. "I could help you pick out a suit," she insisted. "That would be fun," Alex replied. "I could also come with you to the wedding, I mean you don't have a plus one yet, do you?" she asked. "Would you?" he beamed, "And no, I don't have a plus one."

Reed strolled to his vehicle and got inside. He was met with an irritating site when he drove past the few benches outside the building: Hayden cozying up to Alex McGregor. He pushed his foot down on the accelerator harder and harder as he sped home, annoyed.

Reed stared into the glass, which held whiskey, in his hand. He brought his free hand to his face and rubbed the stubble as he thought of when and where to take her out for a drink. The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock. He didn't want to come off too strong, he had to play his cards right whilst ensuring they wouldn't get caught. Tick tock. He could take her to a restaurant near the campus that wasn't frequented by any staff or pupils. Tick tock. What if she wasn't interested in him in that way. Tick tock. She had to be. He thought back to the inviting smile she gave him when he expressed his pleasure in her result. Tick tock. He decided that Alex McGregor was the only thing in his way. Tick tock. He rubbed his eyes, Hayden's face filling the darkness. Tick tock. She was looking over her shoulder, her long curls flowing over her back as she smiled, her white teeth revealed. Tick tock. She turned so that she faced him, her smile growing. Tick tock. Tick tock. She threw her head back and laughed before she brought it back up again and smiled an innocent smile. A smile that could pierce any man's heart. Tick tock. Tick tock. She bit her lip. "Reed," she called. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Her laughter filled his ears while he heard her calling his name. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Reed jolted up violently. He checked the clock on the wooden wall. He had fallen asleep on the couch. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He rubbed his face before he made his way to the shower where he washed away his sinful thoughts.

Hayden was excited for her little rendezvous with Reed, a little too excited. She told no one about the little meeting as she didn't want to get either one of them into trouble or raise any suspicion. Her reflection stared back at her while she looked into her long mirror. It was starting to get a bit warmer around campus so she decided to go with white skinny jeans and a black blouse. She neatly tied her hair into a loose ponytail, her curls neatly stacked between her shoulder blades. "You look nice, where are you going?" Emily asked after just getting home from an early class. They didn't have 'Human Behaviour' today. "Just meeting up with a friend," Hayden lied, "I haven't seen her in so long." Emily threw herself onto the couch. "Where does she live?" Emily asked without any suspicion in her voice. "Her parents shipped her off to NYU, but she's in town for a family event, so this is the only time I'll get to see her." Hayden was surprised by how she was able to tell such a convincing story. "That's really nice. Where are you two meeting up?" Emily continued. "I'm sorry, I'm already late. I better get going," Hayden said hurriedly before she made her way for the door. "Hayden," Emily called. Hayden stopped in the doorway, her pulse quickening. "Don't forget your phone." Hayden turned around to see her white iPhone on the table. "Right. Thanks." She grabbed it and hurried to the area of benches in front of the cafeteria. It was closed around this time so the parking lot was empty. Reed's vehicle came into view as he approached Hayden. The car stopped and she got inside before it continued to move.

The little restaurant was in an area of town that Hayden had never been to before. It was more of a little café. The outside was a sky blue colour and had a little wooden staircase leading up to the big glass door. A veranda with tables and chairs, that were filled with customers, was joined to the front of the restaurant. Inside, it had wooden chairs and tables. The walls were painted white and were covered in portraits of famous holiday destinations. A little kitchen and counter could be found near the back. Hayden followed Reed to the back. He pulled her seat out for her and waited until she sat down before he filled his own seat. A young, African-American woman took their orders. "I was really pleased to see the change in your result," Reed said as the waitress walked away. He kept his hands on his lap, fidgeting with a loose thread of cotton. Hayden looked a bit younger with her hair away from her face. He could see her collar bones protruding in a healthy yet attractive way and he noticed two beauty spots just above her shoulder that he hadn't before. "Well I couldn't pass up a free drink," she teased. He snorted at her joke. She seemed pleased to have made him laugh. The waitress returned with two cappuccinos.

"Oh it couldn't have been that bad," Hayden laughed as Reed told her about his first day of teaching. "It was! I knocked my whole model of the human brain over and everyone just stared at me. They were probably thinking, 'Can this idiot just leave' or something." He explained. Hayden continued to laugh. Reed watched her rest her head on her hand as she looked at him with inviting eyes. "I guess we should go," he said, seeing as though they had already paid the bill.

"Thank you," Hayden said when Reed dropped her off. "I enjoy your company, Hayden," he said. "And I yours," she replied, giving him a brief hug goodbye.

The following day in class, Reed and Hayden couldn't keep their eyes off of each other. Both desired one another, yet wasn't really sure if the feeling was mutual. When Hayden felt Reed's eyes on her as she wrote, she flicked her hair away from her neck, revealing those two beauty spots. She looked up to see him biting his lip and quickly looking down. The sight of him squirming delighted her.