Teacher's Game (NC-17)

Three

"Hayleigh?" Tara's fingers snapped in front of Hayleigh. "Hey!"

Hayleigh's gaze refocused on her friend's face. "Sorry, you were saying...?"

Tara's forehead creased. "I wasn't saying anything. I was calling you and you weren't responding."

Hayleigh dropped her bag, not realizing it was still on her shoulder even though she had been sitting on her bed for minutes. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Yeah, I gathered that much. You just walked in here like a zombie and scared the hell out of me. Is everything alright?"

No, everything was not alright. Her professor had just asked her out on a date. And she said yes.

What the hell had she been thinking? Why did he even ask his own student, of all people? She'd been under the impression she'd become persona non grata the way he called her out in class so much. Was that why he'd been picking on her? Because for some odd reason, he liked her?

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You barely know each other.

Hayleigh buried her face to her hands. "I think I just did something completely stupid."

"Uh oh. What did you do?"

There was no way Hayleigh could tell someone else about it, and yet Tara was one of the most sensible people she knew. Perhaps...

Hayleigh chewed on her bottom lip and winced. "I... may have said yes to a date."

"Oh my God! Who?!" Tara squealed, sobering quickly when Hayleigh did not smile. "Wait. Is he ugly?"

"No." Far from it.

"Then what's the problem?"

Because he was her teacher? "I hardly know him."

"Isn't that the point of a date? To get to know each other better?"

Hayleigh opened her mouth, and yet there was nothing else she could think to say without giving away the truth.

"Wait, who is the guy?" Tara excitedly squirmed in her seat. "Is he someone I know?"

"No," Hayleigh quickly answered. "He's not from this school."

Tara raised an eyebrow. "Is he from Tinder or something?"

Hayleigh had never even used the app before, but it was a better answer than she could ever think of in that moment. "Sure."

"I did not expect you to be the swiping type." Tara looked almost impressed. "Good for you though. At least you can have a social life now."

Hayleigh groaned with a laugh. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You never join me in any parties and you're always studying." Tara shrugged. "Now you can finally have some action."

Professor Henderson's face flashed in Hayleigh's mind. A strange tingle went down her spine.

She quickly pushed the thought away and collapsed face down on her bed.

Oh God, she was in trouble.

Hayleigh couldn't stop looking at her watch.

It was only ten minutes left before four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. She was currently at a bookstore, pacing restlessly down the aisles.

In a few minutes' time, she was set to meet up with Professor Henderson at the café across the street. The journey to arrive at this point had been nerve-wracking, from constantly questioning her life decisions to messing up the entirety of her wardrobe deciding what to wear. Trying to act normal in Stat class the whole week had been just as difficult, and every time her eyes met Professor Henderson's, her face would go up in flames. How was she going to manage having coffee with him at this rate?