We were only going to have a few drinks and that was it. That was all until HER name had to come up. Seeing that empty bottle there on the coffee table this morning, I knew my day wasn't going to be good. Sitting at the table, my head was throbbing and my stomach was still curdling. Five o'clock couldn't come fast enough. Luckily, I had a test to give so I didn't have to stand in the front of the class lecturing and talking about minerals boring myself to sleep. Today, as much as I loved my job, I would rather crawl under a rock and sleep off last night until this weekend where I could drink my misery away.
Hearing someone clear their throat, I looked up seeing those eyes, those soft hazels staring at me, watching me from across the room. That lip was pulled between her teeth as I was noticing a lot more with that particular female student. In the first week, I hadn't seen her do that at all. All she did was sleep. Three days of class and she was sound asleep. Now, she was always awake and she knew this stuff. Not to count, she was about the only one who hung onto every word I said in lecture.
My heart leaped as her face started glowing red and her eyes shot down to her paper with that lip being tugged between those nice white teeth again. It was so obvious she was attracted to me. Unlike the others, she tried her best not to make it known to everyone in the class. The ones in the front row, however, started wearing low cut shirts and shorter shorts. I had some adoring fans in this class as well as the other classes, but there was just that one student who really caught my eye.
I watched her twist a little in the seat thinking about the question. The room started rocking a little reminding me that I was in no shape to be there. The only place I should be was in my empty house lulling my misery and pain away in the bottle of booze.
Why was I even watching her anyway? She was a damn student and that put her in the absolutely off limits zone anyway. For three years, I never had one girl interest me like she has been for the past couple of weeks.
Today, she was wearing a pair of beige pants and those damn black boots again. When she put down her bag, I caught the nice, firm ass when her black sweatshirt slid up over her hips. If I hadn't been in the classroom, I would have adjusted myself right there before I busted the zipper out of my jeans. And, that action hasn't happened in a long time.
Her eyes drifted up slowly as she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. Pressing those luscious lips tight together, I could see the wheels in her mind turning, thinking, trying to recall what she read.
It was amazing how she woke up a couple of weeks ago and changed so much. I saw the flirtatiousness in her, the look-at-me persona she had, and that piss and vinegar. Then, to top it off, she slept through the first two lectures. She was acting exactly like how my ex was. A liar, cheater, and a user, looking for a man with money. But the past couple of weeks, it was as if she was a totally different person and... maybe I was completely wrong about her.
Through lectures, she was one of the very, very few students who actually answered and paid attention. She preferred to sit in the far back out of the spotlight and hadn't really spoken to anyone else in the class. And that god awful habit of biting her bottom lip. That was enough to absolutely drive me insane already. She was driving me insane and all I knew was her name. Jacki Montgomery.
A slight smile settled on her porcelain face as she tipped her head instantly writing the answer just like when she was working on her lab. During lab, she really dug in there taking everything she was learning inside of that head of hers. When she had gotten stumped, instead of asking me, she turned to her book. Kind of a letdown in my manliness, but maybe it was for the best. I had a couple more months of her and that was it. The best thing to do was to completely stay away from her.
After an hour, students started bringing their tests up one by one and I just put them in a pile. I was in no mood or shape to grade them now. This weekend, maybe, if I didn't decide to drink it all away. I have some plans to accomplish Saturday, but nothing to great. Not in how pitiful my life had become in the past couple of years. Drinking and the anger at women was consuming my whole life now.
My dreams were never going to come true, I wasn't going to be anything more than a teacher who spent his time in front of students all day teaching them stuff they were never going to need to know. My dreams were ruined that day that evil woman walked out of my life taking my heart and soul with her.
"I have a question." That sweet and soft voice woke me from jumping into the memories of my past, of my present. "Mr. Smirnov?"
Snapping my eyes up to her, my stomach clenched hard trying to hold onto the spinning room. I ended up finishing that bottle last night not meaning to, but I did and now, it was starting to come back to haunt me. "Please, call me Sergei."
Why did I said that? I didn't want to hear my name on those lips. Those perfect lips that she had been tugging on all class. I wanted to kiss them, to see if they tasted just as good as they looked. I wanted... Straightening up, I folded my arms across my desk trying to stop the spinning and to keep the alcohol filled dinner I had last night from rising any more into my throat.
"Sergei." She passed the test over to me bringing her body into my personal zone, a zone that would be too dangerous for her to be in. Her fruity shampoo lofted around her as she pointed to the last question. "Um, with this one-"
It would be another bottle tonight for sure after hearing the tenderness in the way she said my name. Of all women, this one would be the one to ruin me, to bring me down, to bring me into a feeling I didn't want in my life anymore. And having her in my class, seeing her three days a week, those feelings were going to come back. "Just name the mineral we spoke about in the class."
"We spoke of a lot of them, but I just-"
Gritting my teeth, I snatched the paper from her, wrote down the answer, and tossed it into the pile with the rest. Her eyes opened wider with the watery glass sheeting them. That was a little hasty, but I had to be that way with her. She was a student, one who was bringing bad thoughts into my mind, thoughts that no other woman put into my mind since Susie walked out. I had to get away from this girl. I had to completely ignore her this semester so I didn't get into any trouble. "Go. Have fun for the weekend."
"But, I'm not fin-" Reaching out, she went to grab for her test when I snatched the stack from her and tucked them under my notebook.
"Go. No lab." I had to get her to walk away. I had to push this one girl out of my mind. A student. One I shouldn't even have given a second look at.
Her thin brows pinched together as the thumping in her jaw increased from the clenching of her teeth. Letting out a huff under her breath, she turned and slowly walked to the far back table. Pulling out her phone, she quickly sent a text, sat her phone on the table top, and grabbed her bag. Opening it, she pulled out a black sweatshirt and placed it by her bag.
Taking my eyes off her, I looked at her test. The first page was blank. Just when I thought she was sure to get the best grade, she failed me. Maybe she wasn't learning anything. Maybe she was just playing around and falling back into the habits from her first week.
"You do not know this?" The anger was flowing into my veins and I couldn't help it. At least with the other girls in the class, I knew what they were about. I knew they were ones who were just like my ex. But Jacki? No, she was the one who was scaring the hell out of me and brought about those feelings I shut out three years ago. She was the kind of woman I thought my ex had been until I was slapped with the cold, hard truth.
"No, I guess I don't." Quickly, she unbuttoned her white blouse and she slipped it off her muscular shoulders exposing the red tank top lined with lace. Carefully, she folded the shirt and stuck it into the bag. Damn, if the tightening in my pants hadn't intensified even more seeing the magnificent sculpted chest of hers. It was the perfect firm mounds that was hidden by too much fabric.
"Why not? Do you need more help?"
"Not from you." The pain thickened in her voice as she opened the bottom of her sweatshirt and slipped it over her head hiding the most wonderful sight I ever seen. Tugging the ponytail holder from her hair, she let the soft, wavy lighter brown hair fall past her shoulders. "I will never ask you a question again."
"That is why I am here." The stinging in my chest pushed my heart toward my sour stomach. That comment hurt for some reason, more than it should have. A comment like that coming from a student would get me upset, but something I could shake off in a heartbeat. This comment was deeper, heavier than it should have been because I wasn't looking at her as a student. "If you have a question, you ca ask and I will answer it."
"How in the hell can I learn if you tell me the answers? I'm not here for you to answer the questions for me!" Her hardened eyes shot to me as she tugged that lip through her teeth. "I have no idea what you have against me, but this was a huge mistake."
Grabbing her test off the table, I brought it over to her seeing the danger signs flashing in my mind. Stay away from her, Sergei. Just stay away. But I couldn't. Hell, seeing those muscles in her arms, that body that she hid under the clothing, and those tight pants hugging her nice round bottom made it all challenging. All weekend, that sight would be all I thought about; that red tank with those tight pants. But I needed to stop. I needed to push that damn vision out of my mind, no matter how interesting it was or how much it woke me up, I had to. "You did not finish this."
"You told me to go!" Just as she grabbed her bag, I held my hand down on it keeping her from walking away.
"Sit. Finish. I did not know." Okay, so maybe I was being nasty to her, but I had to be. I needed to shake this infatuation I was having with her, needed to get her out of my head before I did something stupid and ruined my career and her schooling.
"The thing is too hard to read anyway. I am better off just cutting my losses." Turning her look to the door, she brought her hand up to brush away the tear that slipped out. Oh, how I wished that I could be that tear, touching her, caressing her sweet, slightly sun kissed face.
"Yes, it is. I used the test from Professor Johnston. I did not have time to make one up, but next time, I will be sure to make the time. Please, try."
"I am trying." Taking the phone off the table, she unlocked the screen and looked read over the message. "It doesn't matter anyway."
"To me, it does. I will be easy when I grade them." Looking at the test, I read over a few of the questions not even understanding them myself. The questions were at a doctorate level and there would be no way the students in a level one-hundred class could answer them. Not that my students were dumb, but this was far beyond what we covered in this class. "Please, finish."
"I have to go soon." Tapping her left foot on the floor, she curled her hand over the strap of her backpack. Her eyes stayed on the desk, the wall, the door, anything but connecting with me again. Another stab into the chest, one that was even worse than her comment. She wouldn't even look at me now.
"As do I. Sit. I will give you a little more time." Easing my look, I slid her test back onto the table and motioned to it. Moving her bag to the table in front of hers, I let out a breath as I studied the softness that was sinking back into her face. It wasn't that she was searching her brain for the answer, she was just trying to actually read the test. "I cannot help you, but I will let you ask questions if needed."
"I don't need your help." Gripping the back of the chair, she pulled it out and slid into the seat. As she worked through the rest of the test, she chewed her bottom lip whenever she moved to another question. Each time, and I just wanted to be that damn lip. Then, the vibrating phone stopped her. Getting up, she brought the test to me leaving a few questions unanswered. "I have to go."
"Yes, go. I will take only half of the test anyway for the grade." Rubbing my jaw, I tried focusing on the stack of tests in front of me and not on her damn body. At least, now she hated me. That was good though. If she hated me, there would never be anything that brought her around more. Just this semester. This one and that was it and then I would never see her again. "Have a good weekend."
"You too, Sergei." The tenderness in her voice drifted over to me igniting the flames deep within, something even Susie never was able to do. Maybe Jacki Montgomery was the one woman who was perfect for me, but Jacki was one I could not have. Getting fired from this job because of a student would take away any chances I had at ever finding a new job teaching again.
Just as I looked up, the door clicked shut and she was gone. She was gone and I needed to get my head back into the daze of pre-Jacki. Shoving everything in my bag, I walked out making sure everything was locked behind me. It was almost five already anyway. Why not just go home and get an early start on the weekend?
Heading out to my car, the phone vibrated in my pocket. My chest muscles tightened and my stomach rolled over finally letting the sourness of last night's booze come up to surface. The name was spread across the screen of my phone, the one name I didn't even want to hear or see.
Susie: Hey, Sergei! I've been doing a lot of thinking lately and I know we had some bad blood between us, but I wanted to make things right. Please, call me.
Right. Bad blood. It was more than that. A lot more. There would be no way I could ever talk to her again. Though, maybe doing so would end my hate, my rage for women in general, and I could manage to have something in my life.