After waiting outside in the hallway for a few minutes, Ben finally showed up to class and we walked in together. I planned on avoiding Mr. McCoy for the rest of class due to our little moment earlier but apparently Ben had a different plan.

As I started walking directly up the rows to get to our normal seats, Ben's hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me in the opposite direction; which happened to be right towards Mr. McCoy. Oh joy.

He had a few other students surrounding him asking questions which seemed like a good enough reason to me to go back to our seats.

"Come on, Ben. He's obviously very busy and will need to get class started soon. Let's just go sit down." I grabbed Ben's hand off my waist and attempted to pull him away from our professor.

"Oh no, I don't think so." His hand ripped out of mine and snaked back around my waist, dragging me back towards Mr. McCoy.

"What are we even doing up here? Do you have a question on the project or something?" I huffed, becoming exceedingly more irritated with every passing moment.

Ben shook his head. "Nah, I just wanted to thank the man again for saving you."

I groaned. "And why do I have to be here for it? I already thanked the man!"

Ben turned to look at me disbelievingly. "Oh, yeah? When?"

"Do you both actually have a question or are you just up here waste my time?" The devil himself interrupted through our conversation rudely to ask, earning both Ben and I's attention immediately.

Whoa, where did that come from?

Ben awkwardly cleared his throat, obviously a little taken back by Mr. McCoy's less than friendly attitude towards us.

"Uh, no, no question, just wanted to extend my gratitude again for all that you did that night." Ben paused for a moment to look at me, his grip on my waist tightening. "I don't want to think what would of happened to this one here if you hadn't have been with her." He then extended his hand out to greet Mr. McCoy's. "Seriously man, you need anything, just let me know."

I turned my gaze away from Ben to Mr. McCoy. Yet, when I looked his way, I was surprised to see his gaze wasn't on Ben or even his outstretched hand. His sapphire eyes were glued to Ben's other hand, which was still wrapped firmly around my waist.

Confused, I cleared my throat to try and grab Mr. McCoy's attention. This seemed to work as his eyes snapped up to meet mine, an intense and somewhat bewildered look infused in his stare. I gave him my own confused and slightly concerned look and he finally acknowledged Ben's still awaiting hand.

Mr. McCoy reached out and shook Ben's hand hastily and apparently he had a very firm handshake. Ben was all too quick to get his hand back and nonchalantly nurse it back to health.

"Oh uh, it was nothing, just doing my job." Mr. McCoy's toned suggested an easy calmness while his body was anything but. His entire body was ridged and he kept flexing his other hand repeatedly; nervously.

"No sir, it wasn't nothing," Ben spoke up again. "You went way above and beyond for a student than any other teacher I've ever met."

Mr. McCoy looked beyond uncomfortable with this statement. "Well, I would have done it for any of my students."

Ouch. There went any feeling a being slightly special that I had left after our conversation this morning.

Suddenly, I felt really stupid. More stupid than I did this morning, probably more so than I had in my entire life. I didn't think that he liked me or anything but I at least thought he saw me a little differently than the other students.

Obviously, I couldn't have been more wrong.

I hadn't realized that I was blankly staring at Mr. McCoy until his eyes met mine and I instantly looked away. The situation was quickly engulfing me and I was beginning to feeling claustrophobic. I needed to remove myself from his proximity. Now.

"I'm gonna go sit down," I said to Ben, giving him a small smile and headed towards my seat, not sparing our professor another look.

The seat next to me shifted moments later and Ben sat down. "Well, that was...odd."

Still not meeting his eyes or looking up I asked "What was?" As if I don't already know!

"That whole conversation. Don't you think he seemed pissy?"

Before I had the chance to answer, the man in question interrupted our conversation, and for once I was grateful.

"Okay class, today's going to be a relatively easy day. We're going to take this day to finish up your projects that are due on Wednesday to be presented in the Art Gala on Friday. So, go ahead and get out your materials and I'll be at my desk if you have any questions. Use this time wisely!"

50 minutes later, I was not nearly as close to finishing as I hoped I would be. I still had to fully edit two of my photos before they could be approved for print.

Sighing, I closed out of everything on the school computer, gathered my papers, and headed back to my seat to pack up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ben jogging up next to me.

"I finished!" He exclaimed, thrusting a piece of paper into my hands. Looking down to see what it is, I slapped my hand over my mouth quickly trying to contain my laughter.

"This is your collage?" I asked hesitantly while stifling the laugh that was threatening to pour its way through my lips.

"Yeah! It was super simple too. I don't know why you said this class was going to be hard." Staring down at Ben's project, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Laughter tore through my body and I keeled over my desk, clutching my stomach.

"It's just a bunch of selfies...of you doing stupid shit!" I couldn't stop the laughter as it rang throughout the classroom, earning us a few odd looks from our classmates.

"It is not!" Ben protested and shoved my shoulder slightly. "I think it's a master piece. Plus, who are to talk, you haven't even finished yours yet!" he exclaimed motioning to the piles of unfinished papers in my hand.

I groaned.

"Ugh, don't remind me. I have to come back here tomorrow night and finish up on the school computers since they're the only ones with the editing program that we need for the project."

School really sucks ass sometimes.

I arrived home and immediately switched from my school clothes into my jogging gear. I pulled my hair into a tight bun, grabbed my phone and headphones and headed out.

I started running about a year ago. It helped with the stress and guilt from everything that was going on. Running gave me time to think in a positive way. Brooding in my room only led to bad thoughts and self-loathing. Running kept my mind going at a steady pace and the fresh air and nature surrounding me gave me a certain peace that I couldn't find anywhere else in my life.

I've ran the same path for over a year now yet the ever changing trees and flowers held the same beauty they did as when I first saw them. It's rare to see anyone else out on this path. The occasional biker was all I'd ever seen, which made this time and place even more special to me. It was like my own personal stretch of land in which no one could bother me.

The next morning, I crept into the Arts building after getting out of my Creative Writing class, careful not to disturb any other classes, and made my way to the Photography room. Thankfully, there weren't any afternoon classes in there on Tuesdays so I had the entire room to myself for as long as needed.

I entered the room and did a quick survey to make sure the coast was clear and an easiness floated through my veins as I determined that it was. I threw my bag down on one of the desks and grabbed my phone out of my back pocket. I hooked it up to the sound system provided in the classroom and let the music blare out through the speakers.

A couple of dance steps later, I made it to a computer and set off to work. Pulling out my unfinished collage photos, I took notice to one in particular and couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips. It was of my parents clinking together Champagne glasses, signaling the celebration of their 25th anniversary.

It seemed like a pretty normal picture at first glance but when you enhance their facial features and captured the look in their eyes, it was absolutely breath-taking. There was such purity, such love, and such joy swarming in their eyes as they gaze at each other. It's something to look up to and give hope to whoever sees it. That's what my project was based off of. All of the 5 featured photos in my collection are from our family trip to the Keys for my parent's 25th anniversary. It's a whole collage of love, happiness, and warmth. I wanted to create something that anyone could look at and get a joyous feeling, and maybe even a sense of hope.

Sometime later, I finished up just about everything to complete my collage. I wasn't sure how much time has passed but I could hear some of the janitors in the hall so it must be pretty late. I then realized that I could hear people out in the hall which means that my music stopped playing.

Unacceptable!

I jumped out of my chair and ran to my phone, quickly selecting a random song which just so happened to be Aerosmiths "Dude Looks Like A Lady". I instantly started jumping around the room and singing along with Steven Tyler. I needed a little break anyways!

I ran up onto a random desk when the guitar solo come on and proceeded to play the shit out of my imaginary guitar. Slowly making my way to my knees, I threw my head backwards and sang along to the song as the music break ended.

"Oh that funky lady

She like it like it like it like that

She was-"

"Am I interrupting something?"

My head snapped up so fast I think I gave myself whip lash.

Sadly for me, from all of my intense head banging, my hair was a mess in front of my face and I couldn't exactly see who it is that caught my rock out session. I scrambled off the desk, tripping slightly in the process, sending myself stumbling right into the big desk at the front of the room, where my phone happened to be laying. I quickly grabbed it and shut off my music, leaving the room deafeningly silent. Groaning to myself, I did a quick flip of my hair to get it somewhat back in place before turning to face my intruder.

My eyes landed on a very gleeful Mr. McCoy.

Seriously, who in the Universe did I piss off enough to have this bad of luck?

I let out a nervous laugh. "Um, how long, exactly, have you been standing there?" I asked, all the while dreading his answer.

"About since the air guitar came into play," he stated, eyes filled with amusement.

I slapped my hand to my forehead, face-palming at my utter stupidity.

"Any chance you won't tell anyone about this?" I asked hopefully.

He snorted. He literally snorted as if it was the funniest thing he had heard all day. "I don't see the chances of that being very high, Ms. Merrick."

"I'll pay you 50 bucks."

He shook his head. "No, I think my days of taking bribes and bets from you are over." 

That comment sort of threw an awkward wrench into the conversation and I had no idea how to respond. So, I just nodded and walked back over to my computer, determined to finish these last few tweaks I had in the next 60 seconds. All of a sudden, getting out of here as fast as possible was my new priority.

I heard him clear his throat in the background and prayed that he would just leave. After everything that happened on Monday, I truly had nothing left to say to him that wouldn't result in either an argument or me completely embarrassing myself. Neither sounded very appealing.

"You have good taste in music."

"I try."

"How modest of you," he mused and I heard him start to walk towards me. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Apparently my feisty side wanted to make an appearance in this conversation.

"You could but it would be a stupid question since I'm a professor here and this is my classroom," Mr. McCoy shot back.

Feeling like a complete idiot, I said the only thing that came to my mind at that moment.

"I thought there was no such thing as a stupid question."

"That, Ms. Merrick," he tutted as he came up besides the chair I was sitting in, his playful eyes trained on mine. "is complete and utter shit," he finished and my mouth popped open in surprise.

"Watch your mouth, professor! "I scolded playfully. "Innocent ears over here!" I jokingly raised my hands up, and placed them over my ears, and looked up at him.

"You know, somehow I get the feeling that that's just not true." He smirked down at me but I pretended not to hear him, and cocked my head to the side, and widened my eyes a bit, making myself look as innocent as possible.

"What?" I questioned and then went the extra mile by throwing a slight pout on my lips.

Mr. McCoy's eyes dropped to my lips.

"There's nothing innocent about you, Ms. Merrick." he muttered under his breath.

I dropped my hands from my ears and looked up at him incredulously. "I heard that."

Mr. McCoy looked back up at me and cleared his throat. He didn't bother responding to my comment and took notice of my computer screen.

"I take it this is your collage?" he asked while studying a picture of my four year old niece playing on the beach.

"Uh, yeah. It's not exactly ready yet. I've been here the last couple hours finishing some things up." I reached out, grabbed the mouse, and started to put the finishing touches on my last photo.

"This is really good. Your lighting effects really capture the innocence of this girl," he complimented while he analyzed the photo closer.

"But you know what would help," he mused as he switched over to the other side of my body and grabbed the mouse right out of my hand. His chest was hovering over my shoulder and his neck was directly next to my face. He was practically dangling himself right in front of me without realizing it.

My attention snapped back to the screen as he started to shade around my nieces face, making some areas darker than others. At first, I wasn't sure at all what he was going for, but then I started to see it. My nieces face became the center of the photo and the dark light around the sides of her face added to her smile making it stand out and seem brighter than the sun behind her.

"Wow," I mumbled and pull myself closer to the screen. "I actually really like that," I said a bit louder, earning me a scoff from Mr. McCoy.

"What a shock, the teacher actually knowing what he's doing." The sarcasm was clear in his voice.

"I'm as shocked as you," I stated in all seriousness.

The room fell silent and I could feel a smile tugging at my lips. Slowly, I turned my head to look at Mr. McCoy and jumped back a little in my seat to find that he was already staring at me with the utmost annoyed expression. I couldn't hold it in anymore as laughter tore through my throat and filled the empty classroom.

"Your face!" I pointed my finger at him like a five year old and continued laughing until a hand wrapped firmly around my finger and pulled me slightly.

I jolted forward with the rolly chair I was in and came to a stop against Mr. McCoy's knees. I was now crisscross applesauce in my chair staring up at a smirking Mr. McCoy, who still has my finger held firmly in his grasp.

"Now, we both know you think my face is attractive," he said, his eyes beaming with mischief. A blush burned on my cheeks and I averted my eyes away from his teasing one.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I mumbled, even though I knew exactly what event he was referring to.

He hummed disbelievingly but thankfully dropped the subject. "Who is the girl in the photo anyways?" he questioned.

A smile formed on my lips. "That's my niece. Every photo in my project is from our family vacation this past summer."

He nodded. "Can I see the rest?"

A jolt of nervousness shot through me at the thought of him seeing my work. I knew he was the teacher and he would eventually see them but the irrational side of me was freaking out a little.

"You're the teacher so... I guess." I trailed off awkwardly and pulled up my photos on the computer, still very aware of how close Mr. McCoy still was. Why hadn't he moved?

I began clicking through my first couple photos until I landed on the one of my parents. I cautiously looked over at him to get his approval since this was perhaps my favorite of the five photos. He was shifted so his hand was resting on the counter top and he was still hunched over my body slightly. He looked away from the computer and at me with a small smile on his handsome face.

"Your parents," he more stated than asked. I nodded proudly and glanced back at the screen, suddenly feeling home sick.

"You look a lot like your mom." My eyes were still glued to the screen but I could see out of the corner of my eye that his gaze was still trained on me, studying my profile.

"We get that a lot. She's beautiful so that's a huge compliment my way."

"So are you."

My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes widen. Did he really just say that?

I slowly looked over at him. He seemed to suddenly realize what he said and his eyes widened like a cat that had just been caught ripping up the couch.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." he stuttered. He stood to his full height and backed up to one of the desks behind him. I couldn't help the small laugh that tumbled off my lips at his nervousness.

"It's okay." I smiled up at him, a genuine smile this time that seemed to catch him off guard. His eyes latched onto mine and that smile became contagious as his lips lifted up into their own breathtaking grin. A moment of silence passed between us, where neither of us moved or looked away. Then, with all the strength in the world, I took my gaze back to the computer screen.

"Do you have any more photos?" he asked calmly and seemed genuinely interested.

I nodded without looking at him and scrolled through to my next photo and then moved onto the last. My finger clicked the next button and I instantly regretted it. I kind of completely forgot that my last photo was of me dancing in the waves with my arms open wide, the wind in my hair, and I just so happen to be in a bikini.

My hand flew up to the screen to cover my body before he could get a look at the photo. For some reason, I could care less if any stranger saw this photo, but him? That would quite possibly be the most embarrassing moment of my life.

"This one isn't ready!" I blurted out.

"That doesn't matter. I can help you with it anyways." He pushed himself off the desk and took a step towards the computer.

"Uh no, no. I -I don't need your help on this one."

He gave me one of his 'seriously?' looks. "You may not need my help but I'm going to give it to you anyway. Now, move your hand."

I shook my head.

He scoffed. "Now is no time to be stubborn. I'm going to see it either way. It's either now or at the gala on Friday."

You know what? He's right. Why stop the inevitable? I've got nothing to be ashamed of.

With a burst of confidence, I removed my hand from the screen, revealing my half naked body to my professor.

I spun around in my chair with a shit eating grin to face him and see his reaction, which was better than priceless. Mr. McCoy was staring at the photo shamelessly!

Pride welled up in my chest. Who would have ever thought that this God standing in front of me would be at all affected by a photo of me?

"So? Any tips?" Mr. McCoy blinked a few times trying to re-focus his eyes before averting his stare anywhere else but at the screen.

"No, it's a, uh, very nice photo." He ran his hand through his hair a few times and took a few deep breaths before continuing. "How did you take this picture of yourself?"

"I set up a camera that was videoing the whole time we were at the beach that day, then went through and grabbed a few stills from it that caught my eye. This happened to be one of them."

He nodded. "I see why. It's great. I mean, you look gre..." He sighed. Internally, I was dying of happiness.

"I bet your boyfriend isn't too happy about all the people who are going to see this photo."

Huh?

Confusion racked my body as I pushed myself out of the chair and plopped myself down across from him on the closest desk top.

"Boyfriend?" I quirked an eyebrow up at him. Mr. McCoy turned to face me and folded his arms across his broad chest, making the muscles in his arms constrict.

"Yeah, that guy you're always with. The thin one with the weird hair."

"Ben? The thin one with the really cool hair, you mean?" I corrected. "You think he's my boyfriend?" I asked warily.

Mr. McCoy looked at me as if I had grown two heads.

"Well yeah, he was at the club with you that night and was doting all over you. Plus he's always grabbing you and touching you so I just assumed." He finished and a scowl has taken over his otherwise perfect facial features.

"Uh yeah, because he's one of my best friends." Mr. McCoy seemed taken back for a moment and blinked up at me.

"He's not your boyfriend?" he asked. I began to laugh just thinking about the 'what ifs' of that scenario.

"No! Ben is the farthest thing from my boyfriend! Hes just a really great friend." I smiled.

"Who likes to touch you a lot," Mr. McCoy muttered under his breath. I pretended to not hear it though.

"I am as single as you can possibly get. Probably will be for a while." I shrugged, not really caring if I had a man in my life any time soon. After these last couple years, I didn't think anyone would really want to deal with me or my baggage.

Mr. McCoy shook his head as he fixed his eyes on mine "Not if you show this picture at the Gala. You'll have guys lined up."

The longer he kept his gaze locked onto mine, the more the look in his eyes began to turn from his normal irritated look, to something much darker; hungrier.

"I find it hard to believe you have any problem with guys. Especially if you look like that in a bikini." He nodded his head in the direction of the computer without taking his eyes off of mine. Whatever discomfort he felt when I first showed him the photo was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed. "You really shouldn't have showed me that photo."

"You asked for it." I smiled teasingly up at him.

"Yes, but I never thought it would be a photo of you...like that." I laughed and slid forward on the desk so that my feet were touching the ground

"Come on, Professor. It's not like you've never seen a girl in a bikini before!" I playfully slapped his arm and couldn't help but take notice to how tense his muscles were underneath.

"Never when that girl is a student of mine." he said with a mixture of hunger and apprehension in his stare. His voice was also noticeably strained and deeper than usual.

It was a total fucking turn on.

I slowly, daringly took a small step forward and landed right in front of his tall, broad figure. I didn't dare press any farther. This was about as far as my new found confidence would take me. Our bodies weren't touching but if either of us moved just an inch, they would be flush up against each other's.

"And what's the difference?" My voice was barely above a whisper.

His eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that I've only seen in him once before. When I was pushed in the hallway and he caught me, pulling me tight into his strong body. The only difference now; there was no one here to interrupt us.

We had a silent war with our eyes, both of us testing the other one to see who would make the first move. I refused to be humiliated again like I had been on too many occasions by this man. I would win this battle.

Eyes still sealed onto each other's, my patience began to wane. Doubts started to flood my mind. I pulled my bottom lip into my mouth and softly bit it, hoping this would cause some sort of reaction from him.

It did.

Before I could decipher what's happening, his hot hands enveloped my waist and pulled me into him. A gasp escaped my lips at the sudden contact and a pulsing started to grow within my core. His hands grasped almost desperately at my waist and an audible moan escaped my lips as I relished in the long awaited body contact. I let my head fall backwards with the moan; my hands finding their way to his neck to reach up and let my fingers roam his thick head of hair.

A breath of hot air washed over my entire neck, and the anticipation of what was to come had my body panting for more. Finally, just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, I felt the most heavenly pair of soft lips brush against my neck. I instinctively tugged on the strands of his hair that I had in my grasp. A low groan reverberated deep in in his throat as his fingers grip around my slim waist tightened and I swear I almost let loose on the spot.

Then, just as things were about to get good, a buzzing sound sliced through the room and Mr. McCoy and I's very intimate, very inappropriate moment.

I felt his body freeze around mine and he instantly backed off of me, moving as far away as the desks would allow. His face was one of pure horror. That face quickly morphed into one of anger. Cold eyes took the place of his ever deep, ocean blue ones.

"Nothing. There's no difference." he spat out.

It took a moment to register what he meant but when I remembered my final question before any of this started, my body slowly started shutting down.

I fucking knew it.

He moved around me to walk to the buzzing noise which turned out to be coming from his phone. He picked it up and yet, before he answered, his dead eyes meet mine and I couldn't help but flinch at their frigidness.

"I suggest you leave. Now." he finished before he clicked his phone and answered.

"Hey."

I tuned out his conversation and grabbed all of my things as fast as humanly possible. Without double checking, I grabbed my purse off his desk with trembling hands. I could feel my body holding on for only a moment longer before completely losing it. I needed to get out of here before it happened.

Everything in hand, I sped to the door and I didn't look back. I just kept on until I reached the door and burst through it. Tears began to roll down my cheeks and my breathing was coming in short bursts. My pacing changed into a sprint to make it outside and through the school doors.

I crashed through the doors as fresh air hit my face and invaded my lungs. I sunk onto the concrete ground and lost it, welcoming the panic attack with open arms.

Hey guys! I know its been a while but this one is super long to make up for it! I'm so excited for you all to read where this story is going to go!Thank you to all who read and please vote and comment! I NEED FEEDBACK lol 

Thanks everyone! Until next time :)