Page 76 of Fundamentals of Chemistry

“My expectation is that you continue to improve. I have complete confidence that you and Mr. Cooper can perform at the same level.”

“Does this mean I’m still in consideration for the job?”

“Of course! No decisions will be made until the end of term.”

I smiled brightly as I left the meeting. I still had a chance, and I owed it all to Jack. My smile faltered slightly.

Jack.

I would not be in contention for the role without his help, and now I was legitimately at risk for beating him out. A part of me was excited about the prospect, but another part of me felt guilty, like I was taking something that wasn’t mine. Jack was clearly the better teacher. He taught me how to teach!

Regardless of what Richmond chose to do, I would be eternally grateful to Jack for his support and mentorship. I would be able to take what I learned from him and bring it to any new school that I ended up at.

Even though we had both kept our distance over the last week, I felt compelled to go see Jack. I needed to thank him—again—for his help, and another LEGO just didn’t feel like enough. It was starting to feel like all I did was thank him lately.

I checked the time on my phone and realized that his fifth period section should be ending in just a few minutes. I hurried back to Franklin Hall, determined to catch him before he disappeared for the afternoon.

Students filed out the door as I reached the room. I slipped past them and found Jack at the whiteboard erasing thermodynamics equations. I approached the front of the room cautiously, not sure what I was going to say now that I was here.

A smile lit his face when he turned and saw me. “Hey, Princess. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

I smiled back at him, joy at seeing him radiating from every atom.

“I was hoping to catch you,” I said. “Do you have a minute to talk?”

“Sure. A few. What’s on your mind?”

Jack slipped into the office chair, and I took a seat on the edge of the large, wooden desk. If I stretched my leg out, I could have pressed the sole of my pump into his chest. But that didn’t seem like a good idea, so I crossed my ankles underneath the desk.

“I just had a meeting with Richmond,” I started.

“Oh yeah?”

“He wanted to congratulate me on my improvement. He could tell that you’ve been mentoring me.”

My cheeks flushed, and I swung my feet, bumping his knee with the top of my toe.

“That’s fantastic.” Jack leaned forward, resting his forearms on the arms of the chair. “You earned it.”

I leaned forward too, drawn to him like gravity, bringing our faces within a foot of each other. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

He chucked but didn’t pull away. “I’m sure you would have. You’re relentless.”

We were so close. Just a little more and my lips could brush against his.

Bad Melanie.

We agreed we weren’t going to do that again. One day. Twenty-four hours. We agreed. And that ended six days ago.

But something held me there, inches away from him. I couldn’t pull back. My reckless heart was screaming at me to put my mouth on him again—on his mouth, his neck, his chest… and then an idea popped into my head.

I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips softly against his, testing. When he didn’t pull away, I brought my hand up to cup his cheek. He leaned into my touch, humming in pleasure as the kiss deepened, our tongues slipping together between parted lips.

We savored each other, an unhurried exploration. I had hoped the last time we kissed wouldn’t be the last time, and I was grateful he wasn’t pushing me away. I was grateful he was letting me thank him in this way.

And then, I was struck with a new idea. A better idea.

I slid off the desk to kneel on the floor between his manspread thighs.