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When done, she finally faced her class. One look was enough to tell Mairi these kids were the same with the earlier ones she had held. They definitely knew about her, and they distrusted her because of it, for whatever reason.
“Good afternoon, everyone.” Nervousness had her voice coming out in a squeal, and some of the kids snickered. Mortified, she cleared her throat several times before stammering, “Sorry about that.”
Hopeless, Leon thought. If she kept acting like she was afraid of the class, then it was only a matter of time before the bullies took over and she’d be done for.
Mairi started to introduce herself when she saw Leon stand up. Again, she couldn’t help noticing how good-looking he was, but it was mostly out of bemusement. He was an attractive guy, a very attractive one, in fact. So why did he insist on wasting time teasing her?
And why was he heading towards her?
Mairi’s face whitened as he came closer and closer, and she fought back a wave of dizziness.
He was going to make a scene. He was going to tell everyone they kissed. Her life was ruined—-
“Professor?” Leon halted right in front of her.
Mairi forced herself to look at the younger man. “Yes, Mister...?” She blinked owlishly at him, pretending ignorance.
His lips twitched, but he let it be. She was even cuter now, with the way she pretended not to know him. No one had ever done that to him before. “I just wanted to let you know I’m not on the student list you have,” he drawled. “I’ve only decided to take this one earlier so...”
When Leon handed her a receipt, he managed to caress her hand as she reached for it. Mairi snatched her hand away immediately, face burning.
Behind Leon, one of the male students in the front row whistled. Leaning forward on his desk, he said with a snicker, “Way to go, Leon. I think the teacher’s got a crush on you.”
Mairi shook her head anxiously. “No, no, I—-” She couldn’t help tossing a look at the rest of the class, wondering if they had heard what the other student said.
Leon frowned. His little professor was cute when she was worried, but he didn’t like it when another person was the reason behind it. Turning around, he gave his friend a look of mock regret. “You’ve got it the other way around, amico.” Winking at Mairi, he said with a wicked smile, “I’m the one who’s head over heels over our little teacher. Right, Ms. Yay?”
This time, his voice rang clearly throughout the class. Hearing it, everyone broke into laughter and some even cheered.
After writing his name on the list, she pushed the sheet towards him on the desk. “Please sign here,” she muttered ungraciously.
Instead of simply signing it, Leon actually went around the desk to stand next to her, making Mairi gasp and the class laugh. The guys at the back whistled catcalls.
This time, Leon’s proximity made her a thousand times more uncomfortable than earlier. The urge to run away increased, and she could feel her face getting hotter.
A student, Mairi reminded herself desperately. He was just a student, and she was a teacher. She should be the one with an upper hand in this!
As Leon bent his head down and signed the sheet, he murmured, “No need to say thanks, Ms. Yay.”
“Excuse me?” Mairi was incredulous.
Laying the pen down, he looked at her under his lashes, and with him so close she began to realize a few more things. He might be several years younger than she was, but he wasn’t really a boy.
There was nothing boyish and everything imposing about Leon’s height, build, and most especially at the way he looked at her. Good God, he almost looked like he was ready to pounce on her!
She stumbled a step back at the thought, not realizing she was already at the edge of the platform. She flailed and tottered, but before she could fall, Leon was there to catch her, snatching Mairi from the edge.
When her body slammed against his, the class only had one reaction.
Ooooooooh.
“See,” he whispered, his breath fanning her ear, making the side of her face tingle. “If I hadn’t done this, they wouldn’t have warmed up to you.”
He let her go after that, leaving Mairi staring after him in stunned realization. He had done all that...for her?
Her gaze flew to the rest of the class, and by now they were all smiling, in a way she knew she’d never have made them do if it was up to her alone.
When Leon reclaimed his seat, he winked at her from the back. “Go on, Ms. Yay. I’ll make certain everyone’s all ears for you.”
Hoots and giggles erupted from the other students, and it all went downhill – or uphill, depending on how one looked at it – from there.
