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“Then I’m done speaking,” I said as I kept scrolling on my phone, not bothering to look at what I was doing.

He sighed and started walking down the aisle toward me. “How many times do I need to remind you to not use your phone in my class, Miss Hunter?”

I smiled up at him sweetly. “Maybe one more time?”

“Hand it over. Now.” He put his hand out.

“Darn it,” I said, even though that’s exactly what I’d wanted to happen. “I still haven’t set a passcode. And all my new pictures are so embarrassingly revealing.” I dropped my phone into his waiting hand. I’d taken a lot of new photos just for him. Because I knew for a fact that he looked. Well, he’d looked one time out of the three times he’d confiscated my phone. And I realized that he must want new material.

Mr. Halifax shoved my phone into his pocket.

For later. I forced myself not to wink at him. Because despite what all my friends thought, I was not trying to get the man fired. I just wanted him to wake up and realize that we were perfect for each other. And some tasteful almost-nudes never hurt with that.

“You can pick it up after school, Miss Hunter,” he said firmly.

“Yes, sir.”

He turned and walked back toward the board.

I glanced at Scarlett.

She rolled her eyes and started taking notes.

I grabbed my notebook and turned my attention to the board too. Because it wasn’t just Mr. Halifax that was so great about this class. I also loved calculus. And I was good at it.

But in my next class and the next, my mind started wandering. Was Mr. Halifax looking at my photos now? Or was he waiting until he had free time at lunch? That’s when he’d looked at them the first time. During lunch.

So by the time lunch rolled around I was smiling. “Do you think he’s looking?” I asked Scarlett as we made our way to the cafeteria.

“Do I think who’s looking at what?”

“That Mr. Halifax is looking at my photos again.”

“Oh. Yeah, probably.”

I stared at her. “That was not very convincing.”

“I’m sorry, but he didn’t look the last two times.”

“That’s because I didn’t have anything new. He probably exported all my other photos and looks at them every night. But I took new ones specifically for him this time.”

“What kind of photos exactly?”

“Tasteful almost-nudes.”

“I don’t know what that mean,” Scarlett said. “Is that like...pants but no shirt?”

I laughed. “You know, we could do another photoshoot for you to send Axel. You know he liked those other photos you sent him.”

She bit her lower lip as she mulled the idea over. “You think he wants more of those?”

“Every guy wants more pictures like those. Trust me. Which is why Mr. Halifax is currently masturbating under his desk to saucy photos of me. Save me a seat. I’m going to go get some pizza.”

Scarlett went to sit down at our usual table. I watched as Axel brought over two trays, setting one down in front of her. That’s what I wanted. That right there. Love.

And I knew that Mr. Halifax and I couldn’t act that way until I graduated. But I certainly wouldn’t mind sneaking around with him until spring. I just needed him to wake up.

Speaking of pining over someone who wasn’t mine... Jacob sat down across from Scarlett, his eyes briefly glancing at her before he started eating. Jacob knew my pain. He was in love with Scarlett. But Scarlett was in love with Axel. Jacob would never admit it out loud, but his feelings for her hadn’t just vanished overnight. That wasn’t how love worked. I’d know. It’s why my chest was currently aching and I was having a hard time sleeping.