Don't Tempt Me

Going out

DAMIEN

I watched Ella leave, feeling like a complete asshole. This morning, the principal let me know I would have a female student this year, and the whole lecture about treating her fairly. He even gave me her file, but I'd just thrown it in my briefcase.

I pulled it out now, scanning the pages. Damn. Ella was f*****g smart. Perfect grades across the board for three years straight. A couple extra curricular activities including volleyball, soccer, and baseball. She had an impressive school career.

My eyes flicked through the words on the pages, stopping at 'parents'. Here we go.

It is in my professional opinion that Miss Ella Green no longer requires her weekly counseling sessions with the school. She seems to have adopted a healthy, mature attitude regarding her parents death. She still complains about other students bullying her, but she has demonstrated the correct and applicable coping methods to deal with such matters. While I no longer believe Ella requires the schools guidance service, they should always be open to her, should she want them again.

The letter went on to describe Ella's troubles making friends, isolating herself, and at one point, not being able to cope with highschool. She was home schooled for three months before she decided to return, and the school decided she should attend counseling. Her troubles went all the way back to kindergarten.

I scanned the rest of the pages, but there was nothing else about her parents. They must have passed when she was really young, possibly before she even started school. Now I felt like a bigger asshole. If I'd read the damn file, I would never have asked her such a sensitive question. I shoved the folder into my briefcase, rubbing my temples. Ironic that I gave a whole speech about treating her equally, and then I was the one who treated her like a weak female. Maybe I was the one who needed therapy.

Truthfully, I'm not even sure why I did it. Part of it was that Jason kid pissing me off. All through class, he was making whispered snide remarks about Ella that he didn't think I could hear. I should have said something.

The bigger part was something I didn't want to admit. Ella seemed so sweet, although evidently she had a temper. But I felt...protective of her. More so now that I actually read her file. She was definitely smart. She was also beautiful, and honestly, sexy.

This morning, I'd hoped she was a young teacher, like me. I'd have wasted no time asking her out on a date. She looked older than her eighteen years, and she was definitely more mature than any of the students here. I was severely disappointed when she told me she was a student. I'd even tried to catch a glimpse of her throughout the day. Imagine my surprise when she walked in the door to my class.

Unlike every class I'd had today, she was the only one to pay attention. Twice, I'd had to tell students to get off their phones. I tried to avoid looking at her though. Those eyes of hers were hypnotic. And her lips, those beautiful, full pink lips. f**k.

Get ahold of yourself! You're her f*****g teacher!

"Arghhhhh!" I groaned. This was so wrong! I should not be thinking about one of my students this way! Thankfully, a knock on the door interrupted my perverted thoughts.

"Come in." I called.

The gym teacher, Mr. Smith, entered with a wave.

"Hey... John right?" I asked.

"Yeah. You're Damien?"

I nodded. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to come say hey, see how your first day was." He smiled.

"It was... good." I said lamely.

"That's good. Listen, some of the guys are heading out to grab a couple drinks. You wanna join us?"

"Oh. Yeah, that sounds great actually. Thank you." I could use a drink.

"Cool. We're going to Barney's. It's on the main drag, big purple sign. You can't miss it. Parking is around the back. See you there." He gave another wave and left.

Huh. Nice guy. I grabbed my briefcase, jacket, and my car keys and headed out. I hadn't talked to many of the teachers yet, but I hoped they were as nice as John. Walking out to the parking lot, Ella invaded my thoughts once again. I still couldn't believe she knew my car. I shook my head while getting in and strapping my seat belt. Pulling out into the parking lot, my mind randomly noted that it was awfully large for a small school. Waste of money if you asked me.

I drive around for twenty minutes, but nowhere did I see a big purple sign with 'Barneys' on it. Finally I pulled to the side of the street and rolled down the passenger window.

"Excuse me!" I called out to a couple walking by.

"Yeah?" The guy asked.

"I'm sorry to bother you. I'm new to town and I'm looking for a place called 'Barneys'. Could you point me in the right direction?"

"Oh, sure man. It's actually just one street over that way." He pointed.

"Thank you so much." I smiled. They waved and continued walking.

I pulled back out and five minutes later, I was parking behind the restaurant. Everyone in this town seemed really nice so far. Every place had a few bad apples, but I'd yet to meet them here. Admittedly, I'd had my doubts about the small town life, but I was quickly getting over it. John was waiting for me outside the doors when I walked up.

"Hey! I thought you flaked out on us." He said.

"Sorry. I got turned around. Had to ask for directions."

He laughed. "You'll get to know you're way around eventually. Come on, we waited for you before ordering."

"Ah, you didn't have to do that."

"It's no problem. You can repay us by buying a round." He grinned.

"Sure man." I laughed.

The restaurant was really nice. The walls were a deep red wine color, complimenting the dark wood tables and chairs. It was big too. I guessed they held a lot big town events. A karaoke stage was set on the far left wall, the bar running perpendicular to it on the right, made of the same dark wood. A couple people were sitting at the bar, drinking and chatting. I followed John to our table, taking a seat beside him.

"Guys, this is Damien Black. He's the new woodshop teacher." He introduced me.

"Hey, hi, hey." The others greeted me. I recognized Mr. Vanner, the science teacher, and Mr. Colt, the Geography teacher.

"Hey. Thanks for inviting me out. I really appreciate it." I told them all.

"No problem. How do you like it here so far?" Mr. Colt asked me.

"Honestly, it's great. I love the town."

"You relocated here, right?" One of the others teachers asked me. I didn't know him yet.

"Yeah, I needed a change of scenery. The city is too busy, you know?"

"I hear that. Lived there for five years before my wife hauled me out. Never looked back." John said.

"Sorry guys, but I don't know all of you yet. I'd hate to sit here and not even know your names." I said honestly.

They went around the table introducing themselves, and what classes they taught. I tried to commit everything to memory. Ian Colt, Richard Serre, Hank Vanner, John Smith. While we were talking, a waitress came to take our drink orders. Everyone got beer, throwing in some light joking about Mr. Colt, or Ian, getting 'a garbage brand'.

"First round is on me guys, since I made you wait for me." They cheered and high fived me.

"I'll be right back with your order." The waitress said. To me. Like, specifically to me. Subtle.

She walked away and the group snickered.

"Sandy's got her eye on you Damien." John winked.

"Watch out though. She likes to get around." Ian said.

"I'm not looking for anything guys. She can have her eye on me all she wants, it's not happening."

"You're pretty young dude. Might be close to her age." Richard wiggled his brows at me. I think he said he taught Economics.

"How old are you anyways Damien? You're probably one of the youngest teachers at the school." Hank asked.

"Probably. I'm only twenty three."

All of then shot me looks of disbelief.

"Here you go guys! I hope you enjoy!" Sandy came back with our drinks. As she was placing the drinks around the table, I noticed her shirt was unbuttoned more than before, showing a lot. The guys looked down or away. Including me.

"Thanks Sandy." John said, quickly taking a sip.

"Anytime. Someone will be right back to take your food order." She shot me a flirty smile before walking away. Well waddling away. She might break something if she kept shaking her non-existent hips the way she was.

"She's not our only waitress?" I asked hopefully.

"They split stuff up here. Gives all the girls an equal chance for tips." Hank said. Well, that was kind of nice.

They started bombarding me with questions about how I got to be a teacher so young. I'll admit, it felt kind of cool that they were all super impressed. More than that though, they were genuinely nice guys. I felt like I had found a good group of guys to hang with.

"Hey guys. Are you ready to order?"

I nearly choked on my beer when I heard her voice beside me.

Ella. f**k.