Four

"Why is Harper Cain staring at you?"

whispered the girl sitting to the left of me, for what felt like, the hundredth time.

I groaned inwardly. "If it had not been for you, I wouldn't have known he was staring at me. And for the last time. I. Don't. Know." I gritted my teeth.

The redhead gave me a death glare and went back to texting on her phone in the middle of the class.

I took a deep breath and prepared myself to check if she was right like I had already done the past twenty times. I knew that he was looking at me because I could somehow feel his intense stare at the back of my head.

Nonetheless, I gathered my courage and turned my head around. And there he was, in the last row, in the corner of the room still staring at me with a stony expression. I don't think he had looked at any other person in the class because every time I turned my head around to look at him, he had his eyes right on me. 

I met his intimidating gaze for a few seconds, raised my left eyebrow, and telepathically questioned him as to why he was being a creepy stalker and had been staring at me since the class started.

He just kept looking at me with the same stony expression, when finally his lips twitched upwards to reveal his trademark smirk which I hated.

I rolled my eyes and looked forward toward the teacher, who was going on and on about some quantum theory and looked as eager as the students to get out of the school.

And I swear, if one more person asks me why the hell is Harper Cain staring at me, I am going to go berserk. How the hell would I know why this idiot keeps staring at me?

Samantha and Natalie had a field day during lunch when Harper kept staring and staring and staring at our table, well specifically at me. I even had to change my goddamn seat so I wouldn't have to directly look at him.

I mean, what even happened to him? Did he wake up this morning on a single mission to stare me to death?! If that was his plan, then it was certainly working.

He doesn't even blink. It's like he wants a staring contest all the damn time.

We shared three classes and I could feel his stare at the back of my head every damn second. Doesn't the teacher even notice that he was not paying attention or do they have a personal vendetta against me, because every time I turned to look at him, the teacher always pointed it out?

And as a result, I am pretty sure, half the school must think that I have been eyeballing him. 

"Hey Zara?" a male voice spoke from behind.

"Yeah," I leaned back to hear a little more clearly.

"Why does Harper keep staring at you?"

I sighed and plopped my head on the desk.

***

I packed my bags as soon as the class ended, eager to get home.

"Miss Hemming, stay after the class."

Mr. Roberts said.

Great.

I sat back down on my seat with a huff and waited for the class to empty, wishing I could get out early too.

When everyone got out, I stood up from my desk in the middle of the room and headed towards the teacher's desk where Mr. Roberts's desk was. Mr. Robert had a small smile on his face.

Okay, so that was good. At least, I was not in any trouble.

"Zara, I may not have taught you before but I have heard from all the teachers that you are a grade-A student." He smiled creepily.

"Um, yeah." What the hell am I even supposed to say to that? 

"Great, because this year I will be monitoring a group of twenty students who will join our school's tutoring program. And I want you to be one of them."

I was not one of those super nerdy students who got an A all around the year. I got decent grades, I often touched the B grade and I was pretty sure there were many students just like me. This man before me, who I had never even spoken two sentences before, thought I would be a good tutor. I had never been in the tutoring program before, how did he even come up with my name?

"Yeah, ok. I will think about it."

He smiled again and handed me an application form from the top drawer of his desk. "Just fill out this application and get back to me, ok?"

I took the flyer from him and nodded.

As soon as I got out of the classroom, I crumpled the flyer and threw it away in the nearest dustbin.

I had no interest in investing my limited free time in tutoring someone who wasn't even going to care about his/her grades. My job at Monique's Bakery already demanded so much of my time, I don't think I would be able to entertain anyone.

The hallways were deserted because the school had finished twenty minutes ago. How time passes! Everyone pretty much runs away from school as soon as the bell rings. Yeah, that's how much everyone despised this hell hole.

I headed in the direction of my locker when, out of nowhere, a hand latched around my wrist and I was roughly pulled into an empty classroom.

I stumbled a little at being manhandled and closed my eyes because I was pretty sure I was going to fall, because what can I say, I was clumsy that way. When I was about to topple on the floor in a mess, two arms wrapped around my waist and helped me regain my balance.

I opened my eyes and all I could see was a vast expanse of someone's chest. A male. This person was standing very close to me. Inside my bubble. I could even smell his cologne which was so very delicious. I had to resist the urge to grab his t-shirt and sniff him.

That wouldn't have been awkward at all.

I looked up to see Harper looking down at me. Of course, it had to be Harper. The boy was everywhere today! He looked at me with an intense expression of...need? Lust? I can't even fathom it. My breath got caught in my throat at our proximity and the sudden rise in the temperature.

His large, warm hands on my waist were sending delicious shivers through my whole body and I resisted the urge to close my eyes and lean into him.

I was caught in a trance. A trance created by Harper Cain out of all people.

I wanted to move, I did. At least a part of me did. That particular part was aware of the fact that Harper had his hands on my waist, the same hands with which I was pretty sure he had groped countless females. That part of me wanted to remind my brain to step out of his embrace because I have hated Harper since he broke my sister's heart. That part wanted to remind me that I would just be another number in the never-ending list of Harper's conquests.

But unfortunately, that part of me was small and was quickly fading away.

We just kept staring at each other for a long time. And we would have stared for a long time if the silence had not grown uncomfortable.

I shook my head to clear my head of these traitorous thoughts and tried to step back. But he didn't let me which, for some reason, didn't surprise me at all. 

He leaned forward abruptly and slammed his lips on mine. All rational thoughts completely flew out of my mind because the next thing I knew, my hands, which were limp by my side before, came around his neck to pull him closer to me. His lips molded perfectly with mine as if his lips were made for me. My knees buckled due to the unexpected desire coursing through me and the lust my body was experiencing and had it not been for Harper's arms around my waist, holding onto me for dear life, surely I would have fallen on the ground into a mess of raging hormones.

I could feel his shoulder muscles flexing. I felt as if any time now, I would just float away.

His tongue slid out of his mouth and he sucked on my bottom lip asking for entrance. I couldn't help but moan and grant him the entrance he needed.

His tongue massaged my own and conquered every inch of my mouth. Fighting for dominance in the kiss with him was a futile war, which I would have no problem in losing.

I detached my lips from his quite reluctantly and breathed in large amounts of air.

Harper didn't stop. Didn't he need to breathe too?

He planted little butterfly kisses from the corner of my lips to my jaw. To behind my ear lobe to my neck. And to my shoulder. I felt a shiver of desire go down my body at his last kiss.

He rested his head in the crook of my neck and breathed in my scent. 

Leaving my neck, he met my eyes and I saw his lust for me. Pure unadulterated lust.

His pupils were dilated and appeared almost black.

He wiped his tongue on his bottom lip and my gaze drifted towards his lips, which were, a few moments ago, very skillfully massaging my own.

I resisted the urge to pull him back down and kiss the living daylights out of him. I knew he wanted it too. I could see it in his eyes and in the tense muscles of his shoulders where I was still holding on to him.

With one hand on my waist, he used his other hand to cup my cheek and I subconsciously leaned into his touch. I enjoyed how rugged and calloused his hands felt on my soft cheek. I closed my eyes for a second and reveled in the moment.

"Party. At my house. Today. Come." Harper flushed.

My eyes flew open at Harper's husky voice.

Woah! Was Harper so out of it that he couldn't even form a proper sentence? I mean, sure, I was pretty out of it too but I would like to think I would still be able to form a coherent sentence. Seriously, my subconscious snarked at me.

Harper cleared his throat and a blush crept on his cheeks. Wow! I had never seen Harper blushing before. Ever! And it felt great to know that I was the reason that he was so flustered and bothered.

"Um, I am throwing a party at my house today. Come. Please."

PLEASE? That was just another word Harper Cain never used. He was used to people over his every word and following him around. I felt honored and special. And happy.

I was stunned and totally out of my wits, so I could just nod. I felt my lips relax and gave him a soft smile.

He smiled. Not the smirk which I hated on him, but a full-grown smile.

"You know, I think I deserve another kiss."

"Why?" The word sure came out of my mouth but it didn't sound like my voice at all. It was way more husky and.....breathy?!

"Because it is my birthday."

He smiled softly at me and gazed at me with pure adoration. He twirled a strand of my brown hair which had somehow gotten out of my ponytail during our little make-out session.

Without waiting for a reply, he leaned forward and stole another kiss from me. Not that I mind.

The second kiss was way more passionate and hungrier. The first kiss was nothing compared to this one. I think I moaned twice and was not one to boast about it, he did too!

His lips broke away from mine quite reluctantly. He took a deep breath looked down at his watch and sighed. "I have to go." He gave a small smile, his fingers tracing the bone of my shoulder creating tingles and leaving a hot trail of fire.

He leaned back, gave me a quick peck, smiled at me, and ran out of the room. I am not joking. He ran out of the classroom. Leaving me all hot and bothered.

Holy hell!