Tessa

What do you know...she was just as nervous as I was!

I could hardly conceal my excitement at the prospect of traveling nearly four hours with someone I considered to be the most marvelous teacher in the entire school. "I would love to do that, Miss Mia!" I told her. "I think it would be awesome to drive out there with you!"

My energy seemed to feed more of the same back into the gorgeous woman as she looked up and met my eyes. "Really?" She asked, almost in shock. "It wouldn't be embarrassing to be seen with me?"

"Are you kidding?" I asked with a confidence I didn't know I possessed in my voice. "I would think that you would be the one who would be embarrassed to be seen with me!"

The lovely teacher laughed as she exclaimed, "Quite the contrary, Marcus! I would feel like the belle of the ball showing up with you!"

We both laughed for a few seconds until it became ineptly silent in the room. I felt like it was my job to speak up before either of us said something we'd come to regret, but I couldn't find the words. I should've known that Miss Mia always had a way of easing the tension.

"Um, Marcus," she suddenly spoke up as she made her way across the room so she could kick out the doorstop leading into her classroom. She let the door shut as I felt the temperature in the room increase by about five or ten degrees. I knew she wasn't about to try anything remotely sexual on me, but a guy could hope, right?

The stunning instructor made her way back across the room and took a seat on the desk next to mine once more. Even though the door was closed, she still spoke in a voice barely above a whisper when she told me, "I'm not trying to sound like a rebel or anything, but I should've considered sooner how the school has rules about teachers and students being seen in such...social settings and whatnot."

I nodded my understanding. I deflated a bit since I figured my favorite teacher was about to call off our little road trip.

"Now, while I have absolutely no problems about being seen with you in public," she went on, "I don't think my superiors would be very happy about it. However, if you'd still like to travel together so we can discuss more details of your story, I would love to do so...but I think we should probably keep this between you and I."

I again nodded my understanding. Being in the position she was in, Miss Mia could probably lose her job for being seen alone with a student. Even though we were going on an innocent drive to go out to the boys' wrestling tournament, there would surely be at least one person who wouldn't see things in such a manner even though we were both consenting adults.

"Would your parents be okay with the two of us riding together?" The inquisitive teacher then asked me. "I would be more than happy to swing by your house and pick you up so I could introduce myself at the same time. Would they find that awkward at all?"

I shook my head. Deep down, I knew they wouldn't have cared at all if Miss Mia hadn't been so damn young and attractive...but since she was, they would maybe find it a little odd. Still, I talked about her all the time since she was my favorite teacher, so going to a school-based event with her shouldn't have been a big deal. Besides, she was a mature adult. My parents should've been more worried about me leaving town with my rowdy friends.

"Then it's settled!" My vibrant instructor proclaimed as she jumped off the desk with bliss radiating from her every pore. "I'll leave you alone so you can go home, and I'll come by and pick you up in a couple of hours! I'll hopefully get out of here a little early, so I'll rush home, freshen up, pack a quick bag and head over!" She walked back over to her desk and opened one of the drawers in order to pull out what looked like a small purse. As she started rifling through it, she glanced up with a slight look of concern on her face as she asked me, "Are you sure you're okay with this, Marcus?"

"Of course!" I answered the wonderful woman. I could see that my response filled her with confidence yet again. I gathered my things and finally stood up as I was reminded upon seeing her purse and told her, "I have some money at home so I can help you pay for gas!"

Miss Mia waved the thought off. "Think nothing of it! I can handle the expenses!"

I shook my head. "Not at all. I wouldn't think of sticking you with all the bills!" I'm extremely glad that I managed to cut myself off soon enough because I almost said, "I'd never think of making a beautiful lady pay my way!" I can't imagine how that would've brought things grinding to a screeching halt. I quickly cleared my throat and said, "I'll see you in a bit, Miss Mia!"

My incredible teacher glanced up and lifted a finger in the air as she corrected me and said, "Ah, what did I tell you about that, Marcus? When we're alone..."

"Sorry...Tessa!" I replied with a smile on my face. I could see her smiling back.

My heart raced as I rushed out of the room. I would've loved to tell all my friends about what had just happened, but I wasn't about to throw my favorite teacher under the bus. What we were doing wasn't what some people would consider "normal." It's not like we had bad intentions or anything, but it would certainly be something a lot of people would frown upon. I knew my parents would understand, but they wouldn't spread word around like my friends would if they had known the details. It saddens me when I think about how much the world has changed nowadays...

Anyway, I raced down the hallway and toward my locker. After gathering what I'd need for the weekend, I bolted to the parking lot and drove home in my black pickup. It was probably when I was pulling into the driveway that I realized I hadn't even told Tessa Mia where I lived...

* * *

When I arrived home, I had immediately told my mom about the plan to head out to the tournament with Miss Mia. I had half expected the surprise on her face, but overall, she seemed to be okay with it. When my dad arrived home from work, she told him about the plan...and he seemed to take things a little better than she initially did. I think they both found it a little bizarre that a teacher was willing to drive me such a great distance to be with and watch my competing friends, but they were also well aware of the fact that I was old enough to do a lot of things on my own. If this was something I wanted to do, I should be able to do it. It's not like I was running off with that fabulous woman and eloping. I was literally heading out for a day and a half to a sporting event.

I was rendered speechless when my mom suddenly asked what we were doing for sleeping arrangements. To be honest, Miss Mia and I had not even discussed it, and I had been under the impression that once we arrived, I would find out where my friends were staying and crash with them. The thought that I'd be leaving Miss Mia alone after the good deed she had done for me hadn't even crossed my mind. I suddenly felt like the lowest of the low.

I was also beginning to wonder if I would even be able to go. I quickly remembered how I hadn't told my wonderful teacher my address, and since she had offered to drive us, she wouldn't have a clue as to where I lived. I kept telling myself that the school had to have some kind of directory that she could look me up with, but I was beginning to wonder if I had worked myself up for nothing. Maybe I wouldn't be laying eyes on my ravishing Creative Writing instructor until the following week again.

Everything has a way of working out, though, and a little after five o'clock, Miss Mia pulled up in my driveway. She had a cute, maroon colored car, and when I saw her climb out of it from my bedroom window, I dashed for the front door with my heart racing. I wondered how things would go when she met my parents...and I also wondered why I was acting like a guy who was about to introduce his girlfriend for the first time. For crying out loud, she was just a teacher doing a good deed for me! I had to get my head on straight.

I opened the front door as my smiling instructor walked up to our front step. She looked just as incredible as ever as I invited her in and asked if I could take her coat. I realized it was kind of dumb to do so since we would be leaving right away, but she kindly accepted my offer and I hung it on the nearby coatrack. Even though the layout of my house was pretty obvious, I led her upstairs and to the living room where my parents and younger sister sat.

"Hey, everyone," I gathered their attention. "This is the teacher you're always hearing so much about. This is Miss Mia."

"Tessa," my awesome instructor somewhat corrected me as she extended a hand first to my mom. "And it's a pleasure to meet you."

Niceties were then exchanged between everyone as my family hastily realized why I spoke so highly of my Creative Writing teacher. I offered to grab Tessa a soda for the road as we all talked, but she kindly declined since she laughed and told all of us, "If I drink too much now, we'll be making rest stops every fifteen minutes!"

There was a little more conversation for about five more minutes until Tessa pointed out that the sun would be going down in about an hour. She then informed my parents that she would drive carefully since she would never let anything bad happen to me, and I'm pretty sure my sister noticed me blushing when she confirmed that I was her favorite student and that she wouldn't know what to do in class without me around. The look in my eyes told the little rug rat that I'd get her back later for trying to embarrass me in front of the radiant woman.

After we left my house and were both buckled up in the car, Miss Mia apologized for being late even though she wasn't. As she backed out of the driveway, she informed me that she had stopped and filled her gas tank up, but we would more than likely have to stop for fuel at least once along the way. I told her that would be no big deal and that I had money to help pay for our traveling expenses. Just like she had done earlier in the day, she told me that wouldn't be necessary...but I wasn't about to leech off her.

As we started down the road, she started treating me almost in a motherly fashion as she told me how the controls in her vehicle worked in case I became too warm or too cold. She also instructed me how to recline the seat if I needed to, and she laughed as she told me I was free to turn on the radio if I grew bored with her. I knew that would never be the case.

The four and a half hours we spent on the road flew by. I'm not lying when I say that it felt like I was only in that automobile for about five minutes. We talked and laughed about a plethora of things, and when the story I had written was brought up, Tessa went on and on about how much she enjoyed it. It made me feel pretty good about myself when she had reasons to back up everything she brought up, and I should've known she was intelligent enough to point out little details that I didn't think normal readers would pick up on. At one point, she even said, "I'm going to sound pretty typical when I say this, but my favorite characters are the two main ones...you just made them so lovable!" When she spoke of the female lead based on her, she never mentioned whether or not she had made the connection...but I could've sworn that I saw her wink at me while talking about her.

I had to reach over and turn the heat down a bit when she started telling me about how well written the "naughty" parts were. I was more than a little surprised when she started telling me how during one particular part, she had to put the story down because she became "too riled up." I couldn't believe she was being so open with me! I also felt a burst of pride that I had been able to turn on such a beautiful woman with the written word. I quickly repositioned myself in such a way so she wouldn't be able to see that listening to her say such things was beginning to turn me on as well.

For the rest of the car ride, my amazing teacher continued to praise my work and tell me about how much of a gift I had. She kept going on about how badly she wanted to read the rest of it, and she hoped that I would allow her to do so once I had it finished. I responded by laughing and telling her she would certainly be the first to know since she was my number one fan.

When we were within fifteen minutes of our destination, Miss Mia apologized to me for our late arrival since we wouldn't have time to make any of the matches that evening. I told her it wasn't a big deal since the contests that mattered would be the next day anyway, but she nonetheless felt bad. I wanted to tell her that I truly didn't care about the silly matchups and had only agreed to travel so far because I wanted to hang out with her and talk about my writing, but I decided it might not have been appropriate.

When we reached town, we drove to the first hotel we spotted...only to find that it was booked full since people from all the neighboring towns and communities had shown up for the much-discussed tournament that everyone was raving about. This prompted us to obviously drive down the road until we found another establishment...with the exact same problem. Both places would've been likely locations for my friends to be staying at, but I wasn't about to bail on my lovely teacher and leave her alone.

It was nearing midnight when we pulled up to a shady looking motel on the outskirts of the large town. Tessa glanced through her windshield at it and looked hesitant about even pulling into a parking spot. She looked over at me and asked for my opinion by querying, "What do you think? Do we even chance it?"

"Looks like a good place to get chopped up!" I told her with a chuckle. I was totally jesting about it, but I think she was a little worried. Perhaps the cutest - if a man can be allowed to use such a word - thing about it was the fact that I could tell her trepidation stemmed from the fact that she was frightened for my wellbeing and not her own. She truly was something else.

I would like to add at this point that during our four and a half hour - now pretty much five and a half hour - drive from our hometown, I was beginning to see Miss Mia in a whole different light. I had always liked her and thought she was too alluring to be a school teacher, but after spending so long in a car with her, I have to say that I was almost as comfortable around her as I would be with any one of my friends. She almost felt like one of the guys, and if given the chance, I knew I could open up to her about just about anything. Well, anything with the exception that my busty female lead in my story was based on her...and of course, the fact that my male lead was based on myself. That information was better off left strictly to myself.

"Oh, Marcus!" The fair-skinned beauty tried her best to laugh at my levity. "You should be more serious!"

"I am!" I continued to laugh. "It looks like the setting for a black and white horror movie!"

Again, I think Miss Mia was much more concerned for me and didn't want to take me any place my parents wouldn't have approved of. "Should we keep looking around?" She inquired as she gave the place one final look.

I yawned while saying, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting kind of tired. I think we'll be okay as long as we watch each other's backs...and maybe block the door off by wedging a chair beneath the knob!" Maybe I was taking the joking around a bit too far, but I couldn't help myself.

I think my yawn triggered Tessa to do the same, and she finally agreed by parking the car. After we both climbed out of the automobile, I went to the back and began grabbing our bags. When she realized that I had all of them, she told me to hand her some of them so I wouldn't have to carry everything. I told her I would be fine and had her lead the way.

I'm going to use the word "cute" again when I say that it was cute the way she pestered me the entire way to the front counter to allow her to help me carry things. I told her it was really no trouble at all, and she needed to grant me the opportunity to be a gentleman. It took me a second to realize it, but she quoted the female lead from the story I had written at one point since I had put my main characters in a similar situation. I found it both flattering and incredible that she liked my work enough to remember such small details.

Tessa pushed open the door to the main office and held it for me since my hands were full. The jangle of a bell accompanied our arrival, and about twenty seconds after we walked in, a grungy man in his thirties appeared at the counter to greet us in a morose tone of voice. Miss Mia told him we needed a room, and after he looked the two of us over with a hint of suspicion, he finally told her that he had rooms available with one bed or two. He also told her that the rooms with only one bed were cheaper.

My remarkable teacher turned to face me and asked for my opinion, "What do you think, Marcus? We might as well save some money and just get a single bed, right?"

I prayed to everything I held holy that neither my dazzling teacher or the man behind the counter noticed that I had a sudden twinge down below when Tessa asked me the question. It goes without saying that I had a huge crush on her, so to be asked if we were sharing a bed caught me completely off guard. I simply nodded and said it made the most sense.

After Tessa told the man that we would take a single, she paid him and was handed a key. She then led the way back outside and pointed to the other end of the building since our room would be at the far end. While making our way toward it, she apologized that I had unnecessarily lugged our bags practically from one end of the building to the other. I told her again not to worry about it since they really weren't that heavy to begin with.

Once in our room, we could both see that it wasn't fancy, but it also wasn't as rundown as either of us had been expecting. It was small, but there was a dresser, a recliner, a table, and two nightstands with a single bed between them. Just seeing it made my blood rush to my lower parts.

Tessa took her bags from me and then walked them over to the table as she glanced in the direction of the bathroom and said, "I don't think I'll bother showering since I'm so tired...unless you think I stink, of course!"

I laughed in response and shook my head as she did the same. She smelled like a hillside of fresh daffodils and marigolds...and yes, I can say that with a straight face and not feel gay in the slightest. It was quite literally the first scent I caught when climbing into her vehicle with her.

When I laid eyes on the recliner once again, I asked her if she'd be more comfortable with me sleeping on it so she could have the bed to herself.

"Ha! Are you kidding, Marcus?" She exclaimed with a laugh. "If you leave me alone in the bed, who will I grip and use as a shield when the big, bad killer you spoke of breaks into our room in the middle of the night?"

That was the third time in the last few minutes that I felt my lower parts tingle in delight. She had to know what she was doing to me.

Miss Mia ruffled through one of her bags and began digging out what I assumed to be pajamas. She told me she was going to go change and brush her teeth. I nodded and decided while she was in the bathroom, I would quickly change into my pajama pants and a t-shirt. I didn't normally sleep with a shirt on, but I figured it was a good idea for obvious reasons.

When Tessa disappeared for the time being, I quickly held a hand up about an inch from my mouth and exhaled. I did my best to smell by breath because I hoped it hadn't stunk at all when we had been talking throughout the entire road trip. I had brushed just before my beautiful teacher showed up at my front door, but I was self-conscious...especially around someone as drop-dead gorgeous as she was. I would certainly be brushing them again when she was done in the lavatory, but I was still worried about whether or not I had made a fool of myself on the trip up.