Illicit Invitation

Christy squirmed in her seat. The day was hot and dry and the classroom seemed as though it were an oven, cooking the inhabitants merrily and distracting them from their third installment of Destinos. Everyone was restless and she took some comfort in the fact that the desks and chairs were creaking as the students shifted about; it made her own movements indistinguishable. Not for the first time, she checked the clock; there was still a half hour to go. She couldn't wait to bolt from the room. At least this was sixth period and she could go home afterward.

Sweat beaded up on her lip and she wiped it away, annoyed. There was little she could do about the droplets of sweat that collected between her breasts, or between her thighs. They were tickling her and she tried to press her cleavage together, if just to relieve the itch. She used her arms to press her breasts together a few times and it felt a little bit better. She looked up toward the clock again and felt her face grow hot as she saw her teacher looking down at her with a quizzical expression. She gulped loudly and her foot began to tap out of sheer nervousness. What she'd been doing couldn't have looked right. Her heartbeat sped up and she prayed for the end of class.

After what seemed an eternity, the bell rang and the lights were turned back on.

"I'd like you all to read chapter three for homework and do the odd numbered questions from the chapter review. Have a nice afternoon. I'll see you tomorrow."

Christy jumped up from her desk and waited anxiously for the other students to file out of the classroom. Her last name started with a "B" and that meant she sat right up front which was not her favorite place to be. Given a choice, she would have chosen a chair right next to the exit, where at least she had a chance of getting some kind of breeze from outside. A hand lightly touching her shoulder caused her to jump.

"It was a bit hot today, wasn't it?" Mr. J looked down at her with a knowing smile.

"Yes sir it was." She waited, scared, for some kind of question about what she'd been doing but none came.

"I'll see you tomorrow Christy."

"See you."

Christy walked home quickly, relieved that nothing embarrassing had happened. She spent the evening doing homework and relaxed by taking a nice cool shower. The crisp linen sheets on her bed felt wonderful and she settled herself there and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to claim her.

It didn't.

She waited for a few hours and tossed and turned. The once cool sheets became hot and warm with her body heat and she reoriented herself several times, trying to find a section that wasn't so uncomfortable. It wasn't working. Frustrated she got out of bed and lay down on the cool wooden floor. It felt amazing to her hot skin and she pulled off her clothing so that she could press herself to the chilled surface of the wood. It cooled her off quickly, though it was obviously too hard to sleep on.

"If only I could do this in class," She murmured to herself.

She could well imagine what would happen if she did. If she was as uninhibited as she wished she was, she would just do it and damn the consequences. She wondered how many days of detention she would have to serve, or whether they would just kick her out of school altogether. From the looks of it, Mr. J wouldn't mind too terribly.

She blushed and shook her head, exasperated with herself.

Lack of sleep is making me crazy, she thought to herself.

Eventually she hauled herself back up into bed and managed to fall asleep just as the first rays of dawn crept across her comforter. All too soon the alarm went off and she forced herself to get dressed. She rummaged through her closet, searching for some jeans but couldn't find any that were clean. With a long suffering sigh she selected a skirt that she'd worn Junior year. Miraculously it still fit. Remembering how hot the previous day had been, she grabbed a green ribbed tank top that was form fitting but made of a thin, lightweight fabric. At least she would be able to keep cool.

The day passed uneventfully though her predictions about the weather had been incorrect. Clouds had gathered in the sky and blocked the sun from view. A cool wind whipped around her as she walked across campus to her last class of the day, Spanish. She wrapped her arms around her and shivered and was glad to see that the classroom was warm, as usual.

"Please get out your homework from last night. I'm going to be walking around and looking it over." Mr J informed the class.

Christy pulled out her assignment and he scanned the pages of translations that she'd worked out the night before.

"Very good," He murmured and initialed the top of her paper with a lazy scrawl. He moved on to the student behind her and she shoved the papers down into her backpack. After he'd gone around the class he dimmed the lights.

"Now, we will move on to part four of Destinos."

Christy leaned forward and crossed her arms over the desk. She rested her chin on her hands and was trying to pay attention to the overly dramatic Hispanic actors on the screen. She closed her tired eyes and opened them again. Everything was getting bleary. Maybe a tiny nap could go unnoticed...

~~~~~ Eli watched Destinos for what could have been the thousandth time in his career. He tried to give the students several different ways in which they could be immersed in the culture and language of Spanish. While the tapes were educational, they were over the top in a lot of ways. To someone unfamiliar with the language, it would be more difficult to pay attention than if it was in their native tongue. It was unsurprising to him, then, that a student could fall asleep while watching it. While it normally would have perturbed him to see a student do this, seeing Christy fall asleep at her desk wasn't as irksome as it could have been. He knew she was a good student and didn't see the necessity in reprimanding her in front of everyone. He decided to allow her to sleep and wake her when he dismissed the class.

Forty five minutes later, the bell outside rang and the students filed out the door. He had expected Christy to wake up with so much noise going on around her but she didn't. He approached the desk, a bit uncertain as to the best way to wake her. He lifted his hand to touch her elbow when she mumbled something and he froze.

"Mmmm....yes." A tiny moan escaped her mouth and he took a step back, surprised. He waited, wondering if she would say anything else. A few more minutes went by and she moaned again, a little louder this time. The sound was high, breathy almost and he wondered if he should do the honorable thing and wake her. He made up his mind to do it but couldn't seem to get his traitorous body to move.

"Don't stop...please."

Eli's cock twitched in his pants. He stared intently at the girl, studying her sleeping face. Her eyebrows were slightly thick and straight, her lashes long and curved. She had a quaint nose and small, heart shaped lips. She had a softly rounded face and smooth, pale skin. The hair spilling around her face was dark brown and shiny. He wondered if it was as silky as it looked. He felt himself hardening in response to his thoughts.

"Yes sir, it feels sooo good." She mumbled.

Eli stared at her in confusion. It was obvious she was having an erotic dream of sorts...but who would she be addressing as sir?

Unbidden, he realized that he'd dismissed the class nearly twenty minutes before. It would be indecent of him to allow this to continue, as interesting as it was. He sat down behind his desk to hide his erection and cleared his throat, loudly.

She snorted and then her eyes opened. She blinked sleepily but when she realized where she was she sat up in her seat, ramrod straight.

Eli looked at her expectantly, a tolerant smile on his lips.

"Mr. J, I'm so sorry. Oh my God!" She looked up at the clock, horrified and put her hands in front of her face.

"It happens to the best of us, I suppose. Tell me, are you sleeping well enough at night? I'm used to certain students falling asleep, but not a student like you."

She blushed easily. "I just have a lot going on right now at home and it's kind of hard to get to sleep. I won't let it happen again sir, I promise!"

Eli considered what she'd said. "Do you have trouble staying awake in other classes?"

"I tend to get tired right before lunch. I've tried to sleep at the island but it's really noisy out there. I hang out close to the library and adjacent to the stage speakers. It's really loud."

"Well, if you need a quiet place to rest, you're welcome to sit in the classroom during lunch, if you'd like. I think I can trust you. I have fifth period free so I could wake you when I come back from lunch."

She was really surprised, he could tell.

"I, um, thanks. I might take you up on that," She stammered.

"Any time. Let's try to stay awake during class though, all right?"

"Yes sir, of course."

After another muttered apology, she slung her book bag over her shoulder and left the room. Eli watched her retreat and then sat back in his chair, threading his hands behind his head, thinking. He wasn't sure why he'd made the offer. He did have a responsibility to see that all of his students were awake during class time and paying attention. He couldn't let her sleep through his classes. As good a student as she was, she wasn't exempt from the rules. She'd also mentioned that her home life wasn't the best and this struck a cord within him. If giving her a little time alone in the classroom would be helpful, then why not do it? He knew she was fairly responsible.

But that isn't the only reason...

He tried to shut off the erotic thoughts that leapt to mind when he thought of overhearing her dreams again. If she was asleep in the classroom and he just happened to hear something...well, that wasn't so bad, was it? It wasn't as though he was going to touch her. Regardless that she was a senior and eighteen, that would still be crossing the line.

Assured of his more or less good intentions, he packed his briefcase and left the classroom, locking the door behind him.

He wondered idly if she would take him up on his offer.

~~~~~ That night, Christy sat huddled in a corner of her closet. She could hear the fight going on upstairs and though she covered her ears, she couldn't help but overhear the ugly words that were being thrown around. She wished, not for the first time, that her father would kick out her stepmother. Christy wasn't sure she could take it anymore. The battle lasted well into the night and exhausted, Christy finally fell into a turbulent sleep.

Once again, the blaring alarm woke her and she grumbled, throwing on the same clothes she'd worn the day before. She grabbed a poptart on the way out the door and groaned when she saw the dark gray sky. She walked to school, shivering the whole way there. Her classes were brutal. At least in gym they got a bit of a reprieve because it had started to sprinkle. They didn't have to suit up. She was immensely happy when lunch rolled around. Though she felt really weird taking her teacher up on his offer, she didn't feel like freezing her ass off outside in the cold weather. She doubted she'd be able to sleep but who knew? She raced across campus and was pleased when she realized he hadn't left for lunch yet.

"Mr. J?"

He looked up in surprise and smiled. "Oh, hi Christy. Did you want to stay here during lunch?"

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind."

"All right. Well, I'm going to get something from the cafeteria and I'll be back here in about a half hour. I have some grading to finish up. I'm going to lock the door behind me. If you need to get out, you can use the office door."

"Ok, thanks so much."

"No problem. Did you need me to get you anything?"

"No, but thank you." Christy was thrown by how kind he was being.

He smiled and left, shutting both doors behind him. She heard him lock the doors. She stared around the empty classroom interestedly. It seemed really odd...much too quiet. She dropped her bag on the floor and sat at her normal desk. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. With a quiet sigh she rested her head on the desk in front of her. It was so warm; so comfortable.

Within minutes, she was asleep.

~~~~~~ Eli was quite surprised when he saw her walk in. She clearly wasn't having a good day. Her clothes were disheveled and he wondered why she hadn't thrown on a jacket. It was freezing outside. He offered to get her something from the cafeteria, after all, she was missing her lunch period but she'd politely refused. Maybe he'd get her a hot chocolate anyway. He got up then and left the room, locking the doors behind him to ensure that no one disturbed her. He made the quick walk to the cafeteria and bought a reasonably healthy lunch. Perhaps he shouldn't have indulged with the peanut butter cookie but it had been a long day.

He ate quickly in the teachers lounge and had a quick discussion with the Vice Principal before returning to the classroom. He'd been gone for a half hour and there were still twenty minutes left. He unlocked one of the doors and opened it as quietly as possible but it was still rather loud. He stepped inside and gingerly shut it closed behind him. He waited to see if she would raise her head from the desk but she didn't. She was snoring lightly.

He walked quietly up one of the aisles and sat behind his desk. He pulled out a stack of tests and his red pen and began making corrections. After a few minutes, he realized that he had no real desire to grade anything. He looked up at the girl but all he could see was the top of her head and her hands, slightly curled up resting on her desk. He stared at her hands for a few moments. Her fingers weren't very long but they had a nice shape and her nails were naturally long and quite clean. He'd always had a thing for women's fingers and there was something about hers that gave him pause. He idly wondered what it would be like to take one of those digits in his mouth and run his tongue over the delicate knuckle...

"Mmm," She moaned softly, almost in response to his thoughts.

He looked at her with an intensity that would have surprised her had she been awake. He knew what anyone looking in on the scene would think but he didn't particularly care. He knew he was a good guy and wasn't one of those lecherous old men that preyed on young girls. He was merely looking ... and enjoying the view.

He glanced at the clock then and realized that the bell would ring in a few minutes. He rose from behind his desk and allowed himself to lightly rest his hand on her shoulder.

She jumped and shrieked and he pulled his hand away, shocked. After a second she seemed to come to her senses and put her hand over her heart.

" Wow, Mr. J. You really scared me." She breathed deeply in and out.

"I apologize, I was just going to let you know that lunch was almost over." He stood there sheepishly, shifting his weight idly from foot to foot. Christy didn't know it but she nearly gave him a heart attack.

"I'm sorry I reacted like that. Just a reflex really from when I was little. I'm ok." She gave him a small reassuring smile.

"I didn't think you'd react that way but what's done is done. Is there a better way to wake you?" He certainly didn't want to repeat that.

"If you just call my name, I'll wake up. I know I tend to sleep like the dead but that should work." She chuckled.

"All right. Well, I guess I'd better let you out of here, huh?" Eli showed her out of the classroom and she flashed him a brilliant smile as she swept from the room.

Eli closed the door and forced himself to return to grading. He was as successful at concentrating as he'd been twenty minutes earlier.

~~~~~ A few months passed and Christy found herself returning to her lunch time sanctuary more and more often. Things had hit an all time low at home and more often than not she wasn't sleeping. Having a little nap at midday allowed her to keep up with her school work at least. She and Mr. J were now on fairly familiar terms. She'd gotten to the point where she could fall asleep, even when he was only sitting a few feet away from her.

Eli found himself taking an interest in Christy. He worried about her more often than not. It was clear that her home life was undesirable, perhaps abusive, and he didn't know whether or not he should report it to anyone. She hadn't come out and told him very much and he hadn't asked but if things continued, he might have to take action.

Aside from his worry, he found himself growing fascinated with her. There were several times when she hadn't felt like sleeping and they'd discussed things that didn't have to do with school. He found her to be quite mature for a young adult. She was lively and passionate when she was interested in something and he found her to be an engaging partner in debate. Not only was she a skilled conversationalist, she was quite talented. A few times she'd been working on homework for other classes and had asked for his opinion. After reading a few of her essays, he knew that she had the talent to be published. She was also artistic, judging from the doodles on her Spanish notes.

As the year wore on, they developed a comraderie of sorts and during the magical time between 12:00 and 1:00, they no longer interacted as teacher and student. Their relationship had evolved to an easy friendship.

Eli had grown accustomed to seeing Christy every day and was struck when he realized that the school year was at an end. He wasn't looking forward to summer as much as he had in previous years. He'd decided to retire the following year and had somehow been roped into teaching an advanced placement course. It was going to take all summer to get things ready.

The last day before summer arrived and it was scorching hot outside. His classroom was horrendously hot and he couldn't wait for the day to be over. Christy came in and to his surprise handed him a small gift bag.

"What is this?" He was truly mystified.

"Just something I saw that would suit you." She smirked at him.

He opened it and barked in laughter when he saw what it was; a Hawaiian shirt. He'd taken to wearing them everyday once spring had started.

"I don't know what to say, thanks!" He replied enthusiastically.

"I just wanted to say thank you for everything. You've really been there for me this year and I appreciate it."

"What? No AP Spanish for you?" He joked, lifting his eyebrow.

"Not a chance. Sayonara high school." She smiled.

"What are you doing over the summer?" Eli asked, suddenly.

"Nothing. I plan on hopefully getting a job or something. Anything to get me out of the house."

"Are things that bad?"

"You have no idea."

"Tell me." He needed to know what was going on with her. The strain on her was evident and he didn't like it one bit.

Reluctantly she filled him in on what was going on. She wasn't in immediate danger but her mental health was certainly getting a challenge on a day to day basis.

After she'd stopped talking he considered his options. Reporting it wouldn't do much good but he felt obligated to help, somehow.

"You need a job over the summer, right?" He asked her.

"Yeah, do you know anyone who's hiring?"

"As a matter of fact, I was planning on hiring an assistant over the summer. I'm retiring next year and I need to start cleaning things out and getting things organized, plus I have to come up with curriculum for AP Spanish. Would you be interested in doing something like that?" He held his breath. He hadn't thought about this beforehand and he wondered idly if what he was saying was inappropriate.

"I'd love to! How much per hour?"

"Fifteen dollars an hour, maybe twenty hours a week or so. Would that work for you?"