7

Professor Garcia's Pov

She called me mom.

And, I feel bad about the way I reacted.

There was something different about her.

From the moment I properly met Victoria, locked up in the janitor's room, to later on when she helped me find my office, I knew she'd become a problem for me.

Even when she took my order the first day, at the coffee shop, she caught my attention.

The worst part of it all, is that the office was her mother's. I could tell she was her mother's daughter-- not that I ever met the woman, but there's a lot of stories still spreading around campus about her.

The way Victoria's more mature than any over student, the way she spoke, the way she carried herself and just basically her mannerisms.

She's extremely beautiful too.

Whenever I see the boys staring at her in class, I can't help but to feel jealousy. Especially that Elijah kid. He always drools over her.

I know I can't do anything about it.

I'm just her professor and need to keep the boundaries up to standard.

For some reason, I found myself becoming almost overly protective of her, wanting to protect her. Maybe it was just because of her mother, but I didn't want to replace her.

I never even seen me becoming a parent. I'm not the biggest fan of the entire pregnancy thing.

The second I heard the word 'mom' slip out of her mouth, I was taken back at first. Of course, I felt sympathy, and so did some of the other students who knew about the passing.

But, then I saw the look on her face, the embarrassment and the realization of what she had called me.

I couldn't help but to smirk at her slip-up, though not for the reasons she may have thought.

It wasn't a feeling of motherly love that I felt at that moment, but something unexpected, weird and different. I felt strange in that moment, something I never felt before.

My smirk was aiming at a more intimate way.

A rush of emotions washed over me. On the one side, I felt... good. On the other, I felt guilty, confused, desired. How could I, her professor, feel such things to a student. It was wrong. But try as I might, I couldn't deny the strange pull that Victoria had on me.

I tried to push those thoughts aside, to focus on my role as a teacher and nothing more. Though, she's not making it any easier.

She keeps coming to class with these tight outfits, short dresses, and shirts that reveals cleavage.

Any regular clothes she just looks good in.

She's an attractive woman, everyone knows.

She'd come earlier to class and just hangout, sit on the desk and giggle. And every time I look at her, all I could think about was that moment she called me mom and what that words did to me.

It isn't fair to her. I wasn't fair at that moment. How could I have such thoughts about a student, that misses her mother, and called me 'mom' by accident. I can't do that to her. I'm supposed to be the professional one, but clearly I'm not and I absolutely hate it.

Yet, here I was, giving her a ride home, caught up in emotions and feelings that I couldn't fully understand and explain. It was raining and she would've walked home if I didn't offer a ride. I know how dumb it is after having these mixed feelings about her. It's dangerous spending time with her now, until I figure out what's going on.

The times where we spoke during the quiet car ride, she was oddly tensed about something. She did have a fight with her friend, Iris, a few hours ago. So, I understand why she sounded like she wanted to throw someone off a bridge. She was also cold and wet-- could be another reason why she was so pissed and irritated. Though, she was so good-looking in that moment. Her cheerleading outfit clung against her sticky body and her hair was fuzzy because of the rain. It was like staring at an art piece.

I wanted to rip her clothes off.

Things weren't going her way though. She caught her dad with a woman. Even I was shocked who it was. The world is small, let's just say.

Adeline.

Victoria didn't look too happy about that.

And strangely, it felt like a punch in the gut as she introduced me to her dad as a 'nobody.'

I'm not proud of the inappropriate thoughts of my student, but I do know I'll keep it professional between us and help her.

I do know what it's like to lose someone you loved.

But if she decides to come to my class in that short-ass skirt again...

I wouldn't know how to control myself.