"What are we going to do? How the hell am I supposed to explain to Paul why you're in here?" Chris fretted. He started pacing quickly back and forth, running a hand through his hair. "He's going to know. I'm so dead. I'm going to lose my job!"

Stephanie watched him pacing, slightly amused with his actions. He looked so worried that the world was about to come crashing down around them and for some reason that seemed so adorable to her. She wasn't sure why, it just did and she smiled a little and grabbed his arm to stop him from pacing.

"You don't perform well under pressure," she joked when he stopped and looked at her.

"What do you mean, I don't perform well under pressure? There's a teacher outside my classroom waiting to speak with me and I've been in here making out with you, my student!" He pulled his arm away and started pacing again. "I could lose my job over this. What was I thinking?"

"You were thinking about how much you want me, about how much you still want me," she answered. She walked over to the door to get his shirt from the hook it had been hanging on, then turned back to him. "First things first, you need to put this back on."

She held the shirt out for him and without another word he turned and put one arm in one sleeve, then the other. She walked around to stand in front of him and began to button his shirt up, starting at the bottom so she wouldn't mess up. She worked her way up to the top with sure fingers and when she was done, she smoothed nonexistent wrinkles from his shirt.

"How can you be so calm right now?" he asked. He raised an eyebrow as he stared at her. "Have you been in this situation before?"

"Never," she responded honestly, giving him a quick smile. "But I can adapt to just about any situation I'm thrown into. Quick thinking, good with my hands, that kind of thing."

"Good with your hands?"

She smirked at him, giving him a little wink at the same time. "I'd like to think so but I think I'd like to let you be the judge of that. Now don't you need to go have a little chat with Mr. Levesque?"

He nodded, repeating her words in his head. A wave of calmness washed over him and he smiled as he started to think of the best way he could handle the situation. "You wait in here while I go see what he needs," he instructed. "I'll get rid of him as quickly as I can without looking suspicious."

"Sounds like a plan," she replied. She leaned against the desk and looked him up and down. "I'll be waiting."

He slipped out of the room and shut the door softly behind him. He took a deep breath, thinking it would calm him down a little before he headed across the classroom to open the door for his coworker to come in.

It was go time.

"Hey man, what's up? What can I help you with?" he asked as soon as he opened the door. He leaned against the doorframe and tried to look normal.

Paul looked at him suspiciously and raised an eyebrow. "Your room is so dark. What are you up to in there?" he asked, getting straight to the point.

"Uh, dark? My room is d-dark?" Chris stammered, turning around to look behind himself and into his empty classroom. "Yeah, I guess it is, huh. I hadn't even noticed." Way to play it cool, he thought to himself.

"So what, grading papers?" Paul persisted. "You said you were working through lunch but it's way too dark in here for that."

Chris racked his brain for an appropriate response and smiled uncomfortably. "No, I wasn't grading papers. I was…I was..."

"What?"

"Taking a nap, I was taking a quick nap before my next class begins," Chris finally spit out. "I was feeling a little tired after third period and it seemed like there'd be no harm in just closing my eyes for a few minutes to recuperate a bit."

Paul chuckled. "You mean to tell me you can't hang with the big boys? You have to take a nap during the day?" He bumped Chris a little as he forced his way into the classroom. "Where's your naptime mat? There has to be one in here somewhere."

"Dude, there's no mat." Chris forced a laugh as he followed Paul into the classroom and flipped on the lights. "I was actually sitting at the desk in my supply closet while trying to take that nap I mentioned."

"Unbelievable," Paul laughed. To Chris's horror, Paul walked over to the supply closet and started to open the door. "How does a desk even fit in here?"

"Don't open that!" Chris burst out. "You don't need to go in there!"

Paul paused with one hand on the doorknob to the supply closet, raising an eyebrow as he looked back at Chris. "I just wanted to see how it looked. The one in my room is way too tiny for me to even think about putting any kind of desk in there."

Chris made his way over to the closet with his heart in his throat. He swallowed nervously, his mouth suddenly feeling extremely dry. Am I even breathing? he wondered. Am I even awake? Is this really happening?

Paul opened the door and walked into the closet before Chris could get there to stop him. "You've got to be kidding me. Is this really what you were doing that whole time?"

"I can explain," Chris answered, his face turning red as he imagined what Stephanie must look like sitting on his desk. It was all over with. They were caught. "It's not what you think. She just needed-"

"She?" Paul interrupted. "What are you talking about? There's no one in here."

"What?" Chris rushed into the closet and looked around. He and Paul were the only two in the room. But how could that be? Hadn't he left Stephanie in here? How could she have gotten out when there was only one way in and one way out?

"She?" Paul repeated. "Man, you really must have been asleep in here. You're daydreaming about women when you should be working." He laughed as he observed the room. "I still can't believe you have a desk in here."

Chris walked around to his chair and sat down heavily, letting a sigh of relief escape him. "You caught me. I was daydreaming a little. Don't judge me." He was just about to laugh when he felt her hand gently squeeze his leg. Of course, he thought to himself as he fought the urge to gasp in surprise. Of course she was thoughtful enough to hide under the desk.

"I can't judge you but I can envy you," Paul responded, still in obvious disbelief over the fact that there really was a desk in the closet. "It's a brilliant idea. You don't have to worry about being interrupted in here at all while you're not teaching."

"That's kind of...kind…" Chris's voice trailed off and he bit his lip. Stephanie's hands had slowly traveled up his legs and he could feel something - was that the side of her face? - rubbing against his right inner thigh. He scooted his chair closer to the desk and tried to look normal. "That's kind of the point."

The bell rang before Paul could respond. "I'd better head back downstairs to my class. I didn't notice how quickly our lunch period was passing by."

Chris nodded but didn't get up. "Yeah man, you should. I'll have students knocking on my door any minute now since the bell just rang. Could you do me a solid and leave my classroom door open when you go out?"

"No problem. I'll be back after sixth period to talk to you about your birthday plans," Paul replied as he started to leave the closet. "Oh, and make sure you're awake all the way before your students get here. You seem kind of groggy."

"No doubt," Chris responded, faking a yawn. He watched the door to the supply closet close, then backed his chair away from the desk and looked down. "What...the hell?"

Stephanie beamed up at him from underneath the desk. "What?" she asked innocently. "We didn't get caught, did we?"

He shook his head as his heart raced in his chest. "Almost. I thought we were done for when he came in here. You really are a quick thinker, Miss McMahon."

"I'd say I'm a star pupil," she responded with a laugh. She came out from under the desk and leaned down over him, pressing her lips against his. "I hate that he interrupted us before you got a chance to feel how ready I was for you."

His breathing hitched as she lightly bit his lip. "Maybe it's best that he did. I was getting a little out of control."

"Yes, but that's how I want you," she whispered. She stood all the way up and grabbed her purse and notebook. "Until next time?"

She slipped out of the closet before he could respond, leaving him staring longingly after her.

"Until next time," he whispered to himself.

Next time couldn't come soon enough.