Authors note: Making the Grade is my fourth, longest and final story in my Hot Tails in Oak Hills series. This story has been divided into five parts for easier reading. Welcome back and I hope all of you enjoy the fourth chapter. GEV
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Jacob shut and locked the front door of his house as he stepped out on the front landing, pocketing his keys as he walked down the sidewalk to where he parked his car in the driveway, letting out a long breath as he opened the door when it automatically unlocked. He was officially done with teaching for the school year, his last class was on Wednesday and by today, Friday, he had everything out of his room that he needed to take home before the building was closed for the summer. He still had a job next year, not one member of the faculty had yet to find out about his and Madison's relationship prior to her graduation and no one ever would. He had gone back to his classroom that evening after walking her to her truck and cleaned up the broken potted plant and wiped up her blood from the desk before the custodians could ever get to his room, leaving it as neat as he always did, still seeing her there, on his desk...
He hadn't seen Madison for a week, and it was starting to get to him, granted they had talked and exchanged text messages but it wasn't the same, he needed the physical touch, wanted her beside him at night. He knew she would never go behind his back like his ex and if anything, she was hanging out with Dylan since it was their last summer together before college and he was the last person that would ever be a threat to their relationship. He was just about to slide in behind the wheel of his car, he had to unload the trunk before he could go to Riverton to get groceries, when a white Honda Civic coupe rolled into his driveway, parking on the far side next to the lawn, and he rested his forearms on the hood of his car, waiting to see who was behind the wheel.
When the driver's door opened and Madison climbed out, her purse and the manila folder he had given her in her hands, he walked around the rear of his car and over to her just as she shut the door, taking in every inch of her from head to toe as he always did. She had a pair of sunglasses perched on the bridge of her nose and her hair was pulled back into a single thick braid that laid down the length of her spine, he could see a bit of black lace peeking over the scoop neck of her cropped, bright blue tank top, the curves of her breasts pushed even higher in the bra that he had bought her, several inches of her toned abdomen bare between the bottom edge of her top and the low waistband of her...
Fuck, she was wearing snug fitting denim capris that hugged every curve of her hips and ass and thighs, the bottom of the legs turned up once to show off more of her calves, the plain silver ball in her navel already on display. Her leather sandals were basically two straps crossed over the tops of her feet and flat soles, and her toenails were still painted aqua blue along with her fingernails. He stepped closer to her just as she looked up at him and he slid his arm around her waist, pulling her hard against his tense body, reaching up and brushing back a strand of hair that was too short to be confined to her braid. He cupped her chin in his hand and bent his head, giving her a quick kiss. "A week is too damn long to be away from me. Never again."
Madison looked up at him, slowly smiling as he lifted his mouth from hers just as quickly as he had kissed her. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, the tenseness of his muscles as he wrapped his arm around her, the soft scent of his soap that clung to his skin. "You're going to have to get used to it while I'm in college. And he does own jeans," she said, matter-of-factly, leaning into him as his hand wandered a tad bit lower, palming the curve of her ass. That was the first thing she noticed when she got out of her car and he started walking around the back of his, that he was wearing faded jeans that hugged his hips and hard ass and were a little loose around his thighs.
His plain black T-shirt almost had a hard time containing his shoulders and biceps--an inch of his tattoo was showing--and since he was all about appearances, if he opted for a larger shirt, it would just look sloppy. Even his black and white sneakers were spotless. And even casually dressed, he still had his hair neatly styled all except for that stubborn lock that fell over his brow, adding to the sexier-then-hell-but-I-will-eat-you-alive presence. She swallowed hard when she saw the look in his eyes, that same look he got every time he laid eyes on her after being apart for more than two days, longing and desire. "I finished filling out the application and I got my car fixed this afternoon. Were you just getting home or leaving?"