Chapter Text
When class ended, everyone headed out like usual. The only difference is that Mr. Nash was staying near the door this time. That familiar feeling in my belly tingled while I approached him as one of the last to leave.
“Wait.” Mr. Nash stops me from leaving. “Do you have a class immediately following this one?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“Good. I need to talk to you about something.” He nodded back and shut the door so we could have privacy.
“About…?” I trailed off, wondering what this was about.
“Come. Sit.” He wheeled a chair out from behind a table and brought it over to his desk. Patting the back of it before taking a seat in his own chair. He watched as I sat down, letting two words that made me internally scream slip out. “Good girl.” He said under his breath but I heard him clearly.
I watched as he flipped open a manila folder on his desk. His eyes scanning the page with mild disapproval before lifting to meet mine.
“Your grades are... concerning.” He leaned back in his chair, as he studied me. Not like a professor assessing a student, but like something else entirely. "You're bright. I can tell that just by how you participate in class. But your papers? Your exams? They don't reflect that.” A small pause. “So… we're going to have to fix this."
“How…?” I asked, knowing my grades weren’t the best due to… distractions.
Bobby set the folder aside and swiveled his chair to face me fully. "First, I want you here after class every day this week," He said calmly. "We'll go over your notes together and identify where the gaps are. And second... I'm going to assign you a project to do. One that requires one-on-one supervision with me."
“Like for extra credit or something?” I asked, wondering what this involved.
Bobby exhaled through his nose, a quiet sound of mild frustration. "Extra credit? Sure.” He said with a shrug. "Call it that if you want. Truth is..." His voice softened just slightly. "...I've noticed you looking at me differently than the other students do."
“Oh…” My eyes widened slightly at that. My face already burning up. He had a small smile on his lips from my reaction. Seeing that I was already becoming flustered.
"And I can't say I don't like it." He sighed and shook his head. “I'm not even supposed to encourage things like this, but here we are.”
“You… aren’t bothered or think I’m weird?” I asked, eyeing him in surprise.
"Bothered?" Bobby repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I'm a grown man who's been teaching for nearly 30 years. Do you know how many students have looked at me like that? A lot."
He leaned further back in his chair and either consciously or unconsciously spread his legs more.
"So no," He said firmly now. "I don't think you're weird." He paused again before continuing. "I think it's kind of adorable actually. Almost like a puppy staring in adoration at someone.”
Bobby's lips curved into a slow, knowing smile as he watched the flush spread across my cheeks. He could practically see my heart pounding from where he sat in such close proximity to me.
"Puppy," He repeated softly, testing the word out loud. Then his expression shifted to something playful yet dominant.
He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering near my jawline for just half a second too long to be purely professional. But he saw how my breath hitched at his light touch. If that happened with his hand brushing against me… what would I do when he got rough?
"If you're going to look at me like that every day... maybe I should start calling you puppy." His voice was low now, teasing but with an edge of seriousness underneath it all. "What do you think about that?"
There was no real question in it though; this wasn't up for debate between teacher and student anymore.
Bobby's smile deepened as he watched the flustered look on my face, clearly enjoying how easily I got flustered by his attention.
"Puppy," He repeated again, this time with a hint of playful authority in his tone. "I think it suits you."
There was a moment of silence between us before he continued.
"You know what puppies do?" Bobby asked casually, though there was something unnervingly deliberate about the question. I hummed in response, and he took that as my way of telling him to continue. “They obey their masters.”
“O-Oh!” I stuttered, not expecting this conversation to take such a turn. But I liked it.
Before I could continue, he placed a finger under my chin and made me look up. Inspecting my neck like he was imagining a collar wrapped around it.
"Good puppy," Bobby murmured, his voice dropping even lower as he kept his finger under my chin. "You're not like the other students at all, are you? They'd be panicking right now. Even running away as quickly as possible. But you... you're just sitting there with that sweet little flustered look."
He finally let go of my chin and leaned back slightly, studying the way my lips parted nervously. His gaze flickered down to them for half a second before meeting yours again.
"Do I make you nervous?" He asked bluntly but not in a mean way. Instead with genuine curiosity laced beneath the teasing tone.
His hands rested loosely on his knees now as he waited for an answer from this adorable girl who clearly had it bad for him already.
And damn if that didn't do something to him too.
“…No.” I finally answered. “You don’t make me nervous.”
"Good," Bobby nodded. "Because if you were nervous, I’d feel bad for making you uncomfortable."
He shifted in his chair again, crossing one leg over the other this time. The movement caused the fabric of his slacks to pull tight against his thigh.
"You know what's funny?" He continued after a brief pause. "I was actually planning on just discussing your grades today and nothing more."
Another small smile played on his lips as he looked at me.
"But when I saw your face light up when I called you a ‘good girl'... something changed… I realized how much fun it would be to tease you like this." His voice carried a warm amusement now.
“Ah…” I nodded. I wasn’t uncomfortable by any means, that was the truth. But the whole conversation took a turn I wasn’t expecting nor prepared for. “So… about that extra credit or whatever YOU prefer to call it… is it actually class related or…”
“…Do you want it to be?” Bobby asks in a low tone.
“Oh! I… umm… I don’t know…” I stumbled over my words. Unable to properly respond to that.
Bobby leaned forward again, studying my flustered expression.
"You're stalling," He pointed out calmly. "I asked you a question. Do you want this extra credit assignment to be class-related... or not?"
The way he phrased it made it clear, there was an alternative option where this had nothing to do with academics at all. The tension in the classroom became palpable.
When I still hesitated, Bobby exhaled through his nose and decided to push further.
"Look puppy," That pet name slipped out effortlessly now. "if I'm going to spend extra time mentoring my favorite student after hours..." He trailed off meaningfully before finishing: "...we should probably define what kind of 'mentoring' we're talking about."
I nodded quietly, agreeing with that statement completely.
“So… if it wasn’t class related, what would it involve?” I asked, hoping he’d give a straight answer about it.
“To put it bluntly, you’d be my pet. You’d fetch me coffee and lunch. Lay under my desk while I’m grading papers. Maybe take you for walks around campus. And more if you’re extra good.”
“I’d be your puppy.” I stated.
“Good. So you understand.” Bobby nodded. “Does any of that bother you?” He was pleased when I shook my head.
“When do we start?” I found myself asking without even thinking about it.
“Right now.” Bobby said, not even hesitating to push away from the desk. He snapped his fingers and pointed to the space under it. “Get under there. I have some papers I need to grade.”
My breath hitched but I obeyed and slid off the chair. Crawling on all fours until I was under it and laying on the cold tile floor. It was a tight fit. More so when he moved closer and his feet landed on top of me.
“Good girl.” Bobby mutters as he picks up a pen. Settling into his chair with his new pet under him. “We’ll discuss more details about this arrangement later. For now, you can rest and relax.”