Chapter 6: Hot Topic

Amara left the library, book in hand, with Mr. Shaw and waved goodbye to him as they both headed off in different directions. As she walked, she contemplated all that Mr. Shaw had said to her, especially about her smelling delicious. The very thought sent tingles through her spine and made her cheeks flush. Why would a teacher say that she smells delicious? Why would a teacher call her bonnie?

Was Mr. Shaw attracted to her?

"I think he is," Dakota said.

"No. He can't be. I mean, I'm a student and he's a teacher," Amara said in her mind. "That would be unethical."

"But he's not much older than you! He's twenty two!"

"And I'm still a minor!"

"Not after this weekend."

Amara groaned internally as she went into her science class.

The rest of the school day went by smoothly and afterwards, Janine took Amara to work. Amara went into the mall and headed over to Hot Topic to start work. She clocked in and waved to her boss Jake.

"Hey, Amara," he said. "Long day at school? You look like crap."

Amara laughed as she started folding clothes in the back room. "Yeah, I feel like it, too."

"Well, I won't work you too hard today," he joked.

Amara giggled and continued folding clothes.

Mr. Shaw was sitting at his school desk correcting quizzes and homework assignments.

"Hmm...well, that's an "F" for Laura..." he mumbled to himself.

He wrote a big red F on her quiz and went to the next student's work. Paper after paper, he got into the zone and was basically on auto pilot until he got to Amara's quiz. He smiled to himself as he looked over her answers. Despite her lack of sleep last night, she managed to pass with flying colors. He wrote a red "A" on her paper, then he added, "Good job!" to it. Then he moved on to her homework assignment.

It left a little to be desired but she got a "B" on it. He stacked her papers away and went to the next student, but now he was distracted. He couldn't stop thinking about what occurred today with Amara Jenson. The way her eyes looked so sad when she was crying about her old pack broke Mr. Shaw's heart. He'd just wanted to hold her and never let go, the poor thing.

And the way she smelled...it was so intoxicating.

"What if she's our mate?" his wolf asked.

"How do you figure, Darragh?" Mr. Shaw asked his wolf.

"Well, she smells good. The last time we found our mate, she smelled good too."

Mr. Shaw shook his head. "Yes, and our mate rejected us so please don't remind me of that."

"You don't want another mate?"

"I do, but I don't think Amara is our second chance mate. You read what was in that book. She's going to be attracting all those unmated males..."

The very thought angered Mr. Shaw, especially when he thought about men and boys surrounding Amara. Trying to kiss her, touch her, mate with her...Mr. Shaw shook his head and sighed.

"You like her," Darragh said.

"I'm only attracted to her because of her scent, nothing more," Mr. Shaw said.

"Well, I still think she might be our second mate."

"Well even if she is, we can't do anything about it. I'm her teacher. It would be highly unethical for me to pursue anything with Amara."

Mr. Shaw groaned and rubbed his face vigorously to shake himself from his thoughts. That didn't do him much good.

While he was relieved that his attraction to Amara Jenson was basically a farce, it sure didn't feel like it. And he found himself being more attracted to her the more he thought about her. It was maddening.

"Maybe we should go buy her some anti-scent spray," Darragh suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," he thought.

He looked at his phone. He could grade the papers later. Mr. Shaw collected his belongings, put the papers in his satchel and made his way out of the classroom.

Benjamin was in the shower rinsing off soap from his body. He was very excited for his date with Amara tonight and so was his wolf Jackson.

"She could be our mate! I can't wait until she turns eighteen so we can know for sure!" Jackson howled.

"I know. But what if she rejects us?" Benjamin thought, bending his head down so the water could go down his neck and back.

"We won't let that happen. Just treat her like a queen and she'll come around."

"Should I bring her flowers for our date?"

"Absolutely!" Jackson barked. "Smart thinking!"

Benjamin turned off the shower and decided to surprise Amara at work with a dozen roses. He got out of the shower and dried himself off, then he dressed in a light blue sweater and black jeans. As he was putting on his socks, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Benjamin called out.

Janine walked through the door and pouted at Benjamin with her hands on her hips. "How in the hell did you convince Amara to go on a date with you?"

Benjamin merely shrugged while putting on his other sock. "I dunno. I'm just as shocked as you are, if I'm being honest."

"Hmm. So where are you taking her?"

He scratched the back of his head and sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. "I dunno, dinner, I guess? I'm gonna get her roses, too."

Benjamin walked out of the room but was followed by Janine. "Just dinner? That's so bland!"

"What? I'm taking her to Zuccaro's."

"Oooh, that's a good one. You know how much she loves that place."

Benjamin put on his shoes, grabbed his coat and put it on. "I do. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Big Brother."

Benjamin gave her an award winning smile before walking to his red Dodge Charger. He got in and drove off.

Mr. Shaw was walking around the mall looking for a particular store. He needed to find some anti scent spray for Amara, but he had no idea where to look. He wasn't even sure why he cared or was interested.

"So you can stop smelling her," Darragh said. "You're afraid."

"Of what?" Mr. Shaw thought.

"Of her. Of how she makes you feel."

"Can you blame me, Darragh?"

"No, I suppose I can't. But think about what you're doing. What if she is our mate for real? You won't be able to know if you can't smell her."

"That's kind of the point," Mr. Shaw said. "She doesn't even want a mate anyway."

"You're afraid she'll reject you."

Mr. Shaw frowned and sat on a bench. "Okay. Fine. I am afraid. But being rejected worked out so well for us last time, didn't it?!" he yelled at Darragh.

"Okay. You've made your point. Now grow some balls, be a wolf and accept the possibility that Amara might be our mate. And when I turn out to be right, you better not screw this up."

Mr. Shaw jerked his head down and chuckled. "How do you know she might be our mate, huh? How do you know that her black wolf scent isn't messing with our senses?"

"Well, I suppose we better find out when she turns eighteen."

Mr. Shaw nodded and looked around at the area, his eyes stopping on a store called Hot Topic. Perhaps that store had what he was looking for. He got up and walked to the entrance when an all too familiar scent hit him. And then he saw her in the back. Amara.

"She works here. Shit," he thought.

Their eyes met and Amara gave him a small smile before waving at him shyly. He waved back hesitantly then huffed and walked into the store. Amara met up with him.

"Hey there, Mr. Shaw. What brings you to Hot Topic?" she asked.

"Well...um..." he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I was looking for some, uh, anti scent spray, actually."

Amara raised a brow. "Anti scent spray, huh? Well, I think we have some, actually. Is it for you?"

"Um, no. Actually, it was, uh...gonna be for you."

Both of Amara's eyebrows went up. "For me?"

"Yes. Because of, well, you know," he said sheepishly. "The thing in that book. What the book said. I thought it might be helpful for you once you turn eighteen."

Amara smiled sweetly. "That's...very thoughtful of you, Mr. Shaw. I appreciate that."

"I can smell her arousal, Rory. She wants you," Darragh observed. "Just like we want her."

"Shut up, Darragh!" Mr. Shaw spat in his mind.

"Well, I just figured...when are you turning eighteen, anyway?" Mr. Shaw asked.

"This Sunday, as a matter of fact," Amara replied.

"Now she won't be a minor. That's one less thing for you to worry about," Darragh stated.

"I said shut up!" Mr. Shaw snarled.

"Oh. Well, then I suppose this could be a birthday gift for you," Mr. Shaw said with a smile.

"I suppose it could be." Amara bit her lip with another smile.

"You should buy her a second gift and not tell her about it," Darragh suggested.

Amara looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. "Well, I get off work in ten minutes so we better find the stuff so I can ring you up."

Amara directed Mr. Shaw to a shelf in the back and she started looking at it, putting her fingers in various places. As she was doing so, Mr. Shaw's eyes traveled up and down her body and he quickly stopped himself.

"Easy, cowboy," Darragh laughed.

Mr. Shaw rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Aha!" Amara exclaimed as she grabbed a small bottle and showed it to him. "Here we go."

Mr. Shaw took the bottle from her to examine it. "Is it true this stuff is actually made by witches?" he asked.

"So I've been told. C'mon, I'll ring you up." They both walked to the cash register and Amara rang up the item. "Okay, that's gonna be twenty four dollars and ninety nine cents."

Mr. Shaw dug out his credit card and put it in the credit card machine. After a while it beeped and he took it out while Amara placed the bottle on a small black Hot Topic bag. She grabbed the receipt, put it in the bag and handed it to Mr. Shaw.

"Thanks for stopping by at Hot Topic, sir," she said.

Mr. Shaw chuckled. "They pay you to say that?"

"Yeah, they do," Amara said, her face all scrunched up.

"Invite her to dinner," Darragh blurted out inside Mr. Shaw's head.

"I'm not doing that. Someone might see..." Mr. Shaw thought.

"Who cares? Just do it."

"So, um, are you doing anything after work?" Mr. Shaw inquired nervously.

Amara's face blanched. "Um...yes, actually, I am. I uh...ahem...I have a date."

"Oh no..." Darragh said sadly.

"Oh yeah? Who's the lucky guy?" Mr. Shaw asked.

"Um...Benjamin..." she said, lowering her gaze.

"Benjamin?! I'll rip that bastard apart!" Darragh growled.

Mr. Shaw frowned. "Really? I thought you said you didn't like him?"

"I don't," she blurted out. "I honestly don't know why I agreed to it. Maybe so he'll leave me alone, I guess? Because I'm not expecting the date to go well."

Mr. Shaw frowned at her. "You should cancel it."

Her eyebrows raised. "I should? Why?"

He fidgeted slightly. "Well...uh..."

"Because you want to date her instead. Because you don't like Benjamin. Because you think he doesn't deserve someone as sweet and as beautiful as her," Darragh pointed out. "Shall I go on?"

"You did say you don't know why you agreed to it. Isn't that a, uh, what's the phrase? A red flag?" Mr. Shaw said.

Amara laughed and nodded. "You do have a point. But I can't cancel. I'd feel too bad. Besides, I'm sure it'll just be the one date." Amara leaned in close. "I plan to make myself as undesirable as possible."

Mr. Shaw smirked and jerked his head. "That's gonna be hard to accomplish, I think."

Amara's gaze softened as she looked at him. "You think so?"

"I know so."

A deep red appeared on her cheeks and she looked away with a smile. "That's...um...very nice of you to say, Mr. Shaw," she whispered, looking back at him.

"Amara?"

Amara looked past Mr. Shaw and he immediately knew who it was. Darragh snarled viciously inside his head.

"Benjamin," she said with wide eyes. "Um, hi."

Mr. Shaw stood up straight and turned around to see Benjamin holding a bouquet of roses. Benjamin's eyes narrowed at the man and his lip curled up into a sneer.

"What's he doing here?" Benjamin asked viciously.

"Buying a present," Mr. Shaw replied with just as much venom.

Amara got between the two of them and frowned. "Benjamin, Mr. Shaw, please don't cause a scene."

"Kill the bastard. Maim him. Hurt him!" Darragh yelled.

"I'm not doing anything," Benjamin smirked. "Just waiting to take you out on our date," he said.

A low growl escaped Mr. Shaw's lips. He didn't want Amara dating this aggressive idiot, but he did his best to remain calm. Especially when he felt Amara's hand on his chest. He instantly relaxed.

"Mr. Shaw, please be calm," she said. He nodded but kept his eyes on Benjamin. "I'm gonna go clock out, Benjamin. Be right back."

Amara walked away but the two men stared each other down.

Amara went to the back room, put her back to the wall and held a hand to her chest. This was insane. Why were they still trying to fight over her? And why was Mr. Shaw being so angry towards Benjamin? Did he still not like him for the way Benjamin grabbed her yesterday?

"I think it's safe to say that Mr. Shaw definitely likes you," Dakota said. "He should be the one taking you out on a date, not Benjamin."

"I thought you wanted me to go out with Benjamin?" Amara thought.

"Between the two men, I prefer Mr. Shaw. He's been nothing but kind, sweet and protective towards you. Benjamin has been an asshole to you for years. I know he's trying to make amends but you should let him know his hatred towards you is not easily forgotten."

Amara nodded and agreed. At least with the part about Benjamin's behavior. She immediately clocked out, grabbed her book bag and headed back out. The two werewolves were still staring each other down.

"This is so hot, them fighting over you, though," Dakota stated.

Amara giggled. "Shut up."

Amara walked to both the men and cleared her throat. "Well, this has been delightful, but, uh, Benjamin and I have to go."

Mr. Shaw nodded at her. "Ah, well, have fun on your date," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"It was nice seeing you, Mr. Shaw," she said as Benjamin took her hand and pulled her away.

He waved at her with a soft smile then glared at Benjamin.

Benjamin gave Mr. Shaw a very smug grin before the two left the store. He put an arm around Amara's shoulders and turned back around.

"I win this round, asshole," he thought to himself.

"So, where are we going?" Amara asked as she took the flowers and smelled them. "So pretty..."

"We're going to Zuccaro's, and yes, pretty like you."

Amara blushed. "Oh stop it."

Benjamin laughed as they walked through the mall.