The Substitute Teacher

Chapter 13


xXx


"Hey, Ichigo," Isshin called out as his son came into the living room. "Sit down and talk to your dad."

The teen eyed him for a moment but then shrugged and joined him on the sofa.

"What's up?"

Isshin grinned and ruffled Ichigo's hair. "I noticed you've been acting strangely cheerful for some time now. I'm happy for you."

"Yeah..." The boy gave a light smile.

"So... Who is it?"

"Huh?"

"You're in love," Isshin chuckled. "I'm not that old, I still can recognize love, yanno? So, who is it?"

Ichigo blushed a lovely shade of pink. "Erm... No one you'd know..."

"Is it the same girl we were talking about when you asked me how I knew I was in love with your mom?"

For a moment, Ichigo looked like a fish out of the water, opening and closing his mouth a few times, unable to speak coherently. "Uh..."

"So it is," the older man exclaimed happily. "What's her name?"

"It...It... ah..."

"Alright, alright, you're still shy about it, I understand," Isshin smiled and patted his son's shoulder. "But... Do I need to go over 'the talk' once more, or do you remember everything important? Protection..."

"Dad!" Ichigo interrupted, now red as a tomato. "Could you please not talk about that?"

"It's only natural to want sex at your age..."

"Shut. Up." The teen gritted his teeth and hid his face in his hands.

"Oooh, and you've got a hickey ... right there," Isshin teased, lightly poking the side of Ichigo's neck.

"Wh-whatever!" Ichigo sputtered and briskly stood up.

"Where are you going? Dinner's almost ready," the older man smirked.

"Not hungry right now, gotta study," the teen mumbled, yanking on his collar in attempt to hide that blasted hickey. He'd completely forgotten about it and now... 'Ugh, leave it to dad to notice everything and make a show out of it...'

"That's my boy, taking his academic responsibilities even though his heart's on fire," Isshin praised, with full intent of teasing his son. Still, they both knew it was their way of bonding and that Isshin was truly glad that Ichigo had finally started to resemble an average teen with not too much worries on his mind.


xXx


As he climbed upstairs, Ichigo made a tour towards the bathroom and checked his reflection in the mirror. There it was – a dark red mark on the side of his neck, just under his jaw. He snorted and shook his head as a shiver ran through his body the moment he remembered the most recent heated exchange between him and Renji.

However, tonight was reserved for studying, since he had a test the next day – a literature test at that. Renji had already made it clear that there was no way in hell that he was going to go easy on Ichigo just because of their... status.

The teen sighed, figuring it was kinda fair and okay, even though he'd be very grateful at least knowing the questions in advance. But Renji had insisted he learned all the required lessons and refused to reveal a single question that was going to be on the test.

Not even fifteen minutes into his studying, Ichigo's cell phone started buzzing with an incoming call. He smirked and answered it.

"Hey sensei," he greeted teasingly.

"Kurosaki-kun," Renji accepted the little game, "are you being a good little student?"

"Yeah... One lesson left... Ne, Renji?"

"Hm?"

"Do I need to learn lesson 12?"

Ichigo heard a low chuckle from the redhead. "We went through this Ichigo, you gotta learn everything, like all the other students."

"Well, had to try one more time," the teen shrugged and sighed. "So why are you bugging me when I should be studying," he gave a light smile, knowing that Renji would feel it being there.

"Wanted to hear your voice," Renji purred.

"Right," Ichigo snorted and barely managed to stop himself from giggling. "You're so corny..."

"You didn't mind it yesterday," the redhead husked into the phone.

Ichigo nearly whined. Renji's voice... It did funny things to him. "Uhm, by the way, your mark on my neck has officially been noticed."

"Oops," Renji chuckled, "Well, I guess I should be more careful... Just kissing and licking from now on, I promise," he said, the low purr never leaving his voice.

Ichigo's breath got caught in his throat.

"Hmm," Renji continued, "remember what I did to you... That time on the sofa?"

"Y-yeah," the boy breathed into the cell phone. "Renji..."

"You were... so sexy. I couldn't resist you. Damn, Ichi, I wish you were here now. I'd do it all over again, right now."

Ichigo closed his eyes, shivering slightly. Renji wasn't the only one that wanted to do it all over again. With all the tests piled up in only two weeks, Ichigo couldn't spend as much time as he wanted over at Renji's place. He had to study and they've only had a couple of heavy make-out sessions in the past week. Ichigo craved for his sensei's touch.

"Ichi," the redhead asked softly as the teen remained silent.

"I miss you," Ichigo whispered, his cheeks burning. When Renji chuckled into the phone, he blinked. "What?"

"Nothing," the older male drawled, "You're cute when embarrassed."

"I'm not cute."

"But you are embarrassed?" Renji laughed.

"A bit," the teen admitted, smiling.

"That's alright," Renji said amicably. He had a feeling that Ichigo wouldn't be up to 'sharing fantasies' over the phone, so he really wasn't disappointed. "How about you come over to my place tomorrow after school and we hang out?"

"I'd like that," Ichigo murmured, the smile never leaving his face.

"Then it's a date," Renji said with a chuckle. "Alright babe, I shouldn't bother you anymore. Be a nice student and go study for tomorrow."

"Hai, sensei."

Renji groaned. "Don't tease me like that..."

Ichigo laughed quietly, loving how that single word could work Renji up. "Okay, okay, I'll be nice. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yep. Goodnight Ichi."

"Night," Ichigo said and ended the call. He absentmindedly thumbed the device, smiling to himself. He was happy and it felt... really nice. He was looking forward to spending the afternoon and evening over at Renji's and... Cuddling with him and kissing and... Everything. He sighed, feeling the heat pooling in his nether regions. This was ridiculous – just thinking about Renji made him feel like that. And how on Earth he could study with all those things on his mind?

"Damn you," he muttered, not really upset that his mind was full of Renji. He gave one more sigh and turned the page of his textbook, revealing the beginning of Lesson 12. It was going to be a long evening.


xXx


To be continued...