‘Everyone, this is Abi. She’s about to start her last placement. She’ll be here for three months before she officially qualifies, so lets offer her some great experience. Abi, if you drop your stuff on that desk over there, I’ll take you through to meet your practice tutor,’ Neil, the team manager, said as he stepped to the side and gestured towards the desk. It was an add-on to a larger desk and didn’t match in any way, but I would have been happy sitting at a dirty kitchen sink. I was desperate to get into the team before I qualified. They covered a notoriously difficult area of Nottingham, so if I could cut it here, I could cut it anywhere.

‘I’ll take you through. Jamie’s just come out of a case conference and is getting a few things together. Do you want to make yourself a drink?’

‘That would be great. I haven’t had anything all morning.’

‘Is coffee your poison?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, besides other things.’

‘Staff room is straight in front of you,’ he said as he pointed towards a door before leaving me alone in the corridor. The office was an old school building that had seen better days. As the wind whistled through the corridor, I understood why some of the staff had blankets slung across the backs of their chairs. Each office looked like a classroom, all large windows and doors. As I passed, I noticed Elle, who was also on placement in a different team. She was sitting beside a gorgeous man with dirty-blond hair who had an obvious trait of talking animatedly with his hands. She was blushing and fiddling with her ponytail, hanging on to every word.

I went to open a door with the lowest door handle I had ever seen when it flung open and a dark haired god of a man walked straight into me, spilling the contents of his mug down my chest.

‘Shit, shit. Hot, hot. Ouch!’ I instinctively pulled my blouse away from my body and brushed my hands down it. ‘Fuck, that was hot. Fuck!’ I bent over to check the damage before realising where I was. ‘And I’m saying fuck on my first day, and shitting hell that’s hot. Ignore me. I shouldn’t be swearing.’

He smiled and pulled me into the staff room by my elbow. He grabbed a tea towel from the side and held it in front of me. Jesus, I could have caught typhoid off that. It was grey and covered in tea stains and something that looked suspiciously like sick. ‘I’m so sorry. These doors are a hazard. I’m sure they only want leprechauns and fairies working here,’ he laughed.

‘Sorry.’ He was blinding me senseless with his bright blue eyes and his stubble. Stubble that was deliciously framing his neck and cheeks.

‘The door handles,’ he said, pointing to them. ‘It used to be a primary school, so all the handles are low. Thought it would be more PC to say fairies instead of dwarves.’

‘Oh, right,’ I laughed.

Deadly handsome with a sense of humour. We were going to get on.

‘Do you have a spare top?’ he said as he hovered his hands around the front of my chest. ‘It’s not a good look, and didn’t you say today is your first day? You need to make a good impression on whoever it is you need to impress.’ He stood back and rubbed his finger along his temple at the same time as staring at the coffee stain—or maybe my boobs. I was hoping it was the boobs.

‘No, didn’t think to pack an outfit change. Silly me.’

He laughed, and I swear it vibrated through parts of me that were pulsing and growing wetter by the second.

‘Well, coffee stain or no coffee stain, I’m sure you’re going to impress.’

‘I was hoping to get a drink, but I’m late for my meeting.’

‘There’s a water cooler at the other end of the corridor,’ he said, pointing behind his head. ‘Make sure you stay hydrated. Good for the brain.’ A smirk appeared. I was an expert in flirting, and he was so going there. I smiled and folded my arms to push up the goods he was definitely having a hard time breaking his gaze from.

‘Thanks. Need to keep the mouth nice and wet,’ I replied in a breathy whisper.

He nodded and I followed his eyes as they dropped to my top, which was now slightly see-through and showing the white lace of my bra strap. Demure white lace that wrapped the parts of my body that weren’t at all demure.

‘Well, it was nice to meet you. Sorry I did…that,’ he pointed to my boobs again and circled his finger dangerously close to my nipple.

‘What?’

‘Made you wet,’ he smiled without missing a beat before stepping backwards down the corridor, the sexy smile dripping across his lips. I could tell this man knew about good sex; it was written across his jawline. I needed to find out more about him.

Navigating my way back to the office was difficult. The place was like a rabbit warren. When I saw Elle through the window fanning her flushed face with a ring binder, I knew I was heading in the right direction.

‘There you are. Thought I’d lost you already.’ Neil stuck his head out of a small office and wafted me in with both hands. ‘This is Jamie. He’ll be your practice tutor.’

Hot coffee man was sitting with his legs crossed. He spat a mouthful of liquid back into his cup when our eyes met for the second time.

Me. This could only happen to me.

‘Jamie, this is Abi Sinclair.’ Jamie smiled and held out his hand, which I took willingly.

‘Pleasure to meet you,’ he replied in that clit-wobbling tone I had experienced minutes earlier when he’d said something about making me wet, around the same time he was staring at my boobs.

His hand returned to the back of his neck. He had the most amazing nervous habits. The neck rub, the forehead rub, and the arm stretch revealing his toned stomach, which was well on the way to becoming my favourite of all of them.

As he was talking, he had one hand on his bicep and the other splayed out in front of him. I was falling in lust with his hands. Watching him moving them around wildly and trying to crunch a point out was quite distracting. I wasn't sure how I would get through the next three months without carrying a regular change of knickers.

Assignments? What assignments?

‘What happened to your top?’ Neil stuttered as he averted his eyes from my chest.

Jamie didn’t hide his smile.

‘My fault. I spilled my load,’ he said, raising his coffee cup.

I had to bite the corner of my lip to stop myself laughing. He seemed to have a brilliant talent for deadpan delivery, which was pressing every button and ticking every box.

‘Do you have a change of clothes?’ Neil failed to notice the sexual tension flying around the room.

‘No, I didn’t know I would need to change. Workbooks and pens were the only equipment I thought I’d need.’

‘Well, if you need to nip home at lunch, just say the word.’ Neil smiled and sat down, offering me the chair next to Jamie. ‘Your desk is across from Jamie’s, so he can be there to offer advice and guidance. He’s an experienced practice teacher, so he knows the drill.’

‘Shall I show you round? You’ve seen the kitchen, but there’s so much more on offer. That’s a lie. It’s rubbish here. Be careful when shutting doors because the ceiling has been known to fall in.’ Jamie nudged his shoulder into mine and held my gaze for slightly too long for it to be a mistake. I knew then that I was in trouble.

As he walked in front, I got a great view of his arse tightly wrapped in chinos and what I knew were black Calvin’s. I could just see the band when he leant down to pick up a pen from the floor.

‘So, this is our team. Desks, computers, weary social workers.’ He wafted his arm across the room and closed the door. We walked further up the corridor. ‘The next office is Colin’s team,’ he said as he opened the door. ‘It’s a bit bigger, a lot going on in there.’ I waved to Elle, who smiled and opened her eyes wide to say, Shit, I’m out of my depth here. ‘You two know each other?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, Elle’s a good friend.’

‘Hi, Elle,’ he said waving to her. ‘I’m Jamie. Top practice teacher. Sorry you drew the short straw with Luke,’ he laughed as he threw his thumb in Luke’s direction.

‘Get out of here, Jamie. We all know I’m the best. You weep at my practice teacher skills.’ The dirty-blond guy, known as Luke, threw a pen at him, which he caught with one hand.

‘He thinks he’s funny, but he isn’t,’ Jamie whispered behind his hand as Luke gave him the finger. I mouthed see you later to Elle and arched an eyebrow in recognition of the two hot men known in this building as practice teachers.

Jamie took me through the essentials. Reception, stationary cupboard, toilets, fire exit. All very clinical and necessary, but I sensed a tension in the air.

‘Shall we sit?’ He pointed to a door leading to a small outside area with a few wooden benches. I nodded as he held it open for me. ‘So, tell me what it is about social work that drives you. In other words, why are you here?’

‘Wow, where do I start?’ I smiled as he leant back. ‘I love being part of people’s lives, particularly when they need help. They could be at their worst point, but I can try to make things a little easier for them. Being able to assess what they need and offer support is a real privilege,’ I replied.

‘They won’t always see it that way. Sometimes you have to make hard decisions.’

‘I can do that if it’s in the best interests of the child. They always come first. I’m not afraid to voice my opinion.’

‘I don’t doubt it,’ he laughed.

‘I think everyone deserves to have a chance in life and to have someone who’s willing to fight for them when they can’t do it themselves. That’s me.’

‘Good answer. Welcome to the team.’ His smile totally lit up his face and in that moment, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Jamie Dawson was going to become important to me. ‘Listen, earlier on, I had no idea you were my student. You don’t look like a student. I mean, you look older. Not older. You look hot, not old. Shit. I mean you look good. Jesus. I mean you’re not what I was expecting.’

Neck rub and adorable stuttering. Fuck.

I laughed. ‘What you mean is there’s a hint of flirtation in our banter and we can’t go there.’

His eyes widened slightly and he smiled as he rubbed his hand along the back of his neck.

‘You always say what you think?’ he asked on a grin.

‘What’s the point of talking if you don’t say what you think?’

‘True. If we stop the flirty banter, I think we’re going to get on well.’

‘I’ll warn you, I’m a natural flirt, so it may slip out at times, which could be a concern. I’ve always been flirty. Can’t help myself. I take after my mum. It’s probably not always flirty. It could be described as more friendly than flirty, but I find people often describe it as flirting.’

‘Bloody hell.’ He smiled and looked at me in complete fascination.

‘Anyway, if I happen to get flirty, don’t take it personally. It’s just…me,’ I told him.

‘Don’t take it personally? I’m disappointed,’ he said.

I held my smile under my teeth. ‘Isn’t that a continuation of flirty banter, or doesn’t that count? Let’s officially stop the flirty banter. Starting from…now.’ I watched his smile closely and I swear everything shifted in that moment. I wasn’t sure what to do with the shift, so I let my mouth take over. ‘Maybe I encourage flirty banter. Or maybe I just give off a flirty vibe. I’m not sure. I wish I knew. Really.’

‘I have a word to describe you,’ he smiled. ‘Garrulous.’

‘What the hell does that mean, Professor Dawson?’

‘You talk about everything at a fast pace. You add three extra words where you only need to use one.’

‘Words are never a waste,’ I said, shaking my head.

‘I have a feeling I’ll never consider yours a waste.’

As he knocked my shoulder, I arched an eyebrow. He hadn’t long finished his serious let’s not flirt talk, but he had thrown in a couple of highly flirty statements that couldn’t be mistaken for anything else.

‘I bet your English teacher was Irish,’ he said, changing the tone of the subject.

‘No, my dad was.’

‘Explains the green eyes.’

He smiled and stretched out his leg. He was wearing the most amazing orange, yellow and red stripy socks. They were such a contrast to his conservative short-sleeved shirt and chinos, although he had rolled them up at the ankle to give his social work uniform more of a personal touch.

Is it normal to lust after stripy socks?