The Beginning of Us

by Corona, Brandy Jeffus

  "Here, that's all I have. Hurry and eat it before the bell rings."

  Whoever Red was, I could tell she was a good friend. I smiled appreciatively and unwrapped it as quietly as I could.

  All the while, the fact that I was in the same room with a teenage version of my husband took control of my mind. If this was a dream, which is was, it was the most vivid and strangest dream I had ever been subjected to.

  ***

  After what seemed like hours, the bell finally rang and the English class stood as the substitute rattled off a list of homework. Nobody paid attention. I felt appalled at the lack of respect these kids were showing to an adult. Was high school really like this? It had been so long for me, I’d forgotten.

  I needed to escape and regroup. I wish I could run on autopilot like so many days, but this was new. I was a teenager at some weird school during a school day.

  "Hey Red –" I started but stopped short, realizing what I had just called her.

  "Is that a new nickname?” she asked with narrowed eyes, “Tee, you're a mess this morning. I thought that granola bar helped?"

  I shook my head as a group of normal girls walked past us. Just like any other high school, there were the usual cliques; the cheerleaders, the band nerds, the jocks. But this group looked, thankfully, normal.

  "Hi Teegan, hi Raegan. Is there a sub in Mrs. G's class?" a pretty, but plain, the blonde asked.

  I rejoiced silently at learning my best friend's name.

  "Yes! It was great," Red, or rather Raegan, answered. The blonde girl smiled, gave another blonde in the group a high-five and they proceeded on their way.

  "Raegan, um, can I ask you a question?" I asked as we came down the hallway. Bright posters were tacked up all over, advertising things like school dances and pep rallies. Anti-drug and anti-bullying posters were everywhere too. The perfume-cologne mix was so strong. Did these kids bathe in the crap?

  "Yes of course. But hurry up because the next bell is about to ring."

  "What's my next class? Or better yet, what's my schedule?" I sounded like an idiot. The question made Raegan stop dead in her tracks. She pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her nose and frowned.

  "Teegan, what is wrong? Whatever it is, you know you can tell me."

  Hot tears sprang to my eyes and spilled down my cheeks in a split second and I hurriedly wiped them away. "I'll tell you at lunch okay? But please, I need you to tell me."

  Concern swept across her face and it made my heart soar. She pulled out a rectangular sheet of paper and thrust it at me. "Mulberry, Government, room 205. Hurry up 'cause he hates tardies." She pulled me in for a hug and whispered, “You owe me a big explanation at lunch. I'm worried Tee!"

  I released her and smiled, "I promise." I took off down the perfume-choked hallway. I turned to wave when I got to the classroom and noticed she was still standing there, head cocked to the side with eyebrows furrowed. She wiggled her fingers at me and turned down another hallway.

  This was going to be the longest day of my life.

  I found the classroom and another realization hit me. I had no idea where I was supposed to sit. Who I presumed to be as Mr. Mulberry, a short, stocky man sat at his desk reading the newspaper.

  "Morning Teegan!" he greeted as I crossed in front.

  I looked up and smiled nervously. "Hi, Mr. Mulberry." A light bulb moment went off and I turned around and came close to his desk.

  "Mr. Mulberry, I had a question." I announced.

  "Please don't tell me you need an extension on your paper." he frowned. I shook my head slowly. I sure hope not, I thought.

  "No. I was just going to see if I could sit in the in the front today. My eyes have been giving me some problems. My mom is probably gonna take me to the eye doctor this week to have them checked."

  "I don't see why that would be a problem dear. Go ahead and take a seat. But don't put that appointment off, I started having problems when I was your age," he gave me a tight, apologetic smile and then continued with his paper.

  Crisis averted, I sighed with relief. I took a seat right in the front row in the middle, and started looking through my backpack. I took hold of it and started flipping through its contents.

  I heard him before I saw him.

  "Hey Mr. M., any good news in the world?" he asked. He sounded happy and cheerful.

  "Just a tad bit, Jax." Mr. Mulberry answered.

  I started taking deep breaths and looked up casually. His backpack was slung on one shoulder with a grin on his face, and then he sat in the chair right next to me.

  I almost dropped dead. I continued to breath deep and turned my attention to my folder.

  "Teegan, what’cha doin' up here? You trying to earn brownie points with Mr. M.?" Jax joked. I turned my head in his direction and gave a smile. Everything inside me fluttered and I was shocked at how handsome he was.

  "No, I just got bad eyeballs. Can't see anymore."

  Jax nodded, "Well, in that case, I volunteer to be your Seeing Eye dog the rest of the day." He winked at me and dug out his textbook. "You gonna get glasses like Raegan? You'd look hot."

  I giggled. Actually giggled and then I threw my hand over my mouth. He was totally flirting with me. What a ballsy little punk. But then that's how teenaged boys were, weren't they?

  His smile was wide, "Teeg, you're blushing. That's cute." He bit his bottom lip and shook his head slightly.

  During class I would catch Jax stealing glances at me from the corner of my eye. Our hands touched as we reached for my dropped pencil at one point, and butterflies attacked my insides. It was like the first time we’d met in college, and every time I was around him my nerves were erratic. I wanted to hug him and kiss those beautiful lips of his.

  I was excited when Mr. Mulberry asked us to pair up for a section read-and-answer and Jax scooted his desk closer to mine.

  “This cool?” he asked, facing me head on. His hair was in his eyes, in a sexy surfer boy type of way and all I could do was nod. I wanted to reach out and touch his hair, kiss his lips. Everything in me tensed and it took all I had to contain myself. I lost my train of thoughts several times during the pair reading, but finally relaxed towards the end.

  Finally, the bell rang. While nerve wracking, it was also nice to be in such close proximity with Jax.

  I was up before him and had started to walk out the door when his hand gently tugged at my elbow. A shiver went down my back as I turned towards him.

  "Hey, there’s a party this Saturday at Blythe's place. A barn party. You and Raegan should come.” He bit the bottom of his lip and cocked his head to the side; his hand was still at my elbow. And something in me snapped, and I finally relaxed. The gesture seemed way too familiar, but also comforting.

  “Why is that?” I asked playfully.

  “'Cause it’ll be fun, duh. But for reals though, it would be fun to hang out, you know, um, outside of school.” Nervousness clouded his icy blue eyes, and I smiled. The tough Jax Donney was nervous, around me, how cute.

  After a few moments, I nodded, “Okay, I'll tell Raegan.”

  “Awesome. Text me if you do, so I can look out for you. Where's your phone?”

  Such a simple question left me a bit panicked. I didn't remember grabbing a phone, but instinctively I reached in my backpack pocket and produced one. It was a smart phone with a cute purple case and I handed it over to him.

  He expertly swiped his finger around the screen for a moment and then handed it back to me. “Later, Teeg.”

  He gave me one last smile before trotting off to join a group of guys in front of us.

  My heart was beating double-time, but in a good, giddy way. I got my schedule and double-checked my next class, a little sad to see Jax go.

  Lunchtime came after Stats (which actually wasn't that bad of a class) and thankfulness washed over me. Then dread followed as I thought of having to explain my weird behavior to Raegan. Amnesia? Loss of long-term memory? Home trouble? I didn't know what to tell he
r because I sure as hell couldn’t tell her the truth. Why did it even matter if this was a dream? Wouldn't my answer be automatic and instant anyway? There were way too many questions and not enough answers. I spied the red hair as I neared the end of the lunch line.

  “Hey girl. You feelin' better?”

  I nodded as I popped open my can of soda. I am, “I'm sorry. It's just been a confusing day.”

  “You just seem so out of it Teegan. Like a different person.”

  I didn’t want to have this conversation with her. My head was swimming with a million questions already. I didn’t know how to answer her because I didn’t have the answers myself and it annoyed the hell out of me.

  “I am out of it today. I told you, it's just confusing. Hardly got any sleep, and had a horrible dream.” I replied, hoping she would accept my answer and move on. All she gave me was a shoulder shrug as she began to eat her lunch.

  “Oh hey, I wanted to ask what we had planned for this Saturday.” I brought up, trying to be nonchalant.

  “I don’t know, why?” She picked up her soda and took a sip.

  I took a deep breath, “Um, ‘cause Jax asked if we wanted to go to Blythe's barn party and it sounded like fun.”

  In response, Raegan gave a dramatic cough that dragged out. It took everything I had not to roll my eyes, “Alright Teegan, that is really strange, but whatever, if you wanna go we can.”

  I smiled and nodded, “Okay, awesome.”

  Inside I was yelling for joy. I had no idea where this dream was headed, but I was glad to see.

  Chapter Three

  Jax

  That dream had me trippin' bad. I woke up Monday morning drenched in my own sweat. Everything had seemed so real, so freakin' lifelike, that it wouldn't have surprised me if I had woken up next to Teegan.

  I was older, like middle aged or something, sitting next to Teegan Fisher. But it wasn’t the Teegan I knew. It was a smoking-hot older Teegan. We were in a living room, just cuddled up together. Her gaze was fixed on a TV mounted on the wall in front of us. She looked like a goddess even without makeup, with a messy bun fixed atop her head.

  Unlike other dreams, nothing was fuzzy, and I remembered everything crystal-clear. Our mundane talk about a future event we had to go to, laughing at the comedian on the screen. She smelled like strawberries when I leaned my head against hers. When she laughed, my whole body vibrated.

  Then she casually reached over and brushed against my package. That's about all it took. My tongue was in her mouth, her hands running up and down my chest. The sex afterward was amazing. It was completely mind-blowing. Her body was magical in every way and I wanted so much more after it was over.

  “Jax I love you, so much,” she had whispered, running her hand through my short hair. Her eyes literally sparkled as she stared at me. Sweat covered her body. And the crazy thing is, I could feel it, feel how much she loved me because it radiated from her in every way.

  It was the coolest, craziest thing ever.

  I woke up sad to face reality, and a little weirded out that Teegan had been the star. I never talked to her, we didn't hang out. So why was I dreaming of her?

  I was nervous hanging out in Mrs. G.'s class, waiting for Teegan to arrive. My heart was beating fast and furious as I tried to pay attention to what Kyle was saying. I heard Raegan and saw her peek in the door. I took a deep breath and focused on Kyle joking about almost bangin’ Holly McLee. I laughed at his stupid joke and my hair fell in my eyes. It was the perfect cover to look at Teegan as she entered the room.

  And then she freaked out, her face paled and she whispered something to Raegan who gave her a look. Shit, what if she dreamt about me too?

  Nah, that would be some sci-fi stuff right there. Not possible.

  Raegan walked by me first and I ignored her. I don't know why, but she's never liked me. Ever. Teegan's been nice enough, but never friendly. I glanced up and locked eyes with her as she made her way past.

  I nodded slightly and greeted her, “Hey Teegan.” The blush on her cheeks sent my heart into overdrive. She murmured something I didn't quite understand and continued to her desk. I tried to pay attention, but during the entire period, all that kept blaring in my head was the fact I made her blush.

  I really wanted to do it again.

  ***

  Teegan

  That night, after dinner, I sat in the living room completely exhausted. This had been the most lifelike, longest dream I had ever had. I just wanted to wake up from it and get on my laptop to Google what all this meant. It would probably take me all day to interpret this crazy ass dream. And then underneath the urge to wake up, was the desire to stay.

  A selfish part of me enjoyed sitting at the table, not having to worry about making dinner. Mama was weird when it came to help in the kitchen. All I did was set out the plates and drinks and sit down. It was different sitting through an entire meal and not have to listen to whining from Jax or Josie about something I messed up, or didn't fix. I missed Josie, I really did, but I enjoyed the freedom from the constant, nonstop demands of being a parent and spouse.

  Mama came in with a bowl of popcorn and sat beside my feet, “You better darling?” she asked quietly as she settled under her zebra-print fleece blanket. She still had that blanket in the present, still used it even though she was a middle aged woman.

  “Yup, just worn out. Being a teenager is hard work,” I joked, even though every word was false. It was a cakewalk compared to being a grownup. Now I had the sense to know the difference.

  “Oh dear, I know. I wouldn't go back if you paid me,” Mama replied, reaching for the remote. “Can we find something else to watch?”

  “Yup, you go ahead.” I zoned out, watching as my mom flipped through the channels. I closed my eyes and sighed. I was trapped between wanting to stay in this life and going back to my old one.

  I felt Mama reach over and pat my calves. “The biggest lie in the world is that high school is the best four years of your life. It's not, more than likely they'll be the worst, most embarrassing years of your life and then you move on. I suppose the best years of your life are one through ten, when you still believe in Santa and the tooth fairy; in magic. When having fun is your responsibility. When the worst thing about your day is going to bed because you're not tired. Those are the best years of your life.”

  I turned my head toward her and smiled, “Mama, I do believe you are the smartest woman on the planet.” I sat up and scooted closer to her where I could lean against her. Her raspberry lotion scent invaded my senses.

  “Hallelujah! Finally, after all these years you actually realize,” she joked, putting her arm around me. I felt like a kid again, and even though this was a dream, I even wanted to confess everything to her. To tell her about Jax wanting a divorce, how shitty my marriage had become and how my whole world was tipping off its axis.

  Because when you’re a young girl, your mom is your idol, and she knows how to fix your boo boos. And that's what I needed the most, for these damn boo-boos to go the hell away.

  Chapter Four

  Jax

  If I thought the first dream had me tripping, I underestimated what round two could hold. It started on the beach, the same one I grew up near, the one that we had frequented so many times it had become boring.

  But this time, being there filled my insides with nerves. My hands were on a girl's back, on sun-kissed skin that glistened. Her honey colored hair was in a braid snaking around her right shoulder. Tiny multi colored tattooed stars danced around her neck, looking so 3-D they were ready to fly at my face.

  The crotch of my swim trunks tightened as my body reacted to being so close. And then they tightened even more when she spoke.

  “Are you finished? I don't wanna get burned, babe.” Her voice was light, airy and full of happiness.

  “Um, yeah, almost done.” I had answered and discovered sunblock to my left. Hurriedly, I ran another coat against her skin, wishing it was my lips making contact inst
ead.

  She giggled and scooted farther from me. My breath caught in my chest as she turned around. It was Teegan, but not as old as the version in my previous dream. She looked older than a chick in high school, though, probably early twenties.

  “Why are you staring at me?” Oversized purple sunglasses blocked me from seeing her face.

  “Cause you're beautiful, Teegan. Just so damn gorgeous,” I stammered, feeling like an idiot. Instinct struck and I pounced on her. She fell back, catching herself with her elbows. Our faces were inches apart and I could smell strawberries. Always, the damned strawberries. Just like she did in real life.

  “Thank you baby,” she whispered, “Kiss me? Please?”

  So I did. Her mouth was like honey, her lips gliding over mine effortlessly. A tiny moan escaped her lips and an overwhelming need to catch it surrounded me. Everything became frenzied, our lips crashing against each other; biting, pulling. My hands wandered over all the hills and valleys of her barely covered body and I swear I was going to explode right at that point.

  “Make love to me, Jax,” she commanded breathlessly.

  She didn't have to tell me again. The swimsuits came off and our bodies collided in perfect harmony. Over and over again, we made love on the beach, which we had entirely to ourselves.

  “You're amazing,” I moaned one last time. Her body reacted to every touch, every kiss with need. It was true; she was amazing, every inch of her. This girl, this dream Teegan, had no idea how much she was getting from me.

  I woke up just like that. It took me a few seconds to realize what had occurred as a result of my X-rated dream and I flipped the sheets off in disgust. That hadn't happened to me in a while.

  I ran buck-naked to the hallway bathroom, praying my parents and Roxy wouldn't come out of their rooms and see me. Excitement flowed through me with every beat of my heart. I was going to see Teegan at school in a few short hours.

  I had no idea why the hell I was having these hot dreams about her. Regardless, she had become my real dream girl.