Schooled

by Deena Bright

  “Let’s swim for a little bit,” he said, taking my hand and leading me toward the pool. I was hot and feeling a little sticky from sitting in the sun so long with Joz; I didn’t protest at all. I loved the water. I didn’t swim much when Joz was around; she wasn’t a big fan. I swam under the water, coming up closer than I intended to Leo, but not regretting it at all.

  Smiling, I put my hair back, off my face, and looked at him. He was so cute, so freaking adorable. No other word could accurately describe him. He was adorable. His dimples just softened the mood, made people happier when he was around. “Janelle, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me hungrily, running his wet hands down my soaked arms. He lifted me up, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. Kissing in the water was so sensual, so romantic. He thumb glided over my nipple; it hardened at his touch. Leo slid his hand into my the top of my bikini, making me hot, hot in the wet, cold water. No, I couldn’t do this stuff; we’d already spent the day as a couple almost. Making out and fooling around in the water was just too, too intimate, especially because I loved it so much.

  “Whoa…whoa…alright buddy,” I stopped him, feeling guilty since his erection was already probing at the material of my bikini bottoms. “I think your hormones are a little out of whack.” I said, laughing, turning everything into a joke. I didn’t want to get into an argument about who was feeling what and what those feelings were. I just wanted to have fun and forget about Vince and his attempt to ruin my marriage and my career. Oh yea, and forget about my Hellish marriage that I was about to end.

  “Hormones? I doubt that; I know beautiful when I see it.” He said, kissing me lightly on the lips, lingering only for a second. “But if you just wanna swim, I can respect that.” Why did his little statements like that turn me on so much? He was so agreeable, so easy to be around. I did want him, wanted him badly. Actually, I wanted him to take me right there on the steps, but I felt too guilty sleeping with him again, right after the posts. And with Briggs out with Char. I couldn’t have sex with Leo when I forced Briggs to sleep with someone else. Could I? Shit. I didn’t know the rules to this “playing the field” or “whoring around business.” Basically, I kept turning the tables and changing the rules to my own game. How could anyone win when nobody really knew the rules? All I knew was that when one was around, all I wanted to do was rip off his clothes and have my way with him, and unfortunately, it didn’t really matter which one it was. I wanted them equally.

  Leo and I continued to swim and play around in the pool for a while, kissing and caressing at a minimum. But yeah, a little couldn’t hurt, right? He asked if he could take me to dinner the next night, but I told him that I didn’t think that was such a good idea with everything going on. He understood. I hated when it seemed like I disappointed him. But I was disappointing him. Disappointing myself too. I couldn’t understand why if I wanted something, someone, I couldn’t just have him, or them. Granted, technically, I was still married. But that marriage meant squat to me now.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  After Leo left, I decided that I would turn in early, get a good night’s sleep and just forget about everything. It was 7:30 on a Saturday night in the summer, and I was going to bed. It was pretty evident that my life was in shambles. Just as I had gotten into a pair of old sports shorts and a t-shirt, my phone dinged. It was a text from Char. She was supposed to be at Briggs’ at 6:00. Were they already done?

  Reluctantly, with my hand shaking, I opened the message. It was a picture of Char sitting on Briggs’ lap that said:

  Just got here. Nice place. Let the good times roll. All at once, my stomach fell and my heart ached. Fuck. They were really gonna do this. I had set this up, so I couldn’t be upset. I taught Briggs all the tricks that he’d need to make her happy, satiated, and feel so incredibly wonderful. This would be great, great for both of them. My Char and my….my….Fuck! No way! Over my goddamn dead body.

  I grabbed my keys, ran out the door, and jumped in my car. Briggs’ address was listed on his Facebook page, but I was blocked. We weren’t even friends on Facebook. What the Hell was I doing? I was freaking out about Briggs sleeping with my best friend, and we weren’t even social network friends. What the heck! Who does that? But, I couldn’t let it happen. Briggs could not sleep with Char. He was mine; she couldn’t have him. Briggs better not touch her; Char had better not get within one foot of him…. Holy Hell, what have I done? I called Sarah and asked her to look it up for me and text me with it. Asking no questions, she said, “No problem,” and hung up.

  I knew what area of the city he lived in, so I drove in that direction, hoping Sarah’s text would come soon. Finally, the phone dinged, and I had his address. He lived closer than I thought; I was only five minutes away. Hopefully not five minutes too late. Oh God Char, don’t do it! I decided to call her. No answer. Fuck. I swallowed my pride and called Briggs. No answer either. I knew I was being irrational, but I couldn’t stop myself. I couldn’t allow them to….Oh God. What had I done? Did this mean that I wanted more with Briggs, wanted him? Hell, I didn’t know what it meant; I just knew that I didn’t want them to fuck for whatever reason I had given them in the first place.

  Arriving at his apartment complex, I saw Char’s car; my stomach lurched. I forced them into this. She was going to screw Briggs Alexander, because she was my best friend, and I had asked her to do so. Briggs would sleep with Char, because she was, well Char, and I had asked him to. They were doing this for me. I ran up the steps to his apartment; I put my ear to the door. “Take that, bitch!” was what I heard before I swung the door open, causing each of them to jump a foot out of their chairs.

  There they were, my best friend and my lover, sitting in separate black leather recliners, remotes in hand, playing Madden 13. Apparently, Briggs was winning, but not by much. Char smiled when she saw me, my face reddening more and more by the second. She stood up, handed me the remote, and said, “What took you so long?”

  Not understanding, I looked from her to him, trying to figure everything out. Char walked over to Briggs, kissed his head lightly and said, “I told ya so; good luck, buddy,” and walked out the door, patting me on the back as she went.

  Briggs got up, turned off his TV, walked over, and picked me up, kissing me deeply. Walking with me in his arms, Briggs never broke the kiss. It was sensual and erotic. As he finally laid me down on his bed, he said, “I’d never sleep with your best friend, Janelle. I can’t sleep with anyone else. You’re all I want.” He climbed on top of me, kissing me with purpose.

  Pushing him off, I said, “Are you fucking kidding me?” He sat back, stunned, hurt.

  “What? I’m sorry, I just can’t…” He stammered.

  Cutting him off, I said, “A fucking waterbed Briggs? Seriously? Are you a pimp from 1985?” I asked laughing and pulling him back on top of me as we sunk into the squishy, wavy bed.

  “I can be, if that’s your thing.” He kissed me again, taking my shirt and shorts off with our lips only breaking apart for a second. Our tongues danced around inside our mouths; you couldn’t tell where one stopped and one started. Briggs’ hands explored my chest, reaching under my shirt to touch my breasts, rubbing my nipples. He tugged lightly, making me realize how much I really wanted him. I was so hot, so wet and ready for him. He hadn’t touched Char! I couldn’t be happier or more aroused.

  Finally breaking the kiss, lying in his arms, wearing only a bra and underwear, he humbly asked, “So, you decided then?”

  “Decided what?” I didn’t know what he meant.

  “You’re not seeing Cling anymore, are ya?” He looked so hopeful, so alive.

  I couldn’t answer him. He just looked at me, waiting, confused and pained. “Briggs, I just…I don’t…” I didn’t know what to say to him; I knew I wasn’t going to lie to him anymore. Or to Leo. It wasn’t fair.

  It felt like an eternity with him staring at me, hurt and disappoint
ed. Gaining strength, he sat up, straightened out his back, and choking on the words, he said, “I think…I think you better go, Miss Garrity.” Goddamn. Every time he used “Miss Garrity,” it felt like a knife stabbed me in the back. I used to love the sound of a student saying, ‘Miss Garrity.’ It made me feel so important, but now, it only made me feel worthless.

  I knew there was nothing left to say to him; nothing could be said anymore. I threw on my shirt and shorts, grabbed my keys, and left. I sat in my car for a while, hoping he’d come down, take me back upstairs, not make me choose. It didn’t happen.

  In the car on the drive home from Briggs’ apartment, I broke down, cried for my broken marriage, cried for my tainted reputation, and cried mostly for losing Briggs, causing him such pain. Pulling into my drive, I saw Leo sitting on the porch, waiting for me. When I got close to him, he looked upset. “Leo, what’s wrong?” I asked.

  “I came back tonight to check on you; you seemed so distracted.” He explained. “I wanted to make sure you were okay, since you wanted to be alone tonight.” He stared at me, waiting for me to finish, to answer his unanswered questions. “Where’d ya go, Janelle?” I didn’t respond; I just stared at him. Could this be happening right now with him, too? “You said you were gonna go to bed early, so where’d ya go?”

  “I went…” I started, terrified of the truth, scared to lie to him again.

  “Wait! Don’t answer that. I don’t wanna know.” He stood up and started walking to his car.

  “Leo! What’re you doing?” I asked, running back to him.

  “What I always do,” he explained, “Walking away.”

  Trying to stop him, I said, “But Leo, you don’t understand…”

  He cut me off, “You don’t understand. I can’t do this; I can’t share you.” But he wasn’t sharing me; Briggs just kicked me out. I needed to tell him, to explain. I wanted to tell him that it was over with Briggs. Briggs didn’t want me, didn’t want to share me. Would Leo still want me if he knew Briggs no longer did? I stood there, frozen, not knowing what to do, what to say. I said nothing. He walked away, shoulders slumped, head down. I hurt him again. I watched Leo get in his car and drive off, finally realizing that it was probably for the best. A teacher had no business crossing those lines with her students, current students or former students. It was unethical; it was wrong. I was back to knowing the truth.

  I sat down on my porch and bawled my eyes out, crying for all that I lost, for the pain I caused. When I could barely keep my eyes open and my head up, I went into the poolhouse, walked back to my bed, and went to sleep. I pretty much slept the entire next day. I stayed holed up in my room, sleeping, crying and barely eating for the next week. Maybe Romeo and I were more alike than I thought. It was comforting to hide away in my room, trying to forget my pain. So much had changed. So much had hurt.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  It had been over a week since I heard from Leo or Briggs; they’d just completely cut me out of their lives. I knew it was for the best, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. Char, Sarah, and Jocelyn tried to cheer me up, convince me to meet them for lunches, dinners, or drinks. I just couldn’t bear it. Char thought that I should call Briggs and convince him that I’d made my choice. Jocelyn wanted me to get Leo back and forget about Briggs. Sarah wanted me to date them both and have a Hell of time doing so. I was learning that Sarah was more “Char” than Char was. They all had their opinions, but their opinions didn’t matter. Leo and Briggs were done with me, as they should’ve been a long time ago.

  I agreed to meet Char for a liquid lunch at a Mexican Tequilaria for her Golden Birthday; she was 30 on June 30th. It took everything in my power to actually get up, get showered, and look presentable for a lunch out. Finally, when I thought that I had covered my puffy eyes and dark circles well enough, I locked the pool house and started down the path to my car. I stopped in my tracks, stunned, as Leo and Briggs both pulled into my driveway simultaneously. Leo got out first and waited for Briggs. Leo was waiting for Briggs? That didn’t make any sense.

  I stood motionless, catching my breath and wondering why they were there. They approached me at the same time. Leo gave me a quick hug; then Briggs followed his lead. I eyed them quizzically, trying to figure out what was going on.

  Leo broke the silence, “Janelle, I can’t stop thinking about you,” he confessed. “Every minute of every day, you’re on mind.” He stopped, glancing at Briggs.

  “I’ve tried to forget you, hook up with other chicks, but it just doesn’t work,” he explained. “Everything I do, I wanna do with you.” Briggs’ voice was raspy; his blue eyes sparkling.

  Looking from one to the other, not understanding, I said, “I don’t get it. What? What’s this all about?”

  Apparently, Leo had gone over to Briggs’ apartment, asking him to step aside, give me up. Leo gave Briggs a list of reasons why he believed he was better for me than Briggs was. I couldn’t fathom how he mustered up enough courage to do such a thing and plead his case to Briggs. To Leo’s surprise, Briggs explained that not only had it been a week since he’d seen me that he hadn’t even talked to me. Leo admitted that he hadn’t either. Neither man could believe that they both dumped me on the same night and that neither of them really wanted to in the first place. Immediately, both Briggs and Leo wanted to call me, set everything straight. But Leo convinced Briggs that if they did that, then that would bring them right back to the same place they were a week ago, fighting like Hell over me. Briggs admitted that fighting with Leo over me was better than not having me at all. They finally came to a truce, an agreement.

  “So, if you’ll agree, then we’d both like to start seeing you again,” Leo said, “Under your terms, your conditions.”

  “No strings attached, if that’s what you want,” Briggs added. “We won’t bug you, bitch about which one of us you want.” They looked at each and nodded, trying to convince me, and maybe even themselves.

  “But the deal is: you have to make a decision on July 31st.” Leo stated. “We both get this month to prove to you that we’re the one for you. Well, I am anyway.” He laughed, his dimpled grin making me melt.

  “They Hell you are,” Briggs shoved him with his shoulder. They both laughed, looking at me for approval. Briggs and Leo were being funny and cute, funny and cute together. Now, that was new.

  “Is this a joke?” I asked. “You’re telling me that you two, you both, won’t be at each other’s throats all month trying to kill the other?” There was no way this could work.

  “I know it sounds crazy,” Briggs said, “but sharing you is better than not being with you at all.”

  “I think I could make you happy, but to be honest…” He paused, taking a deep breath, “I think Alexander could too,” Leo said. “It’s ultimately your decision to make.” Wow, that statement took courage, maturation. Leo understood that Briggs had qualities that would satisfy me and make me blissful, just as much as he possessed those same qualities. Leo could see the truth and the tough decision that I was facing.

  I stood there in disbelief. Was there any way that these two guys could agree to something like this? Could I agree to this? There was no mistaking it; I missed them. I missed them both, terribly. I had been thinking about one or the other nonstop for the past week, never one more than the other.

  “But Janelle, we get to do our magic, pull out all the stops to win you over,” Briggs explained. “That means we get to take you out, date you, in public. You have to be okay with that.” Leo nodded in agreement.

  Finally, after standing there looking at the two most gorgeous men on Earth, propositioning me into dating both of them for a month, I agreed. They smiled, high-fived each other, while I shook my head, staring at them incredulously.

  “Leo’s gonna make a schedule,” Briggs added. “We have to follow certain boundaries, not try to kill the other’s mojo.” A schedule. They were making a schedule of when they could and couldn’t see me? Was this the most bizarre setup in hi
story? Either way, I didn’t care. I’d take it. I missed them. There was no denying it any longer, I had real, true feelings for Briggs Alexander AND Leo Cling. Maybe the next month would help me decide, because everyone was right. Sooner or later, I was gonna have to decide. I was thankful that it was later. I wasn’t ready yet.

  Leo said that they had to get going, because neither of them were scheduled for June 30th. Shit. I needed to meet Char for her birthday lunch. As they were starting to leave, Leo stopped, winked at me and said, “May the odds be ever in my favor.” I laughed, my heart melting a little more.

  Pissed, Briggs said, “That shit’s not right; inside jokes? That’s not fair.” I laughed and kissed him quickly, while Leo looked away. “Damn that’s right,” Briggs boasted. “I can do inside jokes too, Cling. Hey Janelle, what time is it?” he asked.

  Confused, I looked at my phone, and said, “1:25.”

  Smiling broadly, Briggs said, “…and Michigan still sucks! Bam!” Briggs was laughing. I laughed with him; Leo just looked at us and shook his head. I kissed Leo quickly too.

  Watching us with envious and angry eyes, “That sucks more,” Briggs whined.

  At that moment, three local news vans pulled into my driveway. Reporters came at us with full force. A blond, overly made-up woman in an ugly olive-colored suit, stuck a microphone in my face and said, “Mrs. Flowers? Mrs. Flowers, what do you say to the accusations made against you?”

  Leo and Briggs stood protectively on either side of me. Confused and terrified, I said, “What accusations?” Could this be about Vince and his posts? Would the local news team get involved, because I had slept with former students?

  The reporter sighed, rolled her eyes and said, “Mrs. Flowers, your ex-husband, Marcus Flowers, claims that he left you, because you’ve been sleeping with your underage students for years.” My jaw dropped; my knees weakened. Leo and Briggs held me up. My only thought before I fainted was, “It’s going to be a long summer.”