It had been amazing. There was something irresistible about his touch. His caress was intoxicating, as if he had secret magical powers. Sometimes when she closed her eyes and wasn’t imagining Brandon, she believed that when she opened them, she’d see a man so gorgeous, he’d steal her breath. But in the light of day, lying next to him in bed, an inexplicable sense of loneliness washed over her.
With a flourish, she tossed the covers aside. “I can’t. It’s the jog-a-thon today. I have to shower.”
His head flopped onto the pillow.
She headed to the bathroom. They could talk later.
When she emerged, she was freshly scrubbed, shampooed, and dressed in jeans and her light-blue Ocean Avenue Academy T-shirt. All the teachers were required to wear their spirit wear for the jog-a-thon. Ocean Avenue was so much different from Clover Street Elementary, the public school where she’d taught for two years before getting pink-slipped. It was a sad fate for too many new teachers whose positions were eliminated due to a lack of funding. It’s why she’d been thrilled when she’d landed a position at Ocean Avenue. And Mrs. Fitzsimmons, the teacher Riki had replaced after her retirement, had left her with boxes of books, art supplies, and auction prizes. It was more than she could’ve dreamed of. Too bad no one had clued her in to the constricting strings that were attached to a private school.
Chris was perched on the edge of the bed, pulling his shirt over his head. She had the urge to sidle over to him and slip onto his lap for a last embrace, but she ignored it. “I have to run. Will you let yourself out?” she asked, gathering her purse and keys.
He stood. “I’m going now too.”
She crossed to the door and lugged her work tote onto her shoulder, careful not to rip it further, stealing a glimpse at Chris as she did. His keys dangled from his index finger. He flipped them into his palm and closed his hand. “Are you okay? You seem jumpy.”
She placed her hand on the doorknob and wished she were more skilled at masking her feelings. “I just don’t want to be late. The jog-a-thon is apparently a big deal.” She turned to peck his lips. “Thanks for coming over.”
Tilting her chin up with his finger, he whispered, “All I want is to make you happy.” When she didn’t respond, he said, “And I’d like to continue giving you multiple orgasms on a regular basis if you’re interested.”
She bit her lip and looked at him.
“I know we haven’t talked about being exclusive, but I’m kind of assuming we are, being that we’re sleeping together. Were you worried about that?” He cupped her cheek with his hand, and she felt close to tears, but not for the reasons he probably imagined.
Touching his hand with hers felt like the right thing to do. “Kind of. Are you saying you aren’t dating anyone else?”
“That’s what I’m saying.” He smiled, but she could see a hint of fear in his eyes. It was obvious he cared about her. “Are you seeing other guys?”
She playfully punched his arm. “No! Only you. Exclusively,” she added with a grin.
“Good.” His confidence restored, he pulled her close, pressing his body to hers. “I’ll call you later. Good luck with the jog-a-thon thing.”
He tapped the door twice and headed for the street where his car was parked. Riki went in the opposite direction. As she walked down the driveway toward the carport, she glanced at the Taylors’ place. Through the big bay window in front, she could see a shirtless Brandon with Kylie in his arms. Are they dancing? As if feeling her gaze, Brandon looked over and smiled. He took Kylie’s hand in his and waved it, the same way he sometimes did with the baby, and it caused the little girl to explode with giggles. In a quick swoop, he landed Kylie onto his shoulders, giving Riki an unobstructed view of his naked torso. Had he done that on purpose? Did he know the effect he had on her? Kylie gripped one shoulder with her little hand and waved frantically with the other, waking Riki from her daze. She’d literally been staring at him, unmoving. Lifting both hands, she waved back, blowing kisses as though she could see only Kylie. She licked her lips and tasted Chris on them before heading to her car.
Chris. He was her reality. They were exclusive. An official couple. It didn’t matter that she sometimes wished Chris were Brandon. It probably happened with all couples. Chris probably wished she were a Victoria’s Secret angel at times. He could very well imagine she was a different girl every single time they had sex. The point was, she liked him as a person. All the other stuff would come in time. Yes, this was the foundation for a solid adult relationship. She was twenty-five, after all, and it was time to banish the idea of fairy tales.
Fairy tales. She’d just started a unit on them at school. A common element was the monster, and with the way she had been thinking, she’d have to cast herself as the villain, not the princess. She shivered at the thought. That’s not who she was. She held her arm out in front of her and clicked her key fob. The locks opened as if by magic. If only she had a similar clicker for her feelings. She needed to shut them down before they became so big, she lost control.
Riki cheered on her little joggers as they moved around the field. Two of the kids had given up on running and were plucking dandelions from the grass as they strolled along. She shaded her eyes as she watched Jeremy, one of the tiniest kids in her class, run with his arms flapping behind him as though he were trying to break through a barrier she couldn’t see. His mother stood next to her. “My husband has tried to teach him to pump his arms, but he just doesn’t get it.”
“He will.” Riki smiled as she looked on. “He’s a great kid.”
“Yes, he is.”
Riki turned at the sudden sharp tone in his mom’s voice.
Mrs. Tau continued. “Were you aware that he was shamed in class the other day?”
“What? No! When did this happen?”
Her lips formed a tight line. “It was during the nutrition lesson. Apparently, the docent asked what they’d eaten for breakfast. Jeremy raised his hand and shared that he’d had Cheerios.”
Riki nodded, keeping an eye on her joggers. “I remember that.”
“Well, her response could’ve been kinder. According to my son, she told him Cheerios aren’t a good choice because they’re processed. He said he’d added milk, thinking that milk is healthy because that’s what I’ve always told him, but then she went on to lecture him about milk. She actually said if he used cow’s milk, it made things worse, because cow’s milk is meant for calves.” Mrs. Tau turned to Riki. “Unbelievable. I wish he’d told her that her nut milk was meant for nuts, but of course, he would never think to say that. Our nanny said he wasn’t himself all afternoon. I thought he was coming down with something and got out the thermometer, but he ran for the kitchen, where I caught him dumping the entire box of Cheerios into the trash. It was then that he finally told me what had happened. Poor kid. He’d gone the whole afternoon feeling bad. That woman was so focused on delivering her ‘healthy eating spiel’”—she made air quotes with her fingers as she spoke—“that she didn’t bother to check the students’ reactions.”
Here we go, Riki thought. The parents were worse than bickering children. “I’m really sorry. Now that I’m hearing it from Jeremy’s point of view, I can see how upsetting it would be. When we’re back in the classroom, I’ll talk about how moving our bodies is healthy, and then I can transition it back to eating and how there are lots of healthy ways to eat.”