The Final Lesson Plan (20 page)

I sound like a pussy, don't I? I probably sound jealous as Hell of him. Truthfully, I am. You didn't grow up in my hometown; Briggs is a legend where I live. He suffered a horrible injury, a major setback in life, and now look where he's at. The man's got drive, ambition, and the charmed touch. I don't have that kind of luck. Whatever Briggs Alexander wants, Briggs gets. I don't even know how I got into this mess, this competition, this fight to the death for the woman I lo…for the woman I want.

You caught that, didn't you? I'm in love with her. I've been in love with her since the middle of my senior year. At the time, I was dating Kelsey. I'd thought I was in love with Kelsey, but after seeing Janelle's compassion for a fellow student, I knew that my feelings for her were beyond a schoolboy crush, beyond a typical teacher infatuation. I was in love with her. I pushed it out of my mind; she was engaged. I was 18-years-old. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd be where I am right now. I know you probably think it's ridiculous that I'd agree to this "sharing" of her. But really, I've spent over four years dreaming about her, wanting her, and thinking about her. It's a dream come true—even if I know in my heart that I'm going to wake up soon enough and be pummeled by the reality of my nightmare, the nightmare of giving her up. If you could have your dream for even one second, one minute, or one month in my case, wouldn't you take it?

I cancelled on Janelle yesterday, because my perfect date for her wasn't ready. I needed to make sure everything was perfect. Plus, Megan was leaving; I wanted to make sure that I spent the entire day with her too. Then, I wouldn't have to leave early or bail on Janelle. It kills me to walk away from Janelle. When she was dancing with Briggs, I had to literally tell myself to get in the car and leave. I hated leaving her in his arms, knowing that I'd given him full access to her for the rest of the night. The thought made me, still makes me, want to hurl.

Pulling into her driveway, I noticed Char's car was there. She must've spent the night, which was surprising since I didn't think Char had been drinking the night before. I hated seeing Char; I knew she was all about Briggs and Janelle being together. What I couldn't figure out was what she had against me. Girls don't typically swoon and fawn all over me, but they don't loathe me, like she seemed to do. The problem was I didn't know how to win her favor too. I knew the rule, the Spice Girls rule; I had to make her friends like me. Sarah was one of my fans, but she didn't pull the same type of weight that Char did. Basically, I had two goals: Make Char like me. Make Janelle fall in love with me. I definitely had my work cut out for me.

Janelle opened the door to the pool house as I walked up, and she threw herself into my arms. "I've missed you," she squealed, before kissing me deeply. My God, how would I ever give this up? You know how you go on a vacation, a long one; you know that feeling when you finally walk back into your house, that feeling of home? That was exactly how Janelle felt to me. I didn't have a past with her per se, but every time I saw her, every time I wrapped my arms around her, I felt like I was home.

"I missed you, too," I said after reluctantly pulling my lips from hers. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"Let's wait until Char leaves; she's in the shower. I'd feel bad leaving without saying, 'goodbye' to her," she explained.

"Fine with me," I agreed, following her into the house. I sat down on the chair, putting my feet up on the ottoman. I watched Janelle walk to the counter to get her bottle of Fuze. "You like those?" I asked.

"Oh my God, I love these," she said, offering me a drink. "Char got up early and got us drinks. She got Starbucks and stopped at the gas station to get me a Fuze. Do you realize I have the best best friend on the planet?"

"You don't say," I said, smiling at her. Taking another drink, I said, "They're really good. We should pick up a few more of these today." Janelle put the bottle down on the table and sat down on my lap. I welcomed her happily and eagerly. She began kissing my neck.

"Leo, do we have to leave the pool house, today?" Janelle asked, looking at me seductively and teasingly.

This woman was going to be the death of me. I wrapped my arms around her tighter, pressing her body tightly against me. My lips found hers; our mouths began their familiar exploration. I couldn't understand how something so new, so different, felt so familiar and natural.

Just as my hands began to explore my favorite parts of my old high school teacher, the door to the pool house opened, and we heard an, "Ahem." I knew the house officially belonged to Jasper, but Janelle's family and friends really needed to learn some privacy protocol. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was walking out to my car, and I saw this out on the front lawn," he said, handing Janelle a phone.

"What was Char's phone doing outside?" Janelle asked.

"Who knows? My guess is she got sloshed with y'all last night and dropped it in the yard," Jasper guessed.

"Actually, Char was the DD last night," Janelle said, taking it and looking strangely at the phone. "She guards this thing like it's the hope diamond."

Char came out of the bathroom sporting a towel and a big grin. "Nobody said we had company…and what do I guard?" She asked, sitting rather provocatively on the end of the couch. I had to look away. It wasn't right for me to see her so scantily clad. I was 100% head over heels in love with Janelle, but I was also a man. Char was gorgeous and sexy as hell, but certainly not my type of woman at all. My type of woman was currently wiggling her cute little bottom on my lap, causing me great joy and discomfort all at once.

"You dropped your phone in the yard," Janelle said. "I can't believe you left it there all night. How'd you survive?"

"Ahhh my phone," Char squealed, snatching it from Janelle's hands. "I had it here last night. I must've dropped it on the way in carrying our drinks this morning."

"You went somewhere already this morning?" Jasper inquired, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Yes Jasper, for your nosy information, I did." She said sarcastically, sitting down on the couch, putting a pillow over her lap, to my delight. I couldn't avert my eyes much longer. "I knew your drunkard sister would be hanging this morning, so I stopped and got myself some coffee and your kid sister a refreshing beverage," she explained.

"By the way—not hanging. I think just knowing that I get to spend the day with Leo helped me wake up happy and healthy this morning," Janelle said before nuzzling my neck again.

"Ew!" Char said, rolling her eyes.

"T.M.I." said Jasper, walking to the door. Once he got to the door, Jasper turned around and looked at me, "Hey Cling, I was balancing my personal accounts yesterday. Ya wanna tell me...or tell Janelle…why I've written you five different landscaping checks and you haven't cashed one of them?" he asked, chuckling and walking out the door.

Char laughed and said, "I'm gonna go finish getting ready and take a few of your work outfits, since you won't need them this summer. I'm running out of 'proper and professional attire' to host the weekend open houses." She started to walk away and said, "If only there was someone I knew who was looking to buy a house—"

"Char! Out!" Janelle yelled, pointing to the back bedroom.

Once Char closed the bedroom, and I heard it click, I started kissing Janelle's collarbone, licking my way up her neck, savoring the taste of this very tempting woman. "Hold it right there, Mister," Janelle said, pushing me away from her. "Why haven't you cashed Jasper's checks?"

"I've been busy," I said, kissing her shoulder. "With you."

"You've had plenty of time to run to the bank. Spill." She commanded.

"There's nothing to spill. I like doing work outside. I don't need his money," I confessed.

"Leo, I can't let you do all this work for free. That's ridiculous," Janelle said. "You're young, just starting out. Money's money."

"Doll, I really don't need it. I like doing it. It gives me an excuse to see you," I said, covering her lips with my finger, hushing her. "No more talking about this," I declared. I pulled her face toward mine and kissed her, enjoying the taste of her, not realizing how drunk I could get off of her. Janelle Garrity was the only pick-me-up I needed.

Janelle and I stayed on the chair, kissing for a long long time. I hadn't kissed someone that long since high school, when all Kelsey would let me do is kiss her until our lips and mouths turned red from constant friction. I remember wanting to either get on with the main course or just go to a movie. The never-ending make out sessions got old fast. With Janelle, I could kiss her all day long and never think of wanting to do something else. Okay, I guess I do think about doing more. I was very aware of her other body parts and quite aware of one particular part of my own body that was screaming for recognition and attention. But Char was one room away, and Janelle and I were quite exposed sitting in the open living room. I kept thinking how Alexander wouldn't care; he'd probably rip her clothes off and do her right on the floor while Char watched. I didn't have that kind of chutzpah. I didn't want it either. Some things were meant to be private and intimate. Everything with Janelle was intimate. God, I'm a damn pansy.

"Let's go," I said, starting to lift her from my lap.

"Go? Now?" she said, looking puzzled and disappointed. I'm not going to lie, that boosted the old ego a bit. Okay, a lot. "Ummm Leo? Don't you think we should hang out here for a while—until Char leaves? Then we'll be all alone in this big empty pool house."

"Nope. I wanna get going," I said, standing up awkwardly. It's tough and a little uncomfortable to stand when you've been sitting with a beautiful girl grinding into your lap. "We'll have many other moments today when we're alone."

"Yes! We're going back to that house in the woods! I love it here," Janelle said as we pulled down the long tree-covered drive.

"You do?" I asked, pleased.

"What's not to love?" she asked rhetorically. "Oh my God, Leo! It's got a SOLD sign on it. Did you—"

"I signed the paperwork last week. I got the keys yesterday," I said, feeling proud and excited. "I got to bring Megan and the kids here. They loved it." I could feel my eyes start tearing up. Janelle reached over the counsel of my SUV, and kissed my cheek.

"So, how'd you decide?" she asked.

"We'll talk about that later," I explained.

Janelle and I went through the house again. I kept apologizing for all the boxes and that nothing was really unpacked. Janelle couldn't have cared less. She was more enamored with it this time than the last. She was awestruck with all the secret nooks and crannies. "It's like something out of kids' book," she said marveling at all the little passages from room-to-room.

"I thought the same thing. Definitely a setting for a C.S. Lewis book," I said.

"Exactly," she said excitedly.

"I have a surprise for you," I said, starting to feel nervous. "It'll be fun though I promise."

I started to lead her up to the bedroom. "Where are you taking me, young man?" Janelle asked.

"To MY bedroom," I said, smiling. "But not for that reason." She pushed her bottom lip out, pouting at me. I laughed and said, "Are you gonna bite that lip too, Anastasia?" Janelle laughed and punched me.

"You're not even human. You're certainly no Mr. Grey. Can you even be seduced?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"I just have willpower and self-control," I lied. She was killing me. I knew that Briggs was always pawing all over her. But I also knew that Marcus never made her feel wanted or desired. I knew that I had to be different—fall somewhere in between—so she could fall for me.

On the bed, there was a red, pretty conservative, bikini and cover up. "Put that on," I commanded.

"It's so cute," she said, looking at it, checking the size. "How'd you know what size I wore?" she asked.

"I believe you put your bottoms on my head when we were in your pool," I explained. "I just checked the size. Then came up with the plan."

"Why are we putting on bathing suits? You don't have a pool or a lake here," she stated.

"You'll see," I said turning my back and walking out onto the bedroom's deck. "I'll be out here." I walked out onto the deck and sent a text.

When she walked out onto the deck, my breath caught in my throat. She looked so hot, just stunning in that red suit. I've always had a thing for dark haired girls in red, but this was just off the charts. Janelle looked delectable. Fucking delectable? My God, I hope nobody ever really hears my thoughts. I sound like an asshole. Can you imagine if Briggs heard me talk or think like this?