Guarded

by J. D. Rivera

  I got back in my room and waited for my class to arrive. I wasn’t really in the mood to work on fractions but it had to be done.

  “Mrs. Smith, is Jackson Berrios coming back to play with us today?” A girl student asked me.

  “I don’t think so. He’s very busy.”

  “Oh, my mom’s going to be real upset. She said she wanted to come up here and look at him. Said he’s hot.” I couldn’t help but giggle at the girl. I’m sure parents would be mortified if they knew what all the students told me. I knew a ton of embarrassing secrets.

  I had to end the conversation before anything else was said that would embarrass her mom. “All right class. Let’s get out our math books.”

  AT THE end of the day, I sat down at my desk and contemplated my options. I could call a cab, Amanda, or Jackson. If I called a cab, it would be expensive. Amanda was still at work and my relationship with Jackson was still new. I didn’t want to bother him but decided to take a chance and see if he would give me a ride home. I took my cell phone out and dialed, biting my nails the entire time that it rang.

  “Hi,” he answered in a sexy voice.

  “Hey, what are you doing?”

  “Nothing. Just waiting for you to get off work.”

  “Waiting for me to get off work?” I repeated, not sure what to think.

  “Yep. You work with some slutty looking people.”

  Wait, what? “What are you talking about?”

  He chuckled. “I’m waiting outside your building. I figured you would need a ride home since your car is broken. Was I wrong?”

  I smiled. “No you weren’t wrong. That’s why I was calling.”

  “Well, get your ass out here then.”

  Jackson

  SHE DIDN’T seem freaked out that I was waiting outside. I figured that if I had called and asked, she would have declined. I was actually shocked that she had called me. Happy, but shocked.

  I saw her coming toward my car so I hopped out and greeted her with a quick kiss. “How was your day?”

  “It was okay. Just stressed about my car. By the way, the slutty teachers you were talking about want you.”

  “Want me?”

  She smacked my arm. “Yep, I heard all about your hotness today at lunch.”

  I chuckled and pulled her tighter to my chest. “I’m not into slutty girls.”

  “Is that so?” She asked, staring up into my eyes. God, she was beautiful.

  “Yep. That’s so. I’m into sweet, beautiful, dark-haired women. Come on. Let’s get out of here,” I said, pulling her to the passenger door.

  I walked to my side and climbed in. “Hey, you wanna go for a run?” I figured I’d try to spend a couple of hours with her.

  “Sure. I just need to change first. Where do you wanna go?”

  “How about my neighborhood? I have something to show you at my place.”

  She gave me a questioning look. “What do you want to show me?”

  “Just something. We’ll run first.” I told her as I glanced from her to the windshield and back.

  Forty-five minutes later, we were running side-by-side in my neighborhood. It’s not a busy area so it was mainly just the two of us. We didn’t speak a lot and I liked the feeling of comfortable silence. A lot of other girls wanted to talk, talk, talk until I thought my ear drums were going to bleed and my head was going to burst. With Vanessa, we just clicked.

  “You want to run some more or turn around?” I asked her.

  “Let’s turn around. Some of us aren’t as in shape as you.” She smirked.

  I bent down and kissed her until she wasn’t smirking anymore. She pulled me in closer by digging her nails into my back. It didn’t hurt; it just made me want to kiss her more. I wrapped my arms around her then moved my mouth, kissing down her neck and back up to her ear. I bit down gently on the lobe and she moaned. She quickly grabbed my head and pulled my lips back up to hers. Since she seemed to be wanting it as much as I was, I licked her bottom lip and slipped my tongue inside her mouth.

  HONK HONK!

  I looked up to see a very angry delivery truck driver waiting for us to move out of the way. I had been so caught up in the moment that I had forgotten we were in the middle of the street. We looked at each other and burst out laughing. I grabbed her hand and led her to the sidewalk.

  She put her hand over her mouth. “Oh God that was embarrassing.”

  “Eh. He was probably just jealous of me,” I told her while pulling her arm down, away from her mouth.

  “Jealous of you? No. But I’m sure any girl would’ve been jealous of me.”

  “Who cares, right? People can be jealous if they want. Haters gonna hate, right?”

  She giggled. “Haters gonna hate? Did you really just say that?”

  I quickly walked in front of her and scooped her up. I gave her a big playful smack on the ass. “You making fun of me?”

  She laughed again and I realized I loved the sound of her laugh. “Put me down.”

  “Nope. I’m carrying you all the way back,” I told her before smacking her ass again.

  “SO WHAT did you want to show me?” She asked as she sank onto the couch.

  I took a swig of water then replied, “My new car.”

  She nodded her head, looking sad but didn’t speak. It might have been a little shitty of me to pay some thug in her complex to break her car beyond repair and then tease her like that, but I did it anyway. I was sure her car was going to break down at any minute anyway since she had mentioned it having problems. I just sped the process up a bit making sure she wasn’t stranded anywhere besides her own apartment.

  “Okay, fine,” I told her. “I really want you to borrow it. I’m only one person and I can’t drive two cars.”

  Her eyebrows knitted together while she looked at me. “I can’t take your car. I’ll figure something out.”

  “You’re not taking it. You’re borrowing it.” Crap, if she didn’t take the damn car, I was going to have to tell her the truth.

  “That’s really nice of you but it just seems wrong.”

  I grabbed her hand. “Why would borrowing a car be wrong? It’s not like I’m a stranger.”

  “What are you? I mean, what are we to each other?” She asked, looking embarrassed.

  “I don’t really know any better than you do. I know that right now I like spending time with you. I know that I want to see where this goes.”

  “Look, Jackson, I realize I’m still married, but that’s just a matter of time. I’ve been cheated on and lied to far too many times. I can’t even casually date someone that’s dating and hooking up with other girls. I won’t.”

  I moved my hand to her hair, stroking it, and grabbed her hand with my other. “I understand what you’ve been through and I promise I’m not wanting to date or hook up with anyone else. I really like you. I want to see where this goes. Okay?”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise. Now will you please just borrow my car?”

  She sighed. “I guess.”

  “Good,” I said before I grabbed her, pulling her on top of me. I kissed her gently. “I really love your lips.” I kissed her again, harder.

  “I love yours too.”

  I pulled her back to my lips while my hands rubbed down her back until they found her ass. I groped her ass cheeks as she moaned into my mouth. I loved that sound. I gently laid her on the couch, placing my body above hers. I began kissing her again, exploring her mouth with my tongue. I pulled away to look into her eyes and then lowered my mouth to kiss her neck. While my hand gently rubbed her bare stomach. I was grateful she only had on a sports bra and wasn’t wearing a shirt. I kissed every inch of her neck then moved lower and lower until her bra was in the way.

  “Let’s go to the bedroom,” she whispered.

  She didn’t have to ask twice. I instantly rose from the couch and picked her up. We began kissing again while I carried her to the bedroom. I kicked the door open, then laid her on the bed. We
quickly removed our clothes, kissing each other all over our naked bodies. I had never been with anyone like her before and at that moment, I didn’t think I’d ever want to be with anyone else. It was incredible.

  Afterwards, she laid in my arms while I stroked her hair. Her hair always smelled like coconut, which was beginning to be my favorite smell. Since the day we had met at the lake, if I smelled coconut, I thought of her.

  “What are you doing?” She asked.

  “Nothing. Just relaxing.”

  She laughed. “No. You were smelling my hair, weren’t you?”

  I guess I hadn’t been discreet about it. “I… uh, you caught me. I love the way it smells.”

  “Thanks. It reminds me of the beach. I love the beach.”

  We had sex a couple more times and stayed in bed for a few more hours talking about random things before she announced that she had to leave because she needed to rest for school the next morning.

  “You can just stay here and wake up early, then drive over to your place to get dressed.”

  I could see that she was thinking it over. “Are you sure?”

  I kissed her. “I’m more than sure. You’re staying.”

  “Okay,” she said before snuggling into my body.

  Vanessa

  BEEP, BEEP, Beep!

  I tried hitting the snooze button but Jackson’s body was in my way. I reached over him, barely hitting the button. He grabbed my body, pulling it closer to him. “Stay in bed with me.”

  “I really wish I could but I have to go home and find some work clothes. Plus I really need a shower.”

  “Hmmm, I really need a shower too,” he said, kissing my forehead.

  “That sounds wonderful but I can’t be late for work.”

  He let go of me. “Fine.”

  I climbed out of bed and quickly put my clothes on, then walked out of the bedroom with Jackson following me.

  “Let me get your car keys for you,” he said as we entered the kitchen.

  “Correction. Your keys. They aren’t mine.”

  Glancing back, “Whatever. They’re your keys while you’re borrowing the car,” he told me.

  He threw me the keys and we walked to the garage. Sitting beside his Range Rover was a silver Infiniti G 37 Coupe. It was beautiful and way too expensive for me to drive. “I can’t drive this.”

  He glanced over at me. “Why the hell not?”

  I took another look at the car, then back at Jackson. “It’s way too expensive and what if I wreck it?”

  “Don’t worry about the cost and try to drive careful.” He shrugged.

  I couldn’t believe I was actually going to borrow this car. I was terrified I would do something wrong and tear it up but I really needed a mode of transportation.

  After a five minute lesson on where everything was located inside the car, I kissed him good-bye and drove to my apartment. I was a little scared to park his car in my parking lot but he assured me that the alarm would scare any thieves away.

  I felt a sense of happiness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I showered and dressed in a pair of capri pants with a really cute shirt. It was still professional but it complimented my mood well.

  On my way out the door, Amanda called me. “Hello,” I answered.

  “Hey you, I’ll be there in fifteen.”

  I smiled, grateful for her friendship. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you. Actually, Jackson is letting me borrow his car.”

  “He’s letting you borrow his car?”

  “Yep. Don’t read too much into it. He’s just being nice,” I told her as I opened the door of the car and sat down.

  “We’re having dinner tonight and you’re telling me all about the two of you.”

  “You say it like we’re a couple and we’re not. Dinner sounds nice.”

  “Meet me at six at Jason’s Deli? I’m trying to watch my weight.”

  “Sounds good. Bye.”

  After disconnecting the call, I messed around with the radio for a while until Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie” flooded the speakers. I jammed out until I reached the school.

  I’d just shut the door when I heard a whistle from behind me. “Nice car, Vanessa.”

  I turned around to see Carl, our physical education teacher. I shrugged, trying to play it off. “I’m just borrowing it from a friend. My car’s broke.”

  He pointed toward the car. “Well, this is a nice car. You must have some friend.”

  I didn’t know what to say so I gave him a half smile and headed toward the building. I heard my cell phone ringing in my purse. I looked at the screen to see Amanda calling. Hadn’t I just talked to her? It must be important.

  “Hello?”

  “V, have you seen the paper today?”

  “No, why?” I asked, walking into the building.

  “You’re in it. There’s a photo of you and Jackson out together,” she practically yelled into the phone.

  Everything lost focus. Why would there be a picture of me and Jackson in the paper?

  “V, are you still there?”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, I’m still here. What were we doing in the picture and does it say anything about us?”

  “It looks like the two of you were out running. You’re wearing a sports bra and shorts and he’s just wearing shorts. It’s just a small write up suspecting the two of you are an item.”

  “Crap! A picture of me all hot and sweaty was printed in the newspaper. And we aren’t an item. Now everyone will think we are but we’re not.” I sank down into my chair trying to process all of this. I really didn’t want to be in the newspaper.

  “I’m sorry. Look, I have to go, but I’m sorry I called you about this. I thought you would be a little happier about it.”

  “It’s okay. Thanks for calling.”

  I HAD never been so happy for my lunch hour. I wasn’t that hungry but I had stressed all morning about that stupid newspaper article. I couldn’t wait to sit down in the break room and zone out for a while.

  “Why would he want to date her?” I overheard Carla asking another teacher just as I was about to enter the break room. I paused to listen to the conversation, which I suspected was about me now that I had been publicly photographed with Jackson.

  “I know and she’s still married, isn’t she? I always suspected she was a whore.”

  As soon as I confirmed the conversation was about me, I pushed the door open. I wasn’t in the best mood and I decided I’d had enough of their attitude. “I assume you were talking about me. Yes, I am still married, but that will be resolved next week. As for the whore part, can you please enlighten me on my whore tendencies?”

  “Umm. We…” Carla started, but then she packed up her lunch, as did her friend, and they left the break room. I had to smile. I had finally told the catty bitch off. It didn’t matter to me that they were just going to talk about me as soon as they left the room.

  I took out a microwave dinner from the break room freezer and heated it. I looked down at my appearance as I waited and wondered what Jackson saw in me. The catty bitches were right. I was in shape but I was no model, which he was used to dating.

  The bing of the microwave cut through my thoughts. I took my meal out and placed it on the table as the principal came in the room.

  “Why didn’t you mention that you were dating him?”

  That question pissed me off a little bit. He had no right to know anything about my dating life.

  “There is nothing to tell and I didn’t realize you needed to know,” I stated flatly.

  “I don’t need to know. I was just wondering.”

  “Okay.”

  “Is that why he came here that day? I figured you’d stay single for a while.”

  What the hell did that mean, “stay single for a while”? “I have no idea. We’ve become...friends.” I suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore. I picked my plastic plate up and took it to the trash before exiting the room.

  JASON’
S DELI was busy for a weeknight. I noticed that Amanda had already ordered and found us a booth while I waited to order. After my foul mood all day, I was excited just to sit down and chat with her.

  “Hey. How was your day?” I asked as I sat down.

  “Not too bad. I have a deadline looming but today wasn’t bad,” She said with a smile.

  “What’s the smile about?”

  “A guy in accounting asked me out. I mean, like a really hot guy.”

  “When are you going out?” I asked.

  “Well, he left on a business trip today so he asked about a week from Friday. I am so excited. He’s really nice and really hot.”

  “I’m so excited for you! We’ll have to go shopping next week,” I told her before biting into my turkey wrap.

  “Are you okay? I mean, you seemed upset with the whole picture thing.”

  I swallowed my food and took a drink of water before speaking. “I guess I’m okay. I was pretty upset most of the day but that could have something to do with overhearing other teachers wondering why he would date me.”

  “You know they’re jealous, right?” She asked with sympathy in her voice.

  “You’re probably right but I still hated hearing it. It made me wonder why he’s hanging out with me. He’s dated models and could probably get any girl he wants.”

  She smiled. “Maybe you’re the girl he wants.”

  I grinned. “Maybe. Oh and then my principal came in and asked if I was dating Jackson. He said that he figured I’d stay single for a while. It was strange.”

  “Um. I’m pretty sure he crushes on you.” She said while giggling.

  “What?”

  “Yeah. The few times I’ve been to see you at work, I could tell. I figured you knew.”

  The thought made me want to puke. “No I didn’t. Thanks for letting me know. That won’t be awkward or anything. And I think that’s against the rules.”

  She shrugged, “Has it ever occurred to you that you’re gorgeous? I’m sure a lot of guys feel that way about you.”