Between the Sheets (7 page)

“
Really?” I don’t want to
sound so pathetic, but I can’t help it. I’m dying to make this
work. I’ve wanted this to work between us since … forever. We’re
much older now, and this is our last chance to make it work. We
can’t keep wondering if our time will ever come. It has come and
now we have to take it. If it doesn’t work, well, at least we tried
and we can move on for good. Just the thought of that makes my
heart sting. It has to work this time. It just has to.

“
Let’s try the long
distance thing. School will be out soon. Neither one of us is
teaching summer school. So pack your bags and come and visit me
this time. We’ll have fun acting like tourists in my city.” He
takes my hand in his and brings it to his mouth, kissing my palm.
“What do you say, Melly?”

“
I’m gonna go home and
start packing now. As soon as that bell rings, I’ll be on the
road.”

Our laughter fills the car for a
moment. Then Ty lifts his arm to check the time. “I’ve got five
minutes.”

“
Then kiss me silly and
leave me with something to remember you by.”

He takes my hand, and tugs it over to
the front of his pants. “Oh really. He wasn’t memorable
enough?”

I squeeze my hand around the ridge of
material. “Oh no, I’ll be thinking of him every minute from the
time you leave till I see him again. As a matter of fact, I’ll be
counting down the days till we’re reunited.”

My sentence barely finishes before Ty
dips his head and catches my mouth with his. His strong lips cover
mine, working their magic at melting my body with his sexy heat. My
lips part, allowing our tongues to slide past each other, lapping
up the passion with each stroke. He nibbles down on my lower lip,
sucking on it and dragging his teeth across it till it pops free.
Oh, sweet jeezus! I’m coming undone with just his
kisses.

Breathless, I pull my mouth away from
his. His lips slide down my neck while my fingers comb through his
hair. “I’m gonna miss you,” I whisper.

Tyler sprinkles me with kisses,
outlining my face, before he places one last peck on my lips. “I’m
gonna miss you too. Thankfully, there are many devices nowadays
that will allow us to stay in touch. Time will fly and we’ll be
together again before we know it.”

“
When did you get to be
such a Positive Penny?”

“
You make me see the glass
half-full, Mel. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know what
I’d like to happen, but for now, let’s just take it from visit to
visit and try not to let the miles between us be a factor. I’m
yours and yours only for as long as you’ll have me. I don’t plan on
seeing anyone else while I’m with you and I hope you feel the same
way.”

“
I sure as hell feel the
same. I don’t want you seeing anyone else either.”

“
And you don’t plan on
seeing anyone else either, right?” His eyes widen at me.

I chuckle. “Oh, is that what you
meant? Let me think about it.”

His hand slides down my side and he
pokes me. There’s nothing worse than the feeling of being tickled,
and he knows this. “What?” He pokes me again. “You need to think
about it?” Another poke. “Let me help you.”

“
All right, all right,” I
say, pushing his hands away. “I won’t see anyone else.” Instead of
tickling me, Ty’s hand rests firmly on my hip, and he leans over
for another kiss. “I’ll just keep my eyes closed while my other
gentlemen friends keep me busy.”

Ty holds up his index finger, like
he’s threatening me. “What was that about other guys keeping you
busy?”

I giggle. “I don’t know. I can’t
remember.”

He pokes the air. “Are you
sure?”

I reach across the console and hang my
arm on his shoulder, my hand gripping the back of his neck. “Come
here, you big lug. I’m yours and yours only.” I press a kiss to his
lips. “For as long as you’ll have me.”

The last staff meeting of the year is
always the best one. Breakfast is served while retirees bid their
farewells, and let’s be honest … we’re all just happy as hell that
we don’t have to sit through another one of these for a few months.
They can get really depressing sometimes, when test scores aren’t
high, or some new program is being introduced that makes promises
to increase student achievement because, apparently, our own
teaching abilities aren’t good enough.

Well, enough about that. Shel and I
are chatting away, me with a bagel and cream cheese stuffing my
face while she chows down on a sugar twist donut. Matt walks in and
I’ve never been happier to see him. He’s holding a tray with three
Starbucks cups wedged inside, and I know one of them is for
me.

“
Good morning, ladies,” he
says, as he lowers himself into a chair across the table from us.
“For you, my love.” He passes Shelly a cup of coffee, and she blows
him a kiss which is about as affectionate as they get on campus, or
at least where people can see. Who knows what they do behind the
closed—locked—doors of their classrooms. “And for you, Mel. One
venti vanilla latte with extra whip.”

“
Oh, Mr. Fuller. You are
just wonderful. If only I could clone you into a robot, you could
be my very own Rosie.” I wink at him as I take my first sip, and he
just shakes his head.

“
I could totally see it,”
Shel adds. “He looks great in an apron.”

This time Matt rolls his eyes. “I
bring you two a coffee and this is the abuse I get in return. You
want me to be your maid,” he points to me, “and you want me in an
apron.” He raises a brow at his wife.

She leans forward across the table.
“What if I wanted you naked under that apron? Would that be a
problem? I can think of many ways that could be fun.”

I can’t help but laugh, and once I get
started, I can’t stop. Snorting comes next, and my body starts
shaking. My bestie isn’t any different. She’s laughing her ass off
and Matt just sits here quietly, shaking his head at us.

“
We should have known the
loudness would’ve been you two,” Summer says, as she and Chase stop
at our table. “Are these seats taken?”

Hell yes, I’d like to say. But Matt
gestures to the empty chairs and says, “No, join us.” How he can be
so nice to this pain in the ass of a couple is beyond me. Matt and
Shelly really are perfect for each other. They have the kindest
souls and would never hold a grudge. Me? Not so much. I can’t stand
Chase. I’ve never liked him. I only tolerated his arrogant ass out
of respect for my best friend. I knew if I’d been a bitch to him,
he’d win and I’d lose her. So I kept my mouth closed tight and just
rode the roller coaster that was their relationship. I knew he’d
screw it up eventually. That’s where Summer comes in. While Chase
says he didn’t cheat on Shel, we all pretty much think he’s a lying
son of a bitch. The nerve of this woman to try to befriend Shel is
nauseating.

You’d think with a name
like Summer, she’d be all sweet and innocent, running through a
meadow with daisies in her hair, bare feet, and toe nails painted
in a pink pastel. Just the thought makes me laugh inside. Ms.
Summer McGallian is anything but sunshine and roses. She’s more
like the she-devil in a mini skirt and long ass fake nails in place
of her horns. I’m not so sure she couldn’t stab us to death with
those talons. Not that I’m afraid. I was ready to take her on at
one of the football games last year. She had the nerve to call
me
ghetto
. Me?
Ghetto? There’s a lot of things she could call me, but ghetto is
not one of them.

“
Well, good morning,”
Summer says, sitting down next to Matt with Chase on her other
side. My brow instinctively rises.

“
What the fuck’s so good
about it?” I snarl through a mouthful of cream cheese. I realize
I’m about to start some crap, but sometimes this girl just bugs the
shit out of me.

She rolls her eyes at me. “Do you have
to be so crass, Mrs. Cruz?”

Now, it’s my turn to roll my eyes.
“Are you kidding me? For most of my day, I’m surrounded by
impressionable teenagers, so when I get to be alone with adults, if
I want to drop an f-bomb here and there, I feel like I’ve earned
it.”

“
Well, to some it’s
offensive,” she continues.

“
Well so are your tits
popping out the front of your dress and your ass hanging out of the
back, but do you hear anyone bitching about that?”

Her hand shoots to her chest. “My
breasts are not popping out and neither is my behind. For such an
educated woman, you sound like a truck driver.”

Shel laughs, knowing I’m not gonna
stop until this girl shuts up.

“
Just because I have my
doctorate,” which I do, in Family Literacy, “doesn’t mean I have to
act like a pretentious bitch who uses a plethora of superfluous
words just to sound educated. And just because I teach literature
doesn’t mean I have to quote Shakespeare and Chaucer while I chat
with my friends. I turn it on in the classroom, and then turn it
off and have fun when I’m with my friends. I speak my mind and if
you don’t like it, find another place to sit.” I lean back in my
chair and tear off another piece of my bagel.

“
Sometimes it’s a little
hard to be your friend, Mrs. Cruz.”

“
Touché, Ms.
McGallian.”

“
What was up with that?”
Matt asks on our way to class.

“
Yeah, Mel. What crawled up
your Spanx and died?” Shel jokes.

“
Are you guys talking about
Summer?” That was almost an hour ago. After all the farewell
speeches, you’d think they would’ve forgotten about the little
spat. I did.

“
Yeah,” they both
say.

“
That was nothing. Just her
being her and me being me. I’m over it. I’m sure she is
too.”

Shelly doesn’t say anything right
away. I know she’s trying to choose the right words in her head
before she speaks them. She doesn’t need to filter herself for me.
She knows this, but it’s fun to watch her try.

“
Are you pissed at her or
something? I thought we were cool with her and Chase?”

Matt laughs. “About as cool as we can
be. It’s not like he’s ever going to be my best friend.” His
confession surprises me. Shel’s shocked face says she’s surprised
too. “What? Come on, Shel. He’s your ex-fiancé.” He leans in to
whisper, “He’s seen my wife naked.” And then he speaks in a regular
tone again, “And that makes things a little uncomfortable. I can
tolerate him, but I don’t want to hang out with them all the
time.”

“
Amen to that Ed Earl,” I
tell him, holding out my hand for a high-five.

“
Ed Earl?” Matt
questions.

“
You haven’t made him watch
the movie?” I ask my friend.

She laughs. “No, I guess I haven’t.
Honey, saddle up, cowboy. Tonight we’re going to the chicken
ranch.”

He gives her an exaggerated frown.
“Should I be scared?”

I pat him on his arm. “No,
but you better hydrate. You’re gonna need some energy after
watching Dolly and Burt in
The Best Little
Whorehouse in Texas
.”

“
I’ll keep that in mind,”
he tells me, and then turns toward my friend. He squeezes his
wife’s shoulder, gives her a look, and says goodbye as he turns to
walk toward his classroom.

“
He just kissed you with
his eyes, didn’t he?” I ask her.

“
Yeah, that one was just a
kiss. But on Monday, you should have seen the look in his eyes. He
was totally jumping my bones with his stare. It was kinda hard to
teach after that. I know I was blushing. My face was hot and my
knees were wobbly. I had to send Meg to get me a Diet Coke from the
vending machine in the teacher’s lounge so I could cool
off.”

Her story makes me laugh to full blown
snorting. She’s flushed right now just talking about it. I sure as
hell know the feeling though. My student aide, Stephanie, caught me
after a heated textathon with Tyler. He had me so hot, a bead of
sweat was actually coming down the side of my face. These dang kids
have the worst timing, coming in early to class and staying in
during lunch. Who does that? When Shel and I went to school here,
we were never on time.

“
I’ll see you at lunch,” I
tell her when we get to my room.

She stops in front of my door. “Don’t
think you’re off the hook. I didn’t forget about this
morning.”

Shel tosses her lunch on my desk
shortly after the bell rings.

“
What? We’re not going to
the Carver Bistro today?” I ask, mocking our cafeteria.

She shakes her head. “After your mouth
this morning, I thought we’d eat in here.”

I duck my head to see inside my
mini-fridge and take out my Trader Joe’s shrimp surimi salad. My
mouth waters just thinking about the cocktail dressing. When I’m
done gathering my stash, I toss my salad next to Shel’s along with
a yogurt, string cheese, and a bottle of water. Then, I dig in my
desk and pull out a Snickers bar for me and some Dove chocolates
for my BFF.

“
So, spill. Don’t get me
wrong. It was hilarious, but that kind of came out of nowhere.
What’s happening, friend?” she asks, using the back of her hand to
keep lettuce from falling out of her mouth. Shel’s mom always gets
on her case about talking with her mouth full. I’m guilty. It’s an
occupational hazard. Comes with the teacher territory. We are often
trying to do so many things at once, that when it comes time to
eat, it’s usually in a hurry and we’re trying to visit with our
friends and colleagues at the same time.