The Final Lesson Plan (9 page)

I dropped my hands from his arms. Staring at him, I couldn't wrap my brain around how he could say that to me after the day we'd spent together, the memories and moments we'd just created. "Jesus Christ Briggs, do you think that's what this is about?" I asked, shocked at his revelation. "You think I'm fulfilling some fantasy, some forbidden fun, before I throw you out with the rest of the garbage?"

He didn't respond; his icy blue eyes pierced through me. He just shrugged his one shoulder blow-off and looked away. Not letting him off the hook that easily, I said, "Well that's just fucking great. I'm so glad you think so highly of me, Briggs Alexander #34 football star. Just add my name to rest of your whores."

I turned away from him, livid, livid with him, and livid with myself for believing that Briggs was any different than the rest of the fucking male population. I guess he was making it quite easy for me to make my decision. But then again, Leo wasn't making me swoon lately either. Fuck them. Fuck them both.

I walked back to the pool house, storming past Leo, ignoring his plea to stop. I'd had it with both of them and their childish behavior; this was clearly not going to work out. According to that bullshit contract, I had veto power, and I could certainly make the entire stupid thing null and void. The fucking fuckers.

I walked in to the pool house and slammed the door behind me, with an extremely loud and audible "UUUUGGGGHHHH!" Realizing that the whole outdoor exchange took place with me in just a t-shirt and underwear, I went back to my room to grab some shorts. As I was putting my shorts on, I heard the pool house door open. I slammed my bedroom door, locked it, and plopped down on my bed without even bothering to find out who came in.

Seconds later, there was a light tap on the door. I didn't flinch. There was another tap, followed by Leo's voice. "Janelle, it's...it's...us." I still didn't move. "Please open the door. I wanna...
we
wanna talk to you."

"Janelle, I'm sorry," Briggs said. "I never should've said that, hurt you like that." I sat there on the bed wondering what to do when my phone rang. I answered Jasper's call and talked with him for a few minutes.

When I hung up with Jasper, I opened the door and said, "Briggs, Jasper wants you to stop by his house when I'm done bitching at you." I glared at them. I didn't know what Jasper wanted with Briggs, and at this point, I didn't care. This was one clusterfuck of a dumbass mess. I walked over to the chair and plopped down on it with exaggerated exasperation. "Alright assholes…what? So talk...whattya want?"

"Janelle—"

"Babe—"

They both started simultaneously; I rolled my eyes knowing where this was going to lead. Then, Briggs surprised us all, "Leo, man, I'm sorry, but could I go first; I said some shitty stuff that I need to apologize for?"

Leo looked at him strangely, and nodded his "Go ahead."

Briggs walked over and kneeled down on the floor in front of me with his hands up, revealing to Leo and I both that he wasn't going to touch me. "Janelle, I'm sorry; I never should've said that. You're not like that; I know that." He sat back on his heels and ran his hands over his head, letting out a deep sigh, glancing quickly over at Leo. "I've just…I've just never felt like this. One way or another, I usually get what I want, and it doesn't seem like it's gonna happen this time around."

"Briggs, I don't—"

"Let me finish, Babe," he said, grabbing my hands. "I don't lose well. When I feel defeat coming on, I tend to play a little dirty. That ain't fair. Not to you and not even to him," he said, nodding toward Leo. "Dude's a good guy, but that doesn't mean I wanna lose to him."

Leo walked over and sat on the couch cushion closest to us, "Man, I get it. How am I supposed to compete with Briggs Alexander, All-American football legend and ESPN superstar?" Briggs turned and looked at him and shook his head. "But I think I see the problem. We keep fighting each other instead of trying to make Janelle fall for one of us. But if we keep this shit up, then she's gonna kick us both to the curb," Leo explained. Briggs nodded.

Finally responding, I asked, "How do you know I haven't already quit your sorry asses?"

Leo smiled his dimply grin, and said, "You're sitting here listening to us and not calling the cops. Plus, I can tell that you're not just fucking around with me. I can feel it." He reached across the couch and grabbed my hand. He traced the back of my hand with his finger, "But...but…I can also tell that you're not just fucking around with him either."

Briggs and I exchanged glances and then looked back at Leo. He continued, "That's the thing; I can tell. I can totally see it. You're into BOTH of us. The problem is you're so worried about hurting one of us that you don't realize that when you hurt me...or hurt him…it's gonna hurt you too."

Leo was right. Leo was 100% accurate, and we all three knew it. This was not going to end well. "Leo...Briggs…I don't know what to say," I explained. "If you want me to choose right here, right now…well…I can't."

I looked at both of them. Still holding Leo's hand, I pulled him over next to Briggs. They were both kneeling on the floor in front of me as I sat in the chair staring down at them. I couldn't give one of them up and watch him walk out the door. I just couldn't. "If you make me choose…like now…then I would just say 'neither,' and we'd all move on from there."

Holy Fuck, I
was
Kelly Taylor. After all of these years, it finally hit me; Kelly Taylor was a goddamn genius. It was way better to give myself pain and suffering instead of giving it to one of them. Shit, who knew that Aaron Spelling was such a freaking relationship guru?

"Nah, that's not what I'm saying," Leo said. "If it's not going to be me, then I
don't
want you to choose right now either. I'm not really to let go just yet."

"Me either," Briggs finally piped in. "But this shit's a serious mess."

"You're right. So Briggs, we have to stop fighting each other, and just start fighting…fighting for her." Leo said rationally and intelligently. "We need to put our energy in to making her realize who she really wants…not keep showing her what jackasses we are."

Briggs and I laughed. Did that mean that these two were going to try to get along? Well, I couldn't wait to see how that played out. That would be the answer to my prayers. Well, if we're being honest, the answer to my prayers would be that both of them just agreed to walk me right back to my bedroom right now and show me just how well they really could get along. But I knew that wasn't going to happen. I have to admit, the idea of a threesome had never, not once in my life, ever crossed my mind. It was crazy what these two did to my imagination and sexual prowess. Ha! And Char didn't think I had a sex drive or prowess. As of late, I might be able to teach her a thing or two.

"That's a good plan, but we need to keep the rules, too. We need some sort of equal playing field," Briggs replied.

"Oh agreed…plus, you're time's up tonight anyway, and I'll see her tomorrow," Leo boasted smugly.

"Son of a…" Briggs started, but I stopped him.

"Right. But if memory serves me correctly Leo Cling, you're out of jurisdiction, infringing upon the signed code of conduct. And Briggs and I still have a 'goodbye' to complete," I explained as I stood up and pulled Leo up with me.

I walked Leo to the door, and opened it. "Good night, Mr. Cling. I will see you tomorrow." He leaned over to kiss me, but I pulled my head back. "No sir, you will wait your turn." He growled and dropped his head in defeat. Then I added, "I know hon; parting is such pitiful sorrow." Leo's head shot back up, and he looked at me questioningly. I just motioned him to the door as he walked out to his car.

After closing the door behind me, I said, "Now Mr. Alexander, I think you owe me a 'goodbye,' one that ensures I remember you until the next time I see your gorgeous body and sexy blue eyes." Briggs got up from the floor and walked over to me.

"I'm up for that challenge. By the way…are you using me for my eyes?" he teased. "Do they give you 'visual pleasure,' Miss Garrity?"

"Oh yes they do. Can you give me any other type of pleasure, young man?" I asked. Briggs wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he braced me against the door. His tongue explored my mouth with hunger and desire. I could feel his want and matched it with my own.

After the deepest, most passionate kiss, our lips parted, and he leaned his forehead again mine. "Man, parting is such sweet sorrow," he said and winked at me as he put me back down.

"Hey, I thought—"

"Oh, you thought right. Absolutely right. I could tell that I fucked it up by your expression," he explained. "When I got in the car to pick up the food, I looked it up. Why didn't you tell me I was a dumbass?"

"I didn't want—"

"I know," he said. "You didn't want to hurt my feelings. Let's hope that you're thinking that way at the end of the month too."

I was already slathered in sunscreen, basking in the sunlight on a double-sized raft, sipping a margarita when Char showed up for the cookout.
"Hey skank, you took the good raft," she said as she took off her cover-up and flip-flops.

"You need to get here pretty early to beat me to this thing. I'd trade my future first-born to never again be without this aqua-gift from God," I replied, putting my drink back down in the built-in cup holder. It really was the greatest raft ever. "Do you have makeup on?" I asked shading my eyes from the sun.

"No," Char said, looking away from me.

"Yes, you do! Since when do you wear makeup to a pool party?" I inquired.

Char hated girls who wore makeup to go swimming. Char loved the water, just as I did. She always fucked with our sorority sisters who refused to get their hair wet and insisted on sitting beside the pool in full makeup, jewelry, and their hair styled to perfection. One spring break, Char coined the term "pool jewelry," claiming that all they did was accessorize the appearance of the pool. She even had one of those obnoxious vacation t-shirts airbrushed with the saying "Pool Jewelry = Frigid Skanks." I was the only one who got the joke, but that was good enough for her.

"Alright whore, spill it," I said. "Where'd you sleep last night?"

"Nowhere! I was home all night long," she argued.

"No chance, you obviously just made your walk of shame straight here instead of stopping home first," I said. "Who was he?"

Char studied my face for a long time before saying, "Just some guy from Lavery's…and I did stop at home. Thank you very much. Look, have my suit on."

Lavery's was Char's favorite "after-work to unwind" bar. Understanding that she had no intentions of seeing him again, I just nodded and said, "Before you get in the water, the margarita pitcher is in the cooler. Be careful when you open it; it's just balancing in there without a lid."

Char poured herself a margarita and found the crappy raft in the shed. As she eased herself in to the water, she asked, "How'd it go with the African-American God? Were you able to walk today?"

"Oh, make no mistake about it, I was on my knees thanking that particular God much of the day," I joked, tapping my glass with hers. "Char, he is a gift straight from Heaven, you have no idea."

"Jesus, stop! I'm not sure I can hear all this without my lady parts exploding with jealousy," she said, laughing. "But really, don't even think about stopping. Tell me everything, every last saucy detail."

I began telling Char pretty much every detail of the day before; I left virtually nothing out. Char and I told each other everything, so I didn't feel uncomfortable going into explicit detail about every single sexy thing that happened. As I relayed the events, needing to embellish nothing since it was all so sublime in the first place, our rafts had floated down to the deep end of the pool, facing away from the gate. Neither of us realized that we had company until we heard a clearing of a throat. Turning around, to my dismay, I was staring into the rather pained and torn face of Leo Cling.

"Hey Leo," I sputtered, hating myself for the descriptions he must have endured. "What's up?"

"Not so much, where do you want these?" he asked, indicating bags of chips and a case of beer.

"I'll take 'em, just give me a sec to get over there," I said, trying to paddle my way to the shallow end.

"Don't worry about it. I'll just put the beer in that cooler and leave the chips on the table," he said, walking over to the cooler. "It'll only take a minute. Then, I gotta move the sprinklers again," he replied, turning his back on me.