Teacher's Pet

She peered at the figures, but couldn't quite make out who it was. “Someone we know?”

“Uh, yeah. Totally someone we know.”

She studied the figures for a few more moments. “You know I’m half blind. Are you gonna tell me, or just keep me guessing here? C'mon.”

“It's Tammy and Kelly.”

“Seriously? Those two! Way to ruin a great day.”

“Ohhh, that's not all. Wade is out there, too.”

“Wade?”

“Coach Vinson!”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “Oh my God, are you serious?” she sat more upright on her elbows.

“I promise you, it's him. There's no doubt about it, it's totally him.”

“And, they're swimming together?”

“You can see that they are, Lee, come on.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Jeez, that's crazy! Do you think that...that something is going on with them?”

“I don't know! But it's crazy, right?”

“We've established that, Eryn.”

It was weird. My heart was pounding fast, and my face felt hot. If anyone had asked what was going through my head, I wouldn’t have been able to tell them. I had no idea how to describe what I was feeling. Anger? Resentment? Jealousy? Betrayal? But...why?

“Shit. They're getting out of the water,” Lee announced.

I snapped out of my trance. “All right, all right, don't panic. Quick, take out the magazines. We can hide our faces and just watch what happens.”

We snatched out the magazines we had brought along from the bag between us and used them to cover our faces as we pretended to read. I peered out over the top of my magazine and watched as the scene unfolded.

“Oh my God, Lee, look at that bikini!” I half whispered. “I mean, can you even call it a bikini? It looks like three postage stamps joined by a few pieces of dental floss! It's ridiculous! Is that even legal?”

I was staring, yes, but I had really only glanced at how ridiculous Tammy's bikini was. For the moment, all I could see was Wade's gloriously toned and muscular body. Despite everything about the current circumstances, it was hard not to get lost in how gorgeous he was. Like, Greek god gorgeous. I shook my head to snap myself out of my ogling.

Gorgeous or not, he was hanging out with Tammy and Kelly. Already. Maybe my first assessment of Wade Vinson had been spot on. Maybe he was just a shallow narcissist chasing after girls just to add notches to his bedpost…much like my ex.

“Yeah, her bikini is pretty ridiculous,” I repeated, masking what I had really been looking at. Studying, even.

“She's naked. Seriously, she's pretty much naked,” Leena commented.

I watched them, feeling a strange sense of jealousy. Kelly and Tammy waved a quick goodbye to Wade and the guy with him before they parted ways. At least they hadn't hugged or kissed or anything; that would have made me feel even more awkward about the situation.

“Wade and that dude are coming this way!” Leena exclaimed in a hushed tone.

I glanced to our left and saw some towels a few yards away from us. It must have been their stuff.

“Crap. I think they're going to be right next to us,” I said.

“Put your magazine up! Cover your face!” she commanded.

I did as Leena instructed, not knowing what else to do. I felt trapped, almost like a small animal watching a hunter slowly moving in.