Teacher's Pet

Eryn laughed, and I found that I really, really liked the sound of her laughter. It was almost musical.

“No, no,” she replied, still chuckling. “I just work as a waitress at Nino's, that Italian place downtown.”

“Ah, I see,” John said.

“And what about the burning down part?” I asked.

“There was some sort of electrical short last night, and a lot of the kitchen burned. Nobody was hurt, though, and the damages weren't too bad, from what the owner said. I was supposed to work there today, but found out about this fire at the last minute. So, with a free day, Lee and I decided to drive out here.”

I smiled. “Good plan.”

Neither of us had mentioned the fact that we'd seen each other just hours earlier when I'd fixed her car. It felt kinda like a little secret between us. She didn't seem to have told Leena about it, and I hadn't mentioned anything about it to John. There was an unspoken understanding between us that we'd just keep it quiet.

“So what are your plans for the afternoon?” I asked.

“We were just going to relax and catch some sun,” Eryn replied.

“John and I were talking earlier about going snorkeling. We have another old friend from college who has a little dive shop and a boat here. I think he can take us out for a very discounted price, if you're interested.”

Eryn and Leena looked at each other, and there was an obvious enthusiasm in their eyes. “That sounds amazing,” Leena said. “Last time I went snorkeling, I managed to see not one, but two sea turtles.”

“Awesome!” I commented. “What about you, Eryn?”

Her cheeks went red as she blushed. “I've never actually been snorkeling before,” she replied.

“Well, now is about as good a time as any to start,” I said. “So would you two like to come with us?”

“It's not gonna be too expensive, is it?” Eryn questioned.

I immediately understood why she was worried about the cost. She hadn't told me everything about her situation, but from what I gathered when I'd fixed her car, I knew she wasn’t one of the silver-spoon college kids whose parents could pay off the coach for a starting spot on the lineup. And, she had a part-time job.

Frankly, I really didn’t know when she had time to do her schoolwork and sleep. I knew firsthand how much time being on the team took up.

“You know, come to think of it, ol’ Trevor owes me big time from way back. I think I might be able to twist his arm and get us a trip free of charge. So don't even worry about that, all right?”

That was a bit of a lie – Trevor didn't owe me anything, but I'd gladly pay for Eryn. I just knew if I put it like that, she wouldn't accept, and then Leena and John would probably both be a bit suspicious about my intentions.

Eryn's eyes immediately lit up. “All right. Well, if it's really no trouble, then we'd love to come, right, Lee?” Leena nodded as well.

“All right girls, come on, let's head over to Trevor's. It's about a 15-minute walk from here.”

We all gathered our things and began to walk at a leisurely pace along the beach. When we reached Trevor's dive shop, I made sure that I went in first, leaving John to chat with Eryn and Leena outside. I wanted to be certain that Trevor understood there was a “little favor” between us.

When he saw me walk in, his eyes lit up. “Holy smokes! Is that you, Wade Vinson?”

I grinned as I looked at him. He still looked like he had in college – lean, tan, and full of energy, but his hairline was a touch further back than I remembered and he had a few crinkles around his eyes. I was reminded of my own age and the gap between myself a

nd Eryn, but I tried not to think too hard about it. After all, there was nothing to think about. She was a player on my team.

“Hey, Trevor. Good to see you!”

“Damn, bro, it's great to see you! How long you been back out here?”

“I just got back a couple of weeks ago. How's life out here?”

“Oh, it's chilled out, man, relaxed, just how I like it. What brings you back?”

“I just got tired of L.A., bro, real tired of it. I missed this place a lot, and I kinda needed to reboot my life a little – so, here I am.”