"So.." Jada started as she glanced towards Masterson. The two laid sprawled out on lounge chairs next to the pool, "What made you want to become a teacher?"
Masterson pondered the question letting it soak into his subconscious. Why did he become a teacher? It wasn't some sob story about how he wanted to change the education system.
"I, uh, I guess I was fresh out of college, no career field in mind, I wanted to do something that I could make a career out of so I started teaching." Masterson shrugged glancing up to the girl laying across from him.
Jada nodded pinching her damp hair in between her fingertips.
"What do you want to be when you leave high school?" He asked.
Jada also sat on the question, that wasn't her job, to sit and ponder the idea of her working as an independent human being. Her job was to go to school, stay out of jail, go to a few parties, suffer a few heart breaks all while getting her homework done by the next day. That was her job.
"Happier."
The word slipped off of her tongue and floated through his mindscape as the single word seemed to send him into orbit.
He studied her face, more than he'd ever before and, to be frank, he'd swear he saw her start to tense and avoid eye contact but he didn't care.
She laid on her right side, her body curving and her skin gleaming in blue light from the pool in front of them. Her hair lay messily down her back and on her shoulder as her cheek rested on her palm, squishing her face ever so slightly.
"You're saying you're not happy?" He asked bluntly as he mirrored her body language.
She glanced up from the seem of the towel that covered her legs messily for a few seconds before shifting her eyes back down.
"I... I don't think I've really truly been happy, you know. I feel moments of joy every once and a while but at the end of the day I'll still be laying in that bed upstairs contemplating about where I went wrong."
The words were heart shattering but the way they flowed they've been manifesting inside her head for a while.
"Like right now," She spoke softly, "I feel happy- really.. really happy right now.. but I know when you leave, the thoughts and the memories will get louder."
Masterson felt his cheeks started to heat at the thought of bringing her happiness but, at the same time, felt guilty. He didn't want her to have these thoughts and certainly didn't want to leave her. He felt like scooping her up and keeping her in his pocket, protecting her forever. He never wanted to leave.
"You're happy right now?" He asked.
She nodded, her gaze putting him into a trance yet again as her lips parted and her teeth shown through, "Yeah. I am."
Her answer was confident, not hesitant or laced with regret. The feeling of reassurance filled Masterson and blew him up like a balloon.
"So," Jada stood from the chair, "Guess you'll just have to stay here forever." She threw the towel towards him.
"You're not kidnapping me." Masterson giggled as he stood from the chair chasing after Jada who took off around the side of the pool.
Jada shrieked and squealed as Masterson closed in behind her before wrapping his arms around her waist and the two plunged under the water.
As the two resurfaced, the giggling continued. Wiping her eyes and face, Jada's smile only grew wider at the sight of Masterson getting water out of his ear.
"Fuck you for that." Jada spoke through her smile, slapping her hand in the water, soaking Masterson again.
Masterson turned his head trying to hold in his laughs as the girl continued to splash. He blindly grabbed at Jada until her wrist was clamped in his fist, pulling her into him.
"Yeah?" Masterson asked a smile written across his face.
"No." Jada protested as she tried to pry her hand away.
"Yeah?"
"No, no, no." Jada managed through her laughs. Before she get out another word, Masterson dunked her under the water, pulling her up to the surface.
She gasped but her smile quickly returned to her face. "Masterson!" She squealed hitting him playfully in the chest.
"You done?" He asked.
Jada paused, a smirk forming across her lips, "Nope-". Before she could finish her sentence, Masterson dunked her yet again as she clawed at his wrist and forearm.
As she resurfaced, her swung her arm towards him but he intercepted, latching onto both of her wrists in his hands.
"You done?" He repeated.
"Fine!" Jada blurted, her hair sticking to her face and forehead.
"Good." He chuckled as he released his grip on her arms, letting them fall as they found their way to his chest, pulling her close and wiping her hair from off of her face.
They both grew quiet as his hands wrapped her legs around his waist. Her eyes scanned his face, running across his lips, his eyes then back to his lips.
What about him makes me feel so.. special.
She was confused as ever but, at the same time, she felt most secure with him. The way his eyes rested on hers felt overwhelming yet incapacitating at the same time. His face never got old or something she was used to.
"Why do you look at me like that." She spoke softly as her fingertip ran across his jaw softly.
"Like what." He responded, his thumb etching circles on her thigh softly.
"Like.." she hesitated, "like you're seeing me for the first time."
"I would cut off my left arm to meet you for the first time again." He spoke barely above a whisper.
She smiled quickly slicking back his charcoal hair. His words and the way they fell off his lips made her feel like she could listen to him talk all day and night. His words stung her brain and stimulated her nerves.
"I would cut off my left arm to see you for the first time." Jada beamed.
"You're my joy."
