Fragile

My sides hurt so badly because I had been laughing so hard. All the guys and I were at the beach, enjoying some guy time together. Jimmy was currently rocking Johnny back and forth like he was a little baby who was being put to sleep.

Johnny struggled in Jimmy’s tight grip, yelling, “Dude! Let go! I may be short, but I am not a baby!”

Jimmy gave Johnny a toothy grin, saying, “Oh hush, Johnny baby. It’s nappy time, alright?”

Matt, Zack, and I just busted out into a fit of laughter. It had been so long since all five of us had hung out together. All of them had good paying jobs as bartenders, but I had a job as a teacher. Somehow, I felt like teaching was my career that I wanted to keep doing for the rest of my life. I had always liked being around kids, so why not teach them? I had recently transferred from the California State University to Huntington Beach High School. It was a step down from university, but i enjoyed making a difference in young people’s lives. People always say that I’m too young to teach, but I always prove them wrong.

“Alright, alright, Jimmy,” Zack said, trying to keep his laughter under control. “Let short shit go. I don’t want my sides to keep hurting. I do have to work tomorrow, and I don't want to have to get surgery because I laughed too hard.”

Jimmy stuck his lip out in a pout, telling him, “We all have to work tomorrow. Let me enjoy my free time.”

“You always have free time, even during work,” Matt pointed out, taking a swig of his beer.

“Fine, you bullies,” Jimmy said, letting go of Johnny. Johnny scrambled away from Jimmy, sitting down next to me and taking a beer from the cooler that sat close by.

“So, how’s the teaching job, Bri?” Johnny asked, fixing his gaze onto me.

I took a short drag from a cigarette that I had lit moments ago, telling them, “It’s been good. The other teachers seem to be nice, and most of the students act decent enough to teach without me wanting to rip their throats out.”

“Are there any hot chicks?” Johnny questioned, keeping his gaze on me as if trying to make sure I don’t lie to him.

“Dude, you’re twenty three. You’d get arrested for being a pedophile if you date a high school girl,” Zack said, rubbing a hand through his black hair.

“Hey! I never said I wanted to date them. Is it wrong to want to look at a hot girl who just so happens to still be in high school?” Johnny told him, shrugging his shoulders a little.

“Yes, it is wrong. You just need to get laid by someone your own age,” Matt piped in, placing his aviators on the bridge of his nose.

After a moment of thought, my mind actually thought of answering Johnny’s question. There were a lot of beautiful girls in Huntington Beach High School. Many of them were plain whores and sluts. They’d always wear low-cut shirts whenever I was around, hoping that I’d take an interest in them. None of the girls at the school really interested me. Well, except for one: Leah Campbell. It’s not like I want a relationship with her, but I do think she is different and interesting, unlike the other girls at the school.

I could imagine me and her, walking side-by-side, holding hands. She’d whisper things into my ear, causing me to chuckle lightly. I’d place soft kisses on her smooth neck, caressing her hips with my large hands. My fingers would run through her caramel brown hair while her hands run through my much darker hair. Those gorgeous eyes would close in pleasure; her lips releasing a slight moan.

Oh, great. Now I’m starting to become a pedophile, like Johnny. I can’t think of a student that way! She’s way too young for me; I need to find someone my own age. All the women in Huntington who were my age just wanted to have a one night stand. Every so often I would be okay with that, but I want an actual relationship. I, eventually, want to settle down with a nice, beautiful woman.

“Hey,” Johnny said, nodding his head in someone’s direction. “Look at those two chicks.”

All the guy’s gazes, including mine, turned in whoever’s direction Johnny was talking about. At first I had no idea who he was talking about, until my eyes rested on two girls that I knew all too well: Leah Campbell and Mary Nicholson lay on towels, only in bikinis. I didn’t pay too much attention to Mary, but rather, I kept my eyes on Leah. Her body, no doubt, was perfect in every single way. I just wanted to be able to touch her, but I know that will never be able to happen.

“God damn! Those two are smoking hot,” Jimmy breathed, not being able to keep his eyes off of Leah and Mary. They may only be my students, but I didn’t want these guys looking at them like they were a piece of meat. It wasn’t right.

“Stop staring at them,” I told all of my friends in a stern voice.

Every one of them looked back at me, a surprised look on all of their faces. I usually wasn’t the one to tell the guys to keep their eyes off of chicks, which was why this was shocking to them. When I was a teenager, I was the one who hooked up with a lot of girls, which didn’t really help me in this situation.

“What’s up with you?” Matt asked, popping off the lid of another beer bottle.

“Nothing. I just don’t want you looking at them like that. They aren’t a piece of meat, ya know,” I explained, looking out at the ocean.

“Well, all I know is that I want to hook up with one of them,” Zack mumbled, looking back at Leah and Mary.

“Would you just stop? This is really awkward,” I said while rubbing my temples.

“How is it awkward? We use to talk about screwing around with girls all the time. Hell, you use to be the one who usually started the conversations about stuff like that,” Jimmy commented.

“They’re my students,” I mumbled, lighting up another cigarette and taking a long drag from it.

“Dude! You never said you had students as hot as those two,” Johnny exclaimed, pushing me a little but not enough to push me on my back.

“I never said that there weren’t any hot students where I work,” I retorted, giving him a stern look.

“Well, that makes me what one of them even more. Come on Zack, let’s go get us some chicks,” Johnny said, getting up to his feet. Zack followed him, no doubt hoping to get some action tonight. I decided to just stay put and stay out of it. I didn’t want Mary and Leah to think I was stalking them or something. So, I just kept my eyes, along with Matt and Jimmy's, on the guys and my students. If anything starts to get serious, then I’ll step in. I don't want something to happen between the guys and Mary and Leah, but I can't control what they do with their lives.