Christmas Love

I love my job, I want to be absolutely clear about that. But sometimes being a teacher for second grade is beyond frustrating and there have been moments where I thought I would quit right then and there. I must have been too vocal about my struggles because after a few months into the school year, my bosses hired a paraeducator to assist in my classroom.

For those who are unfamiliar with the teacher world, a paraeducator (para for short) is a fancy title for teacher assistant. There's a lot more to it than simply handing out papers when the teacher doesn't want to, but I'm not going to get into the depths of it all. The most important thing is that when Caleb arrived, everything changed.

Having just returned from the way-too-short Thanksgiving break, the weather was starting to turn so it was a brisk November morning when the Principal walked into my room. I had just finished passing out the morning work papers the students would be working on when they arrived and was just about to sit down and finally drink my coffee.

"Good morning Angela," The Principal greeted. Normally when the students weren't around, all the adults used first names.

"Good morning," I responded kindly, flashing a smile as I grabbed my Starbucks cup. I was about to speak when I saw the man behind my boss.

I don't want to say meeting Caleb for the first time left me speechless. It did, but not for the reasons you would think. It was moreso because I was just not sure what to say and I always freeze up when confused.

Standing behind and slightly off to the side of the principal was a rather handsome man. I couldn't lie even if I wanted to, the man was damn good looking. Shaved head, a well maintained beard full of dark hair, light coffee colored skin and brown eyes that seemed to just stare straight into my soul. He wasn't big or exceptionally muscular, but it was clear he took care of himself, physically.

"This is Caleb Parker, new para we hired." The principal stated, stepping aside to let the other man walk into the room. "I sent you an email that he'd be with you..." I guess my face had a confused look because the principal's tone shifted into worry. I quickly averted my eyes from Caleb and formed a smile.

"No. Yes!" I fumbled over my word as I let my brain process what I was trying to say. "I did see the email, I just forgot about it in the moment." I said before sipping from my cup. The principal chuckled at that.

"Good thing Winter break is coming up then, give you some time to recharge that noggin'." The principal was corny, but it made me laugh regardless and I nodded my head in agreement. "Alright, well, Caleb here is yours to do with. Any questions just come find me." The principal gave Caleb a pat on the shoulder and stepped out of the room.

"Go easy on me, Miss Reyes." Caleb remarked.

"Oh it's not me that you have to worry about," I responded. We both laughed and I looked over the man in front of me once more before taking another sip of my drink.

Right then and there I knew I was in trouble. He had a nice laugh, infectious even, and he already knew my name. Probably because he saw my name plate above my door, but that just meant he paid attention to details. That was a good sign that he was going to be a good assistant. But that wasn't the issue I was having. As I looked over at Caleb, I was suddenly feeling self-conscious.

I'm not going to say I'm this bombshell of a teacher, the kind that plagues every male's fantasies. But I took pride in how I looked, I took care of myself and worked out every morning, wore outfits that looked professional but were still cute, and maintained a decent figure. I had had plenty of dates in my 32 years of life, even almost got married one time before. I had curly light brown hair that flowed to my shoulders, brown eyes, and olive skin.

All in all, I considered myself attractive without being conceited about it. Unfortunately, I remained spectacularly single. Meaning I couldn't keep a guy no matter how hard I try. See, I have the absolute worst anxiety when it comes to men. I don't know where it stems from, or why, but despite everything I do that is supposed to help it, the works out and confidence boosting outfits, my anxiety just never leaves. I've had plenty of suitors, single dads and co-workers mostly, but I always made it a point to not date within my bubble of of work because I didn't want them to see me as the mental wreck that I am. Which made my initial attraction to Caleb even more worrisome.

"So where do you need me?" Caleb asked, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts. I pointed towards the smaller office desk on the back side of the classroom and finished my coffee. Much to my relief, the school bell rang, signaling the start of school and signaling my brain to get back into work mode.

The first day went a lot better than I expected. Caleb was extremely outgoing and social, making him almost instantly liked by the class. It was nice, to say the least, that I had someone to help redirect the kids. It meant I could focus more on the actual lesson and less on making sure the kids were behaving.

By the end of the week, Caleb had a secret class handshake with all of the kids, and I had somehow managed to stay professional. There was no denying I had an attraction to him, he was handsome and personable. But even though we talked often during the downtime, we managed to maintain a good level of professionalism.

Still, we took the time to know each other on a surface level. We were to be partners after all. By the end of that first week, I had learned that Caleb was a single father of a ten year old daughter, he was ex-Air Force, and he had just moved into our little town less than a year ago. In turn, he learned that I had a boat load of cousins in town, that I had never been more than 100 miles outside of town, and that I loved to cook.

The more I learned about him, the more he infected my thoughts when we weren't together, and the more I became nervous to see him. The more I became nervous, the more I thought about him. It was a vicious, frustrating cycle that simply left me wanting more.

By the end of the second week we had exchanged numbers to communicate day plans easier. Week three, we were eating our lunches in the room together and swapping turns on buying coffees. Despite our good working relationship, we kept it as professional as possible. To the point where he never called me by first name, ever.

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Angela?" I asked during one of our lunch breaks.

"Oh you'll just have to keep telling me." He responded. I don't know why, but something about the way he said that sent chills down my spine. I bit my lip as I watched him eat his lunch and my eyes looked over his thick lips. Immediately my mind went to the gutter, and I began to wonder just how his lips would feel on me. I shifted in my seat behind my desk, feeling a heat rise from in between my thighs.

Come on girl, keep it together.

I cleared my throat and patted my chest like I had something stuck.

"Just forgot to chew," I announced quickly after seeing Caleb look at me with worry.

"Yeah eating food is hard," He remarked, his tone oozing with that smart-ass charm of his. I rolled my eyes and looked away to hide my smile.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed with an email alert and I quickly picked it up to see an invite to the annual Christmas party this weekend.

"Oh hey look at that, work party." Caleb called out with the glee of a little kid. I looked over at him and saw him on his phone as well.

"You excited about work parties, Mister Caleb?" I asked teasingly.

"Only when they offer free alcohol, which they are." Caleb pumped a fist into the air like he had just won a game.

"Oh you're such a dork,"

"Damn right, Miss Reyes. Are you going?"

I shrugged in response. I usually never went to the work parties, mainly because I had no desire to see my co-workers drunk and acting like degenerates. Though I had no room to judge at the moment, as my head was still squarely in the gutter over my own assistant.

"Well I'll just put you down as my plus one then." Caleb stated.

"No!" I exclaimed louder than I anticipated. But Caleb ignored me and typed away on his phone with a grin full of mischief. "Caleb I really don't..."

"Too late boss lady. You. Are. Going." Caleb interrupted me and I narrowed my eyes as I attempted to give him the best death stare that I could. Caleb continued to grin and ignored my stare as he put his phone away and finished his lunch.

The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. However, I found myself silently angry at Caleb for signing me up for the party. It was childish, I knew that it was. But even still, he ignored me and signed me up for something I didn't want to do. I couldn't help but hold onto that childish anger for the rest of the day and didn't talk to Caleb.

He must have gotten the hint because after about an hour after lunch, he stopped trying to talk to me and just went about his day. When the final bell rang and we let the kids go, I was more embarrased at being upset than actually upset. So embarrased that I continued to refuse to talk to Caleb. Even when he said goodbye, I simply nodded and hid my face, afraid I would say something foolish.

As soon as I was in my car, I let out a deep breath before glancing out the window. I don't know what I was looking for, or who, but I continued to look around the parking as the other teachers and staff made their way out. Perhaps I was looking for Caleb, one last ditch effort of my subconscious mind to see if I could tell him sorry for being upset over something so trivial. Of course he was nowhere to be found, and I was soon sitting alone in the parking lot. With a heavy sigh and a shake of my head, I started my Prius and drove away with only one thought in my head.

You're a fucking idiot, Angela.

The rest of my night was spent at home going through my usual routine. Making dinner while watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies in equally cheesy Christmas pajamas. For a time, my mind was not focused on my embarassment, but as the movie ended with the always predictable kiss of true love and happily ever after, I once again couldn't help but start thinking about Caleb. I found myself constantly opening up my phone and checking to see if he had messaged me.

I don't know why I was expecting him to text me. I hadn't exactly given him a reason to talk to me after the silent treatment he received all afternoon. I felt like a little schoolgirl, waiting by the phone for my crush to call me. After about the fifth time checking my messages within the hour, I finally gathered up my courage and sent Caleb a text.

Hey, you got a minute?

I hit send and waited, flipping my phone over and over in my hand while I waited impatiently. A few minutes passed before my phone chimed with a notification. A little too quickly than I'd have liked, I opened my phone and saw I had a message... from Michelle.

Hey girl, saw your name on party list!

I rolled my eyes and quickly tapped a response in. Michelle was the last person I wanted to talk to right now, but now that I had opened the message, I couldn't just leave her on read.

Yeah, I decided to give it a shot this time.

After sending the message, I switched to Caleb's chat, only to see the status of the message was still on delivered. Which meant he hadn't even read it yet. My phone chimed and Michelle popped up once again, stopping my mind from its inevitable jump to a random, worst-case scenario conclusion.

Oh? So that cute para of yours didn't convince you after all?

Technically no, he just signed me up.

Haha! So he listened to me after all!

I glared at my phone, my death stare so strong that I believed Michelle could have felt it through her screen. Even though this was something Michelle would do, I still couldn't believe that she had put him up to it. But more than that, I couldn't believe Caleb was even talking to her. It was my unhealthy anxiety flaring up again, even though my rational side knew it was nothing.

Caleb was a social guy, one who easily makes friends with everyone he talks to. Hell, by the end of his first week he had become best friends with the PE teacher. I couldn't think of any sane reason why Caleb was talking to Michelle.

Did you talk to him today?

I sent the message and set my phone down on the couch beside me. Fortunately, Michelle's reply came quick, stopping me from running more fictional scenarios in my head.

Yep. He said he thinks he made you mad.

My response was quick.

I mean he did but it was silly and more embarrassing really. But now I know I should be upset with you and not him for signing me up.

Haha, girl. Idk how to tell you this but you need to stop being shy. Idk how a public school teacher can be so shy, but that man likes you and you're gonna end up losing out on him.

I let out a gasp as I read her text. She had a point but it didn't feel any better for her to call me out. I also couldn't help but smile as my mind jumped to the right conclusion. So Caleb was interested in me? And he had asked my best friend for advice? There was something oddly cute about it all, that someone who clearly wasn't shy would go and look for help about approaching me. With a smile, I typed out my last response to Michelle and made up my mind on what to do next.

Rude.

With that, I switched over to Caleb's message and saw that he was in the middle of typing a response.

Hey, yeah I'm free, wassup?

Immediately, I hit call and pressed the phone to my ear. I don't know what it was, but seeing Michelle say he liked me made me want to hear his voice. The phone only rang once before his voice came through on the other end.

"Hi Miss Reyes." He answered.

"Ugh, for the last time, call me Angela!" I groaned dramatically. I heard him laugh on the other end and stood up onto my feet.

"Will Miss Angela work?" He asked. "You're still my boss, it's strange without the Miss."

"Well as your boss, I'm ordering you to drop the Miss and call me Angela." I heard him let out an exaggerated sigh and chuckled. I wasn't sure where I had acquired this newfound confidence, but I was enjoying the feeling.

"I can try." He stated. I walked through the hallway and entered my bedroom.

"I just wanted to apologize for the silent treatment earlier. It wasn't intentional, I was just focused." Hopefully that was enough, because I definitely did not want to explain why I was upset.

"Please, I'm not worried, but thanks." Caleb responded.

"Good," I flopped down on my bed and stared up at the ceiling. "So what are you up to? I'm not interrupting a talk with my best friend am I?" Caleb laughed on the other end at my sarcasm and I smiled.

"No actually, I just got back from taking my daughter out to get ice cream." I immediately sat up on my bed.

"Oh, I'll let you go. Didn't realize you were busy. I don't want to interrupt." I spoke quickly, a little too quickly and ended up stumbling over my words. Michelle was right. How was it that I could be a teacher, but also be so bad at talking to a guy?

"What? You're not interrupting anything. Lana is doing her homework right now so we've got time." I smiled at the sound of his voice as he reassured me and I laid back down on my bed.

After reading what Michelle had said, I finally decided to take the initiative.

"Um, I just want to say thanks for signing me up." I started. "I know Michelle told you to do it, but I needed it." Caleb chuckled on the other end.

"So you really did talk to her, huh?" I nodded in response to his question, not realizing he obviously couldn't see me.

"Mhmm." I commented after a few more seconds of awkward silence. "I did and she told me everything."

"Oh jeeze." I could hear the embarrasment in Caleb's voice. "I knew I shouldn't have done anything."

"Oh no, it's..." I paused and sighed as I thought about how to say the words out loud. Finally, after a moment of internal debating with myself, I opted to just be blunt. We weren't high schoolers who were awkward in everything we did anymore, it was time to just say how we felt.

"I do like you, Miss Reyes, but you're technically my boss so I was never going to act on it."

"Maybe you should," I said it so quickly that I didn't even have time to consider the innuendo. "I like you too, I mean. And we're adults so..."

"So long as it doesn't interfere with work?" Caleb interjected.

"Right."

There was a pause and the silence felt deafening. I realized that my heart was pumping fast, and my stomach was abuzz with butterflies. I hadn't felt like this in years, not since my first, almost-husband. It was strange and somewhat foreign to me, but I liked it.

"So what's the plan?" Caleb asked.

"I can think of a few things," I said, once again not catching the innuendo right away. Caleb laughed and I closed my eyes out of embarrasment.

"How about we start with..." He was cut off by the sound of his daughter calling for him. Her sweet voice almost made my heart skip a beat it was so adorable. "Hang on!" He called out before lowering his voice. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Reyes."

"Mhm, and call me Angela."

"I'll work on it... Angela."

There was a click as he hung up the phone and I set my phone on the bed next to me. I stared up at the ceiling in disbelief, shocked that I had actually told him. My whole body was burning with an electric energy and I felt good!

I picked up my phone and immediately texted Michelle what I had done. Her response was immediate, as if she had been waiting for me.

Get it girl! Followed by the eggplant emoji which even I knew what it stood for.

I rolled my eyes and set the phone down. But that one text from Michelle had already sent my brain into fantasy-land. The first things that popped up into my head were Caleb's lips. He had thick lips that I just wanted to kiss over and over. I wanted to feel them all over me. The second thing that popped into my head was his touch. I wanted to feel his hands explore my body, find my sweet spots and instantly turn me on.

My body was moving on its own now, my autopilot steering my hands down my body. I was no prude, liked sex as much as the average woman, and was used to self-satisfaction, but this felt different. Maybe it was because I had an actual fantasy that I could fulfill for once, or maybe it was because I wasn't doing it out of boredom or to help me sleep. I was genuinely turned on, and all it took was the thought of Caleb.

I slipped my fingers into my christmas pajama pants and, because I never wear underwear to bed, immediately realized how wet I had become. With my eyes closed, I pictured Caleb clear as day and imagined him touching me in the way I so craved.

I stroked my sex in circles, slowly, envisioning Caleb's hands on my body. God, I wanted to feel him. Wanted to take in his scent, wanted to hear his own voice in my ear. With each thought of him, I continued to rub myself, slowly picking up speed as my hips moved involuntarily. Inevitably, my mind turned to naughtier thoughts and I pictured his head between my legs, his lips kissing my sex while he ate me out.

I moaned as I felt a spark shoot through my hips. I began to rub faster and pushed two of my fingers into me. In the dead silence of the room, I could hear how wet I was as I slid my fingers in to my knuckles. I was getting close, and my brain switched the fantasy from Caleb eating me out, to Caleb sliding his cock into me.

With my free hand, I pushed my pants down until they were around my ankles and spread my legs as if Caleb was actually on top of me. My fingers moved faster, sliding in and out with ease. In my mind, I only felt Caleb. Only felt him as he entered the deepest parts of me.