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.
