Sincerely, Jaida

lunch

a/n: it's 2 am. I burned down a toilet when I was five.

Xavier

I heaved out a sigh. "You're wearing jeans," I muttered under my breath.

We got a seat in one of the booths in Zambreros sitting next to one another and when I routinely put my hand on her thigh, I became aware of her choice of wear for the day; firm denim all the way down to her ankles. 

"Oh, Xavier," she drawled out my name, teasingly.

Couldn't we have those cliche scenes where I finger fuck her under the table and as I suck her off my fingers, the waiter comes around asking if we were ready to order and with the smack of my lips, I'll reply "I already ate," and then I get to enjoy Jaida blushing like a virgin straight out of the nunnery?

I knew I was the one blushing when I saw her watching me. I smiled at her, but she kept looking at me, expectantly. She raised her eyebrows in question.

Did she say something?

"How was work?" She prompted.

"Dominic's going permanent. He made a lot in the last two days," I replied and watched her hand reach out to the side of my face. I knew what she was doing. She was caressing the cheek that she slapped this morning.

She nodded to show that she was still listening. "I had a lot of papers to get through, and I have this old and rusty mustang that came in today. I think I'll work on it as a personal project," I tried to contain the purr that was threatening to come out from the feeling of her soft touch.

"Do you like working there?" 

I thought about it for a second before answering. "It's what I wanted to do ever since Cher first brought me there to watch her work," I replied, lost in my thoughts. When I looked up into her eyes, she was beaming.

"What about you? Where do you want to study, next year?" I asked.

Her smile turned sad. "I don't think I'll be getting that degree," she retracted her hand, "it would require me to take a test since I bombed highschool. I don't think I can do a test. I've never been good with tests, no matter how hard I study," her head was downcasted.

I joined our hands together and rubbed circles on her palm to comfort her.

"Everything I learn disappears once I'm sitting in that chair with a pen in hand and the words on the paper just staring back at me," she let out a sigh of annoyance.

I completely understood what she meant. Standardized tests were the reason why I never pursued a degree in college or university. "What are you going to do, instead?" I raised her chin till her eyes met mine. 

"I think I'll take a TESOL course. I 'd love to travel overseas and teach. I've never been out of this country."

The waitress came over and took our orders. Jaida ordered a spicy chicken burrito, and I ordered avocado and non-spicy chicken tacos.

If I'm not mistaken, TESOL stood for the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages association. She couldn't have found a better fit for herself.  She would be teaching English to children of other speaking backgrounds all around the world. 

"It's what Sheila would have wanted me to," she smiled, "and, it's what I want, too." 

"Sheila seemed like an amazing mother," her eyes raised to mine and she smiled, proudly. She smiled like a daughter who was proud to have Sheila as her mother. I knew she was.

"She was. She still is. There was never a minute that I felt unloved by her. She went through so much without me, and when she finally had me within arms reach, she understood. She understood what it took for me to open up about everything," I wiped the tears that were streaking her face. "She believed me," her eyes searched mine.