Chapter 14 #2
The more I spoke, the more troubled Tessa became. “You’re scaring me, Ace. What’s going on?”
“Part of the reason I kissed you was to try to convince your ex that you’ve moved on, and he should do the same,” I began, my fingers tightening around her hand. “But the bigger reason I did it is because I’ve been dying to do that for a while now.”
Surprise littered her features. “You have?”
I nodded. “I really didn’t plan on telling you any of this today. In fact, I hadn’t anticipated doing it any time soon.”
“Why not?”
“Because you just got out of a relationship,” I explained.
“I’m not that selfish and was fully prepared to give you the time you needed to heal.
I can understand that you probably aren’t ready for this right now.
You might not even be interested. But I can’t allow you to sit here thinking that me kissing you meant nothing to me because that’d be a lie. ”
She licked her lips. “So, you liked it?”
“Best kiss of my life.”
Her eyes rounded in disbelief. “And you like me?”
“Yes. Very much.”
“I… I… Really?”
Loosening my hold on her hand, I said, “It’s okay, Tessa. I know you’re not where I am yet. It’s okay. And if you never get where I am, that’s cool, too. Things will continue just like they’ve been. I care about you deeply, and I’d never let anything come between our friendship.”
Tessa bit her lip, forcing my eyes to drop to it and recall the taste of her. How I didn’t let out a groan was a mystery to me. “This is… Wow, this is a lot. I wasn’t expecting this.”
“I know. You don’t have to make any decisions or say anything. We can just have a nice lunch together, like we originally planned.”
Nodding, she murmured, “Okay. I just think it’s going to be tough.”
“Why?”
Her eyes dropped to the table, a hint of pink on her cheeks.
When she didn’t answer me, I pressed for a response. “Princess, why?”
Lifting her chin, her eyes met mine. “How am I supposed to pretend that didn’t make me feel anything?”
Now I was the one who was surprised. “What?”
“I… That kiss… Ace, I’ve never felt that before.”
“What did you feel?”
Air rushed from her lungs. “My body. It… I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You felt that kiss everywhere, didn’t you?”
The flush crept over her skin as she nodded and whispered, “Yes.”
“Okay, listen. I don’t know if I have any reasonable solution for making it easier to pretend you didn’t feel anything.
I’m in the same boat. If you want to talk about it, we can.
I’ll answer any questions you have, tell you anything you want to know.
If you’d rather talk about something else, we can do that, too. No pressure, either way.”
Our server returned, set down our drinks and sandwiches, and asked, “Is there anything else I can get for you?”
“Nothing now. We’re good. Thanks.”
Alone with each other once more, Tessa said, “As much as that made me feel, Ace, you’re right. I just got out of a relationship, and my head’s a mess. Maybe, for now, we should just talk about something else.”
Even though there was a hint of disappointment lingering, I smiled at her.
Because the bottom line was that she’d admitted she enjoyed our kiss, that she felt the effects of it all over her body.
If I did right by her, I could only hope she’d get to a place where she’d allow me the opportunity to give her a kiss that would rock her world completely.
With a renewed sense of hope, I smiled and said, “You’re planning to visit Chloe tomorrow, right?”
Relief swept through her. “I am. I’ve really missed her, but I’ve heard she’s doing so much better now.”
“I still can’t believe it was just a few weeks ago that we were in the hospital fearing the worst for her.
” Maybe that was a big part of the reason I’d woken up and noticed Tessa the way I hadn’t all these years.
One of our dearest friends had nearly died.
Being smacked in the face with mortality seemed to have that ability to get me to see what I was missing and wanted in my life.
“Agreed. I can’t wait to see her.”
Tessa and I both took several bites of our food. Everything felt like it always had between us, and for that, I was grateful. But after a while, I had to ask something that was nagging at me.
“Tessa?”
“Yeah?”
“Did Hastings contact you earlier this week?”
She nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sighing, she confessed, “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning for several reasons.
First, it wasn’t as though he showed up anywhere.
He just texted me one time and left me a voicemail.
I’d originally responded to his text, but once I got his voicemail a couple of hours later, I just blocked his number. ”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I don’t want him to continue bothering me. I really do just want to move on. But I don’t want to have to deal with him in my face all the time.”
I smiled. “I’m proud of you for doing that.”
“Thanks.”
“Can you promise me that if he does contact you again somehow, whether in person or over the phone, that you’ll let me know?”
She had her sandwich halfway to her mouth when she stopped, lowered it, and said, “I promise.”
“Good. Now, tell me about your morning. Did you have a bridezilla to contend with?”
Laughter spilled out of her. “No. Thank goodness. But there was a situation with a sister-in-law. It didn’t have anything to do with me, but I got to witness the drama.”
Tessa went on to tell me about her morning and the wedding day drama for her client. As she spoke, it became clear we were back on track and things were normal between us again.
If this was all it would ever be, I’d find a way to accept it.
But I would’ve been lying if I said that hearing her talk didn’t have me thinking about how badly I wanted a lifetime of listening to her voice. In the morning. Throughout the day. And in bed every night.