Chapter 17
Tessa
I’m careful not to smile, as that hurts my nose.
But I can’t help the smile in my words as I think of my family.
I didn’t realize until right in this moment how much I miss them all.
“My mom is the best mom in the world. Then there’s my older brother, who is protective and a pain in my backside.
But I love him with my whole heart. He’s married to Leah, who is a sweetheart and they have two precious boys.
Levi is three, and Lincoln is six months.
They are absolutely adorable. Then there’s my ten-year-old brother, Braeden.
He loves soccer and is pretty good. Evan is my eight-year-old brother who is a gentle soul and will probably do something with animals someday.
And then there’s the firecracker of the family, Rebecca.
She’s six going on twenty. Like I said, we’re a ridiculously loud, crazy bunch.
And man, I miss them. I didn’t realize how much until just now, talking to you. ”
“Are you going home for Christmas?” he asks quietly.
“Probably not.”
“Why not?” he asks.
I shrug. “Plane tickets are expensive, especially this time of year.”
“You could drive.”
“Oh, it’s way too far. Besides, I don’t have a car.”
“I could drive you.”
Silence falls between us for just a moment. Then I break it. “You must really feel bad about me getting hurt that you’d offer to drive me.”
“I do feel bad, but that’s not why I’m offering.”
“Slater, it’s like a twenty-two hour trip. And it’s not an easy trip. Getting through the DC area is rough. We did a few times when my brother came here; then we learned our lesson.”
He shrugs. “Okay.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to make you drive me home for Christmas, but the fact you even offered is really sweet, Slater.”
He scoffs. “I’m not sweet.”
“Agree to disagree.”
“Think about it,” he says, not letting go of the idea of driving me home for Christmas.
“Slater, I’d love to see my family for Christmas, obviously, but—”
“Then do it.”
I take a breath. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
I stare at him, trying to get him to understand my reason. “Slater, I’m not going to make you drive me some twenty plus hours. I’m not going to do that to you or put that many miles on your truck.”
“Okay.” I take a breath, glad it’s settled.
It does make me miss my family, though. All this talk about Christmas.
..But I need to focus. There are still a few weeks until Christmas break; it’s too early to get sidetracked with thoughts of Christmas.
Christmas has always been my favorite; it still is.
Give me Christmas music and white lights, and I’m a goner.
That’s literally all I need. When I look up, Slater is watching me intensely, his shrewd gaze missing nothing.
“You’re thinking about your family, aren’t you? ”
“Actually, I’m thinking about Christmas.” I sigh. “I am such a little kid at heart.”
“How so?”
“I just love Christmas,” I confess.
“What about it?”
“What not about it?” I challenge, but I answer his question.
“I love Christmas music. I love white lights. There’s something about white lights that makes a home magical, especially at Christmas time.
I love decorating the tree, making Christmas cookies, driving around to look at lights.
Our block is the best block. Everybody decorates for Christmas, and it’s so amazing.
I even love wrapping Christmas presents. ”
“What kind of Christmas music do you like to listen to?”
“All of it,” I tell him and then laugh. “Sleigh Ride is my favorite Christmas song, but I love Michael Buble’s Christmas songs, and Kelly Clarkson, Josh Groban.
Oh, and Andy Williams. When I was growing up, my stepdad had an old record player.
Every year, we would listen to Andy Williams on the record player.
It was an old vinyl with a red cover. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Did you have a record player when you were growing up? ” I ask.
“No.”
“Oh, you missed out. It was so fun.” I laugh.
“You would only get to listen to a few songs before you had to flip it over. My brother and I would fight over who got to flip it over. Those were the days of the old heat registers too. We would sit over them when the heat came on and listen to Christmas music.” I smile at the nostalgia of it all.
“Sorry,” I catch myself. “I get carried away sometimes.”
“You’re fine,” he says right back. “You have great memories.”
I focus on him. “Do you?” I prod gently. “Have good memories of growing up?”
He shrugs. “I came from a good home. My parents love me, and I love them.”
I take in his words. “That’s great.” I don’t think his family is anything like mine, but I’ve always known my family was special. I am so blessed to have grown up with the family I did.
“What happened to your dad?” The question startles me. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. I don’t remember him.
He left my mom when my brother and I were young.
According to my mom, he just walked out one day and didn’t come back.
I don’t remember him at all. I only have memories of my stepdad.
He’s the greatest thing that ever happened to any of us.
Well, until they had kids; and then it got even better. ”
He glances at the door and then back at me. “I think the food is here.”
“Oh, okay.” I start to stand up, but he puts his hand on my leg, stopping me.
“I’ll just bring it in here.”
“It’s fine. I’m feeling much better. We can go out.
” He studies my face a moment in a way that is so Slater before he finally stands up.
I take that as my cue to stand as well. I look down at my blood-stained shirt again and grimace.
Nobody wants to see all that blood while they’re trying to eat.
“I’ll see if Evie has a shirt I can borrow. ”
He walks over to his drawer and opens it. When he turns back around, he’s holding a shirt. “You can wear this.”
I eye the shirt he’s holding out, debating. On the one hand, I would love to wear one of his shirts. On the other hand, if it didn’t fit or was snug, I’d be mortified. “I’m not sure,” I start, but he’s not having it.
“I’ll turn around, so you can change.” He puts the shirt over my shoulder and faces the door.
Realizing there’s no way around it, I decide to just go for it and pray it fits.
I take my time taking my shirt off and trying to pull it up and over my sensitive face.
Then I pull on his shirt. I relax when I realize I had nothing to worry about.
The shirt falls nearly to midthigh, causing me to laugh.
“I could wear this to bed.” I don’t know why I said the words; they just sort of slipped out. But it gets really awkward really fast, and I could kick myself. “Sorry, I don’t know why I said that; I always make things awkward.”
He turns around slowly, and his eyes run the length of me, causing me to shiver. “It looks good on you.” His words are deep, and I feel them viscerally.
I take a deep breath, needing out of this room so I can catch a full breath.
“Ready?” He nods and opens the door for me.
I don’t miss the hand on my back when I pass in front of him.
I remind myself that it doesn’t mean anything to him and try not to make a big deal out of it.
That’s my MO—making a big deal out of things.
I don’t want to do that now. We walk out to the living room where Evie is snuggled up next to Zane on the couch.
She turns to us and hops off the couch in a flash.
“Tessa.” She moves towards me like she’s going to hug me, but Slater makes a sound in his chest. She stops, but I move forward anyway and hug my best friend.
She pulls back and looks at my nose and grimaces.
“That looks so painful. How are you doing?”
“Okay right now. The pain pills have been working.” I look around the room. “Where are Quint and Reid?”
Slater makes another sound behind me, and I turn to him. “What is your deal?”
His eyes meet mine. “Nothing.”
“Then stop sounding like a rabid dog.”
Zane barks out a laugh, and Evie grins when I turn back to her. “Where are the other guys?”
“Reid has a game tonight, and Quint had things to do,” Zane answers, coming to stand behind Evie.
“Why are you asking about them?” Slater asks from behind me.
I turn to face him. “I just wanted to make sure Quint was okay.”
A dark expression crosses his face. “Why wouldn’t he be okay? You’re the one who got hurt.”
“Yes, I remember,” I emphasize by pointing to my nose. “I just know he probably feels bad, and I wanted to make sure he’s okay.”
“He’s fine.” Slater’s words are dark, and I raise an eyebrow but he doesn’t say anything.
“Are you hungry?” Evie asks, turning my attention back to her. “The food just arrived, and I’m starving.”
“Me too.” I follow her over to the kitchen where she starts pulling food out of the bag. “Nice shirt, by the way,” she says with a grin.
I match her grin. “Thanks.”
She digs through the bag. “What did you get?”
“Chicken and wild rice soup.”
“Ooo, that sounds good,” she says and pulls out a container of soup. “Here.”
“It’s the best. It’s almost as good as my mom’s chicken and rice soup.”
Evie smiles. “That’s awesome.” She hands me a piece of bread.
“There’s another bowl in there for her,” Slater says.
I turn to him. “You got me two bowls of soup?” He nods. “Why?”
Evie laughs. “Just go with it, Tess. These guys love their food and want to make sure we get enough too.”
I turn to him. “Thanks, Slater.” He only nods. “Let me know how much I owe you.” Evie laughs again, and I turn to her. “What?”
“It’s cute that you think he’s going to let you pay.”
I turn to Slater, and he shakes his head. “Not happening.” He picks up my bowl and bread and a salad container and walks out to the living room. He sets everything down on the coffee table and then waits for me.
“We’re eating out here?” I ask.
“We’re going to watch Reid’s game,” Zane says, carrying his and Evie’s food.
“Ooo, yes.” I plop down onto the couch. “This is going to be so good. They’re playing Kansas City tonight; it should be a good game.”
Slater hands me my bowl of soup. “You get this excited for soccer or just basketball?”
Zane laughs, but I ignore it, “I get excited about all sports,” I remind him and then put out my hands for my soup.
I can smell it, and I’m so hungry. He hands me the bowl with bread on top.
“Thank you.” He nods and then grabs his salad.
I realize at that moment that there’s not enough room for him to sit with us.
Zane, Evie, and I are already taking up the whole couch.
I mean, we could squeeze together; but before we do, Slater slips to the floor in front of me.
I automatically pull up my legs and sit cross-legged so he can sit against the couch.
He turns and looks at me skeptically. “Are you comfortable that way?”
“Perfectly.” I tear off a piece of bread and slip it into my mouth. He leans all the way against the couch, and I can feel his body heat from here. I take off the lid of my soup and close my eyes. “Mmmm.”