CHAPTER 7 #2
Tessa watched in amazement as he jogged up to the stage, a warm sparkly feeling in her chest so strong she felt like it was radiating from her skin.
Was this what being in love felt like? She knew without a doubt that she admired him, was proud of him, and felt safer with him than many of her own friends, but what she felt in the deepest regions of her heart while she watched him hug his coach with the full force of his body, it dawned on her quickly and catastrophically – I'm in love with him.
“I don’t really know what to say,” Tristan’s unsteady voice said into the mic.
It was rare to see him like this. He was usually so full of life and confidence, but this was just as endearing.
Everything about him was so genuine, and this moment of true humility was no different.
“I guess I just want to thank Coach Adams for not giving up on me and pushing me to be better every single game. And obviously all my teammates for doing the same. And I have the best parents around. Any interest my brother and I had they made sure they did everything in their power to nurture it and push us to follow our dreams. Especially you dad, even when I was crying like a little baby about not wanting to go to practice you always made sure to kick my ass into submission.” A lighthearted chuckle went over the crowd, and Tessa had to fight to keep her tears at bay.
“And you all know Jordan, my big bro, about to do big things in the NFL. I literally wouldn’t be doing any of this if it wasn’t for him.
I just always wanted to be like my big brother so, I guess I owe him the biggest thanks of all for liking football first and letting his annoying kid brother tag along.
” Tessa looked over at Jordan who had tears freely flowing down his cheeks.
She was taken aback by it, not sure she had ever seen a grown man cry before, but her heart quickly softened and she admired him for being so vulnerable and so outwardly loving of his brother.
“And Tessa, my girlfriend,” Tessa’s eyes grew into saucers and she whipped her attention back towards the stage, completely stunned at the mention of her name booming from the speakers, “she’s the one who made sure to help me get my grades up so I didn’t get kicked off the team so, big shout out to you, Tess. ”
She knew her fair skin was bright pink from her embarrassment and shock, but her heart was pulsing wildly at the same time.
She quickly dabbed the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes away and gave him a sweet smile and allowed herself to feel the pure magic of the moment.
She didn’t know exactly where their relationship would lead, especially with the uncertainty of where he’d end up if he got accepted into the NFL or where she would end up if she found a way to get hired as a reputable journalist, but here tonight, everything felt right.
“I’ll miss you guys,” Tristan said as he hugged his mom and dad goodbye.
After the ceremony and dinner, they had all returned to Tristan and Jordan’s house to have a few drinks and play a few rounds of card games before finally calling it a night.
Diane and Ed’s flights were early in the morning and Jordan had already left with Katie out to the bars and likely wouldn’t be home until the very late hours of the night, if not until the next day.
“We’ll see you next week for Thanksgiving, Trist,” Ed said as he aggressively patted Tristan’s back. “And talk to Tessa about joining us, okay?”
“I will for sure. Bye mom.”
Tristan squeezed his mother tightly, trying to convey all of his love and admiration for her in the hug.
“I’m so proud of you Trist,” she whispered into his ear, “And she’s incredible.”
He pulled back from the embrace and gave her a knowing smile.
He waved them off and waited until the car was completely out of sight before he headed back inside.
“Should we get you home?” Tristan asked, shutting the door behind him.
Tessa sat on the couch, still in her dress, hair fully down from the pins that held a few strands out of her face all night. Her legs were crossed and her body language relaxed against the couch.
“I think I want to stay here,” she whispered into the very tension filled air surrounding them. His eyebrows shot up, and he cleared his throat nervously.
“Uh yeah, sure, that’s fine with me.”
He shrugged, trying his best not to jump for joy like a toddler at the thought of his incredibly beautiful girlfriend saying she wanted to stay the night with him.
What he wanted to do was crawl towards her on his hands and knees, ready to beg for absolutely anything she wanted if he could just put his head between her legs, but in order not to scare her away he settled with the halfhearted shrug and smile.
She could see right through him, of course. She could see how his eyes almost bulged out of his head and how his large hands flexed with anticipation. It gave her a surge of confidence she hadn't really had before, and she stood up slowly from the couch, making her way towards his very tense body.
“I don’t have anything to sleep in though,” she said with a teasing pout, “Can I borrow one of your t shirts or something?”
He took a deep breath and turned away from her awkwardly, not wanting her to see how embarrassingly quick he was growing hard in his dress pants.
“Yeah of course, come with me, I’ll grab you something.”
She followed him up the stairs into the bedroom that she had only seen once very briefly about a week ago.
Although he had told her that he and Jordan shared a bedroom with twin beds uncomfortably close to each other, she didn’t believe him until she saw it with her own eyes.
She thought it was incredibly endearing that Jordan was so concerned with his brother’s wellbeing and future that he wanted to keep such a close eye on him.
The room was pitch black until he walked into the closet and flicked the light on, illuminating the room in a soft amber glow.
He opened a few drawers before he finally settled on the shirt he wanted her to wear – his favorite Cleveland Cavaliers shirt that he wore nearly every day in high school.
He gripped it tightly in his nervous hands before he turned back towards her, giving her a warm smile.
“Will you help me out of my dress?” She asked in a whisper, reaching her hand towards her back indicating to him that she couldn’t reach it.
He rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes, silently giving himself a quick pep talk to keep himself in check and let Tessa take the lead on anything.
He had controlled himself decently well up until this point, but they had also not been alone like this yet with such suffocating tension between them.
“Sure,” he whispered back, walking towards her.
She turned her back towards him and pushed her blonde hair over her shoulder, exposing the low back of the dress.
His long fingers were shaky as he reached out and grabbed the zipper, slowly pulling it down, exposing more and more of her perfectly smooth and fair skin that was dusted with freckles.
He wasn’t sure what was going to happen once the zipper was all the way down; would she wait for him to leave the room?
Would she undress and put the shirt on right in front of him?
Would he be able to hold himself back from putting his tongue all over every inch of her body?
He stood frozen in pleasantly surprised silence as she let the dress fall elegantly over her slim body all the way down to pool around her bare feet.
She turned around slowly, her blue eyes hooded with desire and a slight glimmer of nervousness.
He let out a shaky breath and lowered his forehead to hers and tangled his hands into her hair.
“I’ve been obsessing over having you naked in front of me since the moment I saw you,” he whispered against her lips.
She reached her fingers out and slowly began to unbutton the white dress shirt he had been wearing all night. With each button that came undone her heart sped up more, and the low hum pulsing through her body was beginning to reach between her thighs.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, his hands releasing her hair and running slowly down her bare shoulders and down her arms.
“I’m so sure,” she whispered back to him, making sure to make intentional eye contact so he knew she was serious.
Their lips were hovering, breaths mingling, noses nestling. She could feel that his touch was hesitant and nervous, and she didn’t know why. She knew he had his fair share of experience, and she doubted he was ever this hesitant.
“Do you not want to do this?” she asked, scared of the answer.
“What?” He pulled back to look at her, brows furrowed in confusion and a slight tint of anger.
“You just seem like you’re scared to touch me or even look at me.”
He sighed and brought his hand up to grip the back of her neck.
“I just really like you, Tess. Like more than I’ve ever liked a girl and I really don’t want to do anything to fuck this up. Especially with it being your first time and all. And the thought of that has me so worked up and I’m scared I’ll hurt you or do something that you’re uncomfortable with or-”
She cut him off by grabbing the hand that was holding her neck and guiding it down and placing his hand inside of her panties, making sure his fingers were flush against her opening that she knew would give him irrefutable proof that she wanted this.
His breath caught in his throat, and he groaned at the feeling of her against his fingers.
She was incredibly wet, slick, and hot against his skin.
“Do you feel that?” She asked, forcing his eyes open to look at her.
“It feels so good,” he whispered against her lips.