They walked in silence until they hit the sidewalk in front of the building. Then Tessa halted and turned to Jordan.
“What are you doing here?” she asked stiffly.
“If you won’t answer my texts or calls, then you get me in person,” Jordan snapped back.
Tessa was taken aback by the anger rolling off him.
“You don’t get to be angry, Jordan,” she snipped.
He glared with stony eyes down at her. “The hell I don’t, Tessa.” His quiet fury made a shiver run down her spine, but she kept her eyes locked on him. “You don’t get to be drunk off your ass and make accusations and then not talk about it when you’re sober.”
Tessa flicked her eyes to the side, reluctantly admitting to herself that he had a point.
“Fine, let’s go for a walk,” she begrudged.
Without giving him a chance to agree or disagree, she started walking down the block. Jordan was by her side in two steps and cupped her elbow to draw her to a stop.
“I want to talk to you in private. Can we go to my truck?”
“Fine.” She narrowed her eyes. “But we’re not going anywhere. No kidnapping.”
Jordan tried to be solemn, but his twitching lips ruined it. “No kidnapping.”
She huffed and turned around to walk to his truck. As soon as Tessa was in the passenger seat she folded her arms and stared straight ahead. She was not going to make this easy for him.
Jordan pushed the button to start the truck, rolled his seat as far back as possible, and turned to face Tessa. He was unfazed by her silence and took several moments to study her. Tessa’s nerves, on the other hand, were about to snap. When Jordan finally spoke, it was in earnest.
“Tessa, I would never be ashamed to be seen with you.”
Her heart thumped in response to his words, and she turned to face him. As much as she liked hearing those words, she still needed to know more.
“Then why did you push me away?” Damn, she didn’t like how hurt she sounded.
Jordan ran a hand down his face and then locked eyes with her. “Tessa, I was in a bar after a game. Coach would kill me if he knew I was there. And I didn’t think you would want a picture of us with your mouth plastered to my neck leaked.”
A chill ran down her spine as she replayed last night in her head through sober eyes. She buried her face in her hands and moaned. “Shit, I’m the jerk face.”
Jordan chuckled and said kindly, “No, you aren’t.”
Reluctantly Tessa lifted her hands. “The hat was so people wouldn’t recognize you. You were waving your phone at me because you wanted to text me, weren’t you?”
Jordan grabbed her hands and held them firmly in his. “I felt bad that I was missing your birthday. When I got back to town, I was happy you were still out. I wanted to celebrate with you for at least part of the night.”
“And then I ruined it by hanging all over you like a wet blanket,” Tessa moaned.
Jordan’s mischievous grin appeared, and her insides perked up. “I really liked that.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe we can have a do-over once the season is done.”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to get that drunk again. I’m sorry, Jordan. You were so sweet to take care of me even after I was a jerk face.”
His eyes were intense as he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Stop calling yourself a jerk face for celebrating your twenty-first birthday.”
“Okay.”
Jordan let her go. Disappointment rolled through her at the loss of his touch.
“Can I give you your present now?”
Tessa perked up at his question. “You got me a present?” she asked, giddy. She loved presents and still felt like a five-year-old when she got them.
“Of course I got you a present for your birthday.”
Jordan lifted the center console, pulling out a small wrapped box and handing it to her. Tessa wasted no time ripping into it, which made him laugh, but she didn’t care.
She removed the square velvet lid and gasped. It was a delicate silver charm bracelet. Slowly she lifted it out of the box and inspected the charms.
The first looked like a beer mug? Puzzled, Tessa turned it over and saw the date. It was the night of the party where they met. Tears sprang to her eyes, but she blinked them away. There was more to see.
The next charm was a book with the date of their first tutoring session on it. Tessa eagerly went to the next one, a pencil. She turned it over, but it was blank.
Jordan quietly answered her unspoken question. “When you graduate, I’ll have it engraved with the date.”
She looked back down and grabbed the last charm. It was a basketball, and on the back was the number four, Jordan’s jersey number. Tessa silently handed the bracelet over to him and held out her wrist. As soon as it was clasped, she climbed over the console and planted herself on his lap.
With her heart bursting, Tessa held his head between her hands and said solemnly, “Thank you. I love it.”
As soon as her lips brushed against his, her blood heated up. The kiss deepened, and Tessa slid herself closer to Jordan, only to startle away from him when a motorcycle roared by.
She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. What was wrong with her? They were in front of her apartment in broad daylight. She scooted back over to her seat. “Are you going to take me for ice cream or not?”
“Only if you’re buying,” Jordan teased.
“Hey, it’s my birthday. I shouldn’t have to pay!”
Jordan laughed as he started the truck and took Tessa for ice cream. They ended up in a park while they ate it and then went for a walk. The entire time Jordan either held her hand or had his hand on the sensitive spot on the small of her back. Tessa felt like she was floating on air. It was the perfect day.
A couple of hours later, they both reluctantly agreed to part ways to get some homework done. The lighthearted atmosphere slowly disintegrated the closer they got to Tessa’s apartment. When they arrived, Jordan broke the silence.
“It’s going to be a busy week,” Jordan said. “We have another away game on Friday.”
Moments ago Tessa’s heart had felt like it would flutter from her chest, but now it was heavy. It would be a while before they spent any quality time together. She nodded her acceptance.
“I’d better go up.”
Jordan opened his door and walked around the hood to open hers. Tessa placed her hand in his extended one and enjoyed the sizzle along her arm as he helped her out. They walked with linked fingers toward her apartment.
After they entered the complex, Jordan engulfed her in a hug. Tessa eagerly buried her head in his chest, inhaling his distinctive scent as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Thanks for coming over to set me straight.”
“I’m happy we’re okay.”
Jordan dropped his arms and took a small step back. Tessa resisted the urge to close the distance between them. Instead, she put on her big girl panties and said, “Bye.”
He swept his lips over her forehead and whispered in her ear, “Bye, Tessa. I’ll miss you.”
She pressed her lips together and bit the bottom one to stop the tears from forming in her eyes. Like a lovesick puppy, Tessa watched him go while lecturing herself.
Get it together. It’s not like you’ll never see him again.
When Jordan disappeared from sight, she prepared herself for her mom’s questions. She would need all of her wits to talk with her. Sure enough, as soon as Tessa walked through the door, her mom lifted her head and pointed to the couch.
She sat down and braced herself, although she didn’t have to wait for the first question. Her mom threw out the zinger right away.
“Care to tell me why this is the first day I’ve heard Jordan Davis’s name?”
Tessa looked her in the eye and spilled her guts. “It started out as being his tutor, so I never told you when we were meeting. It slowly turned into something more.”<
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Without breaking her narrowed gaze from Tessa’s, her mom continued the inquisition. “Okay, and I repeat, why am I just now hearing his name?”
Her gut twisted, but she forced herself to dig deep and be honest. She looked at her mom’s serious but not angry face and tried to find the right words.
“At first I didn’t like him, but then . . . ”
Her mom put her hand over hers, and Tessa looked at her.
“Why didn’t you like him?”
Jordan’s cocky blue eyes boring into hers at the party flashed in Tessa’s head. “He seemed like an arrogant jock.”
Her mom’s eyes sharpened. “Jock?”
Tessa’s stomach bottomed out. Throughout the years, many of the moms’ warnings about guys centered around jocks. “Yes. He’s on the university’s basketball team.”
“Is he good?”
“Yes. He’ll probably be drafted into the NBA.”
Her mom tightened her jaw, but all she said was, “Go on.”
Tessa tried to sort out how to tell the story. It was hard to put into words when she wasn’t exactly sure how she ended up being with Jordan.
“Tessa,” her mom cut in.
She started tentatively. “He texted me and asked me to be his tutor. I met up with him, not knowing it was him. When I found out it was Jordan, I started to walk away. But he convinced me to stay.”
It seemed like such a long time ago. “Things just continued, and now we are . . . ”
Tessa knew she had to tell her mom the truth, but she wasn’t sure what her reaction would be.
“Boyfriend and girlfriend,” Tessa finished, holding her breath.
Her mom nodded. “Does he treat you right?”
A smile spread across her face. “He does, Mom.”
“Then, for now, that is good enough.” Tessa’s eyes widened, and her mom laughed.
“Were you expecting a lecture?”
Tessa nodded. “Yes.”
Her mom took both of her hands in hers.
“Tessa, you are twenty-one years old. If I haven’t taught you not to take any crap from guys, I haven’t done my job. Just promise me you won’t keep things from me. I’m still your mom, and I want to know what is going on with you.”
Tessa blinked back tears at her heartfelt words. She squeezed her hands. “I will, Mom.”
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Chapter 23
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A weight Tessa didn’t know she’d been carrying was lifted from her shoulders after the conversation with her mom. Before their talk, she’d felt guilty. She hadn’t told her about Jordan because she didn’t want her to be disappointed. Now she could see him without trying to hide it.
Sometimes she and Jordan would hang out at her apartment, but usually Tessa didn’t want to be there. It was tough to have a make out session when her mom was within hearing distance anywhere in the apartment. She had the bad habit of forgetting where they were when Jordan touched her. Being together at the pool house didn’t present the same issues, so they were frequently there, which is where Tessa was headed right now.
It was rare that Jordan didn’t have a Friday night game or wasn’t traveling somewhere. Tessa wanted to spend as much time with him as possible until his Saturday afternoon game, so she was hoping to spend the night. The clothes she wanted to wear to the game were packed. She only hoped he would be excited about her surprise overnight stay.
Her gut contracted in familiar nervousness when Jordan’s enormous house came into view. Once she was enclosed in the pool house with him she would be fine. There she knew she would not run into Mrs. Davis.
Jordan’s mom was intimidating, and Tessa was aware that she didn’t care for her. She hadn’t met Jordan’s dad yet, but if his mom made her this uncomfortable, she couldn’t imagine what his dad would do to her state of mind.
She let out the breath she’d been holding when she made it to Jordan’s door without running into anyone. Tessa held her overnight bag in front of her, hoping he would understand her intention of staying.
She knocked on the door, and it swung open. Jordan did his usual perusal of her from head to toe. Tessa’s heart started fluttering, making her breath catch. It would never get old, having him look at her like he couldn’t wait to get his hands on her.
When he reached her bag, Jordan swung his eyes up to her. With a grin on his face and one brow raised, he asked, “Does that mean what I think it means?”
Tessa wasn’t sure why her heart was pounding so hard, but she managed to rasp out, “I can stay for the whole night.” She rambled on. “If you want. I know you have a game tomorrow, so if you don’t want me to, I can stay at the dorms. I would totally understand.”
Jordan slipped his hand under her hair, pulling her closer and easing his lips down onto hers. Tessa didn’t need any more encouragement. She opened her mouth and returned his kiss. Her body breathed a sigh of relief to once again be in contact with his.
Tessa slid her hands under Jordan’s t-shirt and reacquainted herself with his steely arms and chest. He eased away and said sternly, “You are welcome here anytime. Even if I’m not here and you want to be, come.”
While her heart was melting at his words, Jordan grabbed her bag from the floor. He pulled her inside with his free hand and shut the door. Tessa followed Jordan so he could set the bag inside his room and lead her to the sectional.
Pulling her down, Jordan tucked her into his side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Tessa sighed with contentment, enjoying being alone with him with no place to be. For once they didn’t have a time limit and have to watch what they said. When they were in a public place they had to be aware that whatever they talked about could be overheard.
She leaned her head into Jordan’s chest and inhaled before she said, “I’ve missed this.”
Jordan brushed his lips across her head and whispered, “Me too.”
Tessa began to fill him in on her continuing struggle to connect with Declan, the student who was continuously challenging her and pushing her to her limits. Besides her crazy schedule, it was the one stressor she had in her life.
“You’ll find a way,” Jordan said confidently.
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because you’re genuine in your desire to reach him.”
Tessa prayed he was right, but that was a worry for another time. Now she wanted to find out about Jordan. He’d played three games, but she’d never actually talked to him about them.
“Are you nervous about tomorrow?”
“I don’t know if nervous is the right word.”
“What do you mean?”
Jordan thought for a minute. “We’ve watched film on the other team. I keep replaying it in my head and remembering what the coaches have said. I’m not nervous, but I can’t stop thinking about it.”
It was a lot like her situation with Declan. “Your analytical mind won’t shut off.”
Jordan chuckled. “I guess it won’t. Once I start playing, my mind shuts off and I just play. It’s like all of that studying is absorbed into memory muscle and I just go.”
“Are you excited to play in the NBA? Do you even want to play there?”
Jordan played with her hair, and her body stood at attention. Tessa breathed in slow and deep to keep her mind from wandering away from his answer.
“Do you know you are the first person to ask if I want to play in the NBA?”
She twisted her head up to look at him, curious about the wonder in his voice. “Was it a silly question?”
He tugged her hair, and she inhaled sharply. “I actually love that you asked. Everyone else has just assumed.”
Jordan brushed her lips and let go of her hair. She snuggled back into his chest and listened to his voice rumble through her. “I do want to play in the NBA. There has always been something about basketball that draws me in. It doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life—it all falls away on the court. I always want to be the best, and
the NBA is where the best are.”
He resumed playing with her hair, and after a moment said, “I could go to work at my dad’s company after graduation. I did think about it, but I want the NBA. I want to prove to myself that I can compete at that level.”
A couple of heartbeats later, Jordan asked, “Isn’t that the same reason you choose to do your student teaching at an inner-city school? To prove to yourself you could do it?”
Interesting question. Is that why she’d asked to go there? Tessa answered slowly, thinking about her answer as she formed the words. “I haven’t thought of it like that. Good teachers made all of the difference when I was going there. I could always tell when the teachers didn’t care. Caring teachers were the difference between actual learning and chaos. So I suppose I wanted to see if they could tell I cared, and it’s a challenge. My goal is to eventually get my master’s and be a librarian.”
“So why a librarian?”
That question was easy to answer. “The library was my haven at school. It wasn’t always easy being a rule follower in an inner-city school. I want to be that person kids can come to. I want to be their haven.”
With another brush of lips across her head, another leap of desire flowed through Tessa. Jordan leaned to get the remote and scrolled through the movie titles. He started Star Wars: Episode IV. She smiled and mischievously asked, “Can you remind me what happened in the last movie?”
Jordan’s head whipped down to her. “What?”
Tessa couldn’t keep the laughter in, and the next thing she knew she was on her back. He hovered over her while administering tickle torture. His knees were on either side of her hips, preventing Tessa from moving while he moved his fingers up and down her sides.
Through fits of laughter, she finally gasped out, “Stop. I’m kidding.”
Jordan stilled and leaned down until their faces were inches apart. Tessa was fascinated with the laughter lighting up his face. She reached up to trace his laugh lines, but he covered her hands with his.
His quiet, husky voice reached her ears. “Uh-uh, no distracting me, Ms. Parker. Not until you answer an essential question. Who is Darth Vader?”
Breaking Tessa: A College Sport Romance Page 15
