Tessa Ever After

by Brighton Walsh

  Once she’s out of the room, I turn back to my computer screen with raised eyebrows. “Yes, Dad?”

  Cade’s jaw clenches and his nostrils flare, and for the first time since he moved, I’m glad five hundred miles separate us. If he was here with all this happening, it wouldn’t be pretty. “Jase? Really, Tessa?”

  I narrow my eyes at him, my anger starting to show itself. “Jason, your best friend? That Jason? Yes, really.”

  “Jesus Christ,” he mutters as he scrubs a hand over his close-cropped hair. “I fucking knew this would happen. What the hell are you thinking?”

  Now my hackles are up, and I’m irritated that I have to defend his best friend to him. “What do you mean what am I thinking? I’m thinking he’s an amazing guy who’s always here to help whenever I need him—who you made sure was here to help after you left, by the way. Let’s not forget that.” Cade just glares at me, so I continue on, “I’m thinking that he plays with Haley and lets her dress him up and loves her. I’m thinking that he makes me feel stuff I haven’t felt in a long time.”

  “Yeah, I bet he does,” he says dryly.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You know exactly what it means. Tessa, you know as well as I do what kind of history he has. You know he’s not the kind of guy who sticks around after he gets what he wants. He’s not like your orthodontist—”

  “Who bored me out of my mind.”

  He continues as if I never spoke, “He’s not sure and he’s not steady and he sure as fuck isn’t the right kind of guy if you’re looking for someone for the long haul.”

  “Well.” For a minute, that’s the only word I can muster up, left speechless after Cade laid out just exactly what he thinks of his best friend.

  And then I get mad.

  Not just at him, though, but at myself, too. Because those were the same thoughts I had a dozen times before I decided to try this thing with Jason. And, really, when was the last time anyone believed in him and didn’t hold his past over his head? When anyone thought he was more than just the sum of his past indiscretions? How would I feel if everyone did that to me? That the first thing they saw when they looked at me was a giant sign with bright red letters that said PREGNANT AT SEVENTEEN? And yet that’s exactly what we’ve been doing to him. The people in his life who are supposed to care the most about him.

  “Well,” I say again, “it’s nice to know exactly what you think of your best friend.”

  “Don’t play that card. As a best friend, he’s all I could ask for. As the boyfriend to my baby sister? Fuck. No.”

  “Lucky for me, you don’t get a say.”

  “Tessa . . .” The warning in his tone makes my temper flare even more, and I stiffen.

  “Oh, get off it, Cade. You don’t get to run my life from Chicago any more than you got to run it when we lived under the same roof. You need to back off. This is my life, and I intend to live it how I want to, with or without the approval of my big brother.”

  He’s quiet for a minute, his arms braced on his knees as he leans forward and stares at the screen. He’s pissed, more than I’ve seen him in a long time, and I get that he’s worried. I get it, but this isn’t his life.

  It’s mine, and I made the decision to include Jason in it.

  Finally, he says, “This is going to be Nick all over again. You know that, right?”

  A disbelieving breath leaves me as I stare at him wide-eyed. He might as well have reached through the screen and slapped me across the face. It’s nothing I haven’t thought a hundred times before on my own, but hearing it come from someone else’s mouth, hearing it come from my brother’s mouth—the one person who’s supposed to be the most supportive of me—is like a knife to the back.

  “Fuck you, Cade.”

  And then I end the call, not having the patience or the mental space to deal with him right now. As if I didn’t have enough already on my mind with the dinner at Jason’s parents’ tomorrow, now I’m going to be replaying this in my head over and over again. Because what Cade said is the exact thing that kept me from pursuing Jason in the first place.

  He gave life to the very fear that’s been clawing at me from the beginning.

  jason

  Considering it’s the day before Thanksgiving, the library is surprisingly full. I sure as hell don’t want to be here, but the group project we were given at the beginning of the month is due next week. We’ve been here for two hours, and through that entire time, Kristi has tried to stick herself to my side, despite there being two other people in the group. The project is to design and code a website with integrated e-commerce, and while I could’ve breezed through this on my own in about two days, I’m forced to slow down and take into account the ideas of everyone else on my team. Such a waste of time.

  “Jason, can you look over my code? I can’t figure out the problem . . .” Kristi leans closer to me, her hand on my arm, and I have to physically restrain myself from rolling my eyes at her blatant attempt at flirting.

  The thing is, I can’t even fault her for it. Because last year, I would’ve been all over it. In fact, I probably would’ve taken her to a darkened corner in the library and figured out what kind of panties she’s wearing.

  Now, though, I’m only too glad my phone buzzes in my pocket, saving me from her desperate clutches. Seeing that it’s Cade, I slip away from the group and walk toward the front, where more people congregate and radio silence isn’t enforced as heavily.

  “Hello?”

  “When the fuck were you planning on telling me?”

  I cringe at his harsh tone, the words spat into the phone, and press my thumb and forefinger to my eyes. Blowing out a deep breath, I say, “I take it you talked to Tess.”

  “What part of ‘keep your fucking dick in your pants’ did you not understand?”

  “Look, man, I know you’re pissed, but it’s not—”

  “You’re fucking right I’m pissed. You told me I could count on you. That you wouldn’t let anything happen to them. I left there and against my better judgment trusted you to look after them.”

  “Hey,” I snap loudly and get shushed around me. Lowering my voice, I turn and walk through the first door into the lobby. “I do look after them.”

  “I know how you are with women, and I have a real hard time with the idea that you were looking after Tessa with more than the head in your pants.”

  “I get it, Cade. You’re pissed. But you’re going to have to—”

  “You were there the whole time she went through all that shit with Nick, and you still did this. You’re no better than him.”

  My spine straightens, and I say harshly, “The fuck I’m not.”

  “What, you gonna try and tell me she’s different?”

  “She is different.”

  “So she’s the one who will finally stick? Not fucking likely.” He scoffs, and the sound grates on my already-frayed nerves.

  Anger boils, hot and steady through me, and I’m ready to bite his fucking head off, set him straight once and for all, when something occurs to me. “Did you say this same shit to Tessa?”

  “Hell yeah, I did.”

  Working hard to keep my voice steady, I ask, “Did you talk to her in a reasonable manner or did you throw around this bullshit with her like you’re trying to do with me?”

  His silence says all I need to know, and despite spending the last several minutes listening to him give me a verbal beatdown—having him interrupt me at every turn and shutting me down—knowing he did it to her is what really sets me off.

  “Listen up, fucker, because I’m not going to say this again. You might be my best friend, but I give zero fucks about that right now. Right now you’re just the asshole brother giving my girlfriend a hard time. Tessa is a grown woman and she doesn’t need your goddamn approval for anything that goes on in her life, especially the men she decides to include in it. You have a problem with me, you come to me, you chickenshit, and leave her out of it.
You got me?”

  I hang up before he can say anything more, because if I have to listen to another second of his ranting, I’m liable to punch a hole in the wall. Ignoring the stares of people around me, I head back to the table where the group is spread out, make my excuses to leave, and let them know I’ll get my part of the coding done and sent to everyone over the holiday weekend.

  Right now, adrenaline is pumping through my veins, and I have somewhere I need to be.

  Because even though none of what Cade said got to me . . . what if it got to Tessa?

  TWENTY-ONE

  tessa

  I can’t shake the feeling I’ve had since hanging up on Cade. It’s sitting over my head like a dark rain cloud, dampening my mood, making me question everything I thought I’d figured out with Jason, and now I’m second-guessing myself. I need to call Paige and talk this through with her, but I know she’s working late tonight, so my neuroses are going to have to wait to get the BFF treatment until tomorrow.

  Knowing I won’t be able to get out of my head unless I force myself to think about something else, I pick up the book I’m in the middle of and try to lose myself in it. I’ve read the same page three times before I give up and, with a huff, slam the paperback down on the coffee table at the same time there’s a knock at the door.

  I glance over at the clock, brow furrowed when I see how late it is, and peek out the side window to see who’s standing there. The resulting flip and spin my stomach does would be embarrassing if it weren’t so disconcerting. I am in so deep with this, with him, I can’t see over the hole I’ve fallen into.

  Taking a deep breath, I pull open the door, the words caught in my throat when I get a good look at Jason. His hands are bracketed on the doorframe, his entire body radiating tension. His voice is low, rough, when he says, “Did he get to you?”

  And I know immediately who he is, which means Cade called Jason, too. The thought sends panic through me, worried that my brother somehow planted seeds in Jason’s mind to call this whole thing off . . . to make my fear come true.

  He must see something in my face, because he steps over the threshold and into the house, closing the door behind him before he grips my face in his hands.

  “Tell me you didn’t listen to him, Tess.” His thumbs run over my cheeks, almost like the touch is soothing him as much as it is me. “Tell me he didn’t make you change your mind about me. Tell me you still want this.”

  Cade didn’t change my mind about anything, which is the scary part. That despite all the warnings he gave me, I’m still ready to dive in with my eyes wide open, heart vulnerable to break.

  Jason steps into me, forcing me back until I’m pressed against the wall and he’s pressed against me. Leaning in, he nips at my bottom lip. “Give me the words, baby. Are you still with me in this?”

  I can’t think, my mind a jumbled mess of worries—of what could happen . . . if Jason leaves, if he screws up, if I screw up—but I push all of those away in favor of what is happening right now. Because this is real. It’s not a what-if, not a possible outcome from an imagined scenario. He’s really here, standing in front of me even after my brother no doubt tried his hardest to scare him away. He’s here in front of me, wanting me. He still wants me.

  “I’m still with you,” I whisper against his lips.

  Jason doesn’t give me any warning before he captures my mouth with his, pushing through my lips to slide his tongue against mine without waiting for any indication from me. This kiss is a promise . . . a possession, and I love every second of it.

  His hands grapple at me, pulling at the too-wide neckline of my sleep shirt until it falls off my shoulder and not stopping until he has the front pulled below my breast. A groaned curse leaves his lips as he descends, placing sharp, nipping kisses down my chest until he gets to my nipple and sucks it harshly into his mouth.

  I cry out, my hands flying to his hair as one of his hands reaches for my yoga pants, pulling the side down until half my ass hangs out the back and he has an unobstructed path into my panties. And then his whole hand disappears under the cotton of my underwear, his fingers stroking, back and forth, up and down, until I’m panting and grasping to him for support.

  “Come on, baby. Give me one out here.” His strokes turn measured, his fingers sliding down to slip inside me, and then stroking back up to circle the wetness around my clit. Faster and faster until I can barely see straight. Breath against my ear, forehead resting on the wall beside my head, he says, “Come on my hand, then I’m going to take you to your bedroom, lay you facedown on the bed so you can muffle your screams in a pillow, pull that pretty little ass up, and fuck you until you come again.”

  “God,” I say on a moan, my whole body tightening until it’s almost painful, his words and promises only pushing me that much further. “Just . . . just take me now. Now, Jason.” I don’t even recognize my voice—all throaty and breathless, begging someone to fuck her.

  “No, not until you come.”

  I groan, dropping my head back against the wall, and move my hips against his hand faster, pressing down on his seeking fingers, wanting him deeper, harder, wanting him to take me like he kissed me. With complete and utter possession.

  He slides his fingers as deep as he can, curling them inside me, his palm grinding against my clit, and fireworks explode behind my eyelids.

  “Fuck yeah,” he groans against my neck. “Knew you’d give it to me.”

  Jason peels the clothes from my body as he walks me backward to my bedroom, and by the time he’s kicked the door shut behind us, I’m completely naked.

  “Get on the bed, Tess. Just like I said.”

  I nod, moving until the backs of my knees hit the mattress, not ready to turn my back on him and miss a second of him stripping off his own clothes. He does it quickly and efficiently, and when his boxers are on the floor with everything else and he takes himself in his hand, gripping tightly and groaning, I drop back on the bed, not sure my legs can even support me any longer.

  I do as he said in the living room, lying on my stomach, watching him over my shoulder as he walks toward me. He traces a line up both legs with his fingers, then he leans down and bites me right on my ass.

  “Hey!” I yelp, then moan as he licks a path straight up my spine, straddling my thighs as he goes. He kisses my shoulder blades, brushes the hair away from my neck, and kisses me there, too.

  Then he pulls back and grips my hips, saying, “Lift up for me, baby.”

  With his legs pressed to the outside of mine, I’m forced to keep my thighs together. I lift up as best I can, helping him guide me into the position he wants me, his cock sliding up and down the length of me, driving me out of my damn mind. “Jason,” I groan, trying to push back against him.

  “Are you wet enough? I’m not sure you are.”

  The question is absurd because I can hear him sliding through me. I open my mouth to tell him just that when he backs away, and then he grips the outside of my thighs and gives me one long, slow, torturous lick from my clit to my entrance.

  “Oh my God . . .”

  He moves his face down, the tip of his tongue pressing to my clit as he hooks two fingers inside of me and proceeds to steal every breath from my lungs. I tighten around him, barreling closer and closer to my second orgasm, his answering groan reverberating against me and shoving me the rest of the way over.

  jason

  This girl makes me lose my goddamn mind. Makes me forget every rational thought I’ve ever had. Makes me forget about everything but what she looks like under me, what she feels like gripping me, what she sounds like when she calls out my name.

  I grab a condom and roll it down my cock, groaning at the sight in front of me. Tessa’s on the bed, just like how I wanted her. Facedown, ass up, looking back at me with heavy, lust-filled eyes, and I fucking love that I’m the one she’s looking at like that. That, despite whatever bullshit her brother fed her, I’m still the one she wants.

  Climbing o
n the bed, I straddle her thighs again, holding her hip with one hand and guiding myself to her with the other. I push forward, watching how she opens around me, how she swallows my cock whole, and I can’t stop the groan when I look up at her face and see the reflection of hunger there.

  I want to pound into her, fuck her so hard she forgets her own name. Forgets every other man who’s had the pleasure of knowing her this way. Until she remembers only me. Until she wants only me.

  “Do you know how perfect you feel around me?” I slide nearly all the way out, then push into her deep and slow, watching with satisfaction as Tessa grips the comforter tighter in her hands. She lifts her ass higher, silently begging me for something more. “You need it deeper, baby?”

  I smile at her answering groan and grip her ass, lifting up and opening her as wide as I can with her legs pressed together. Then I repeat the slow, deep slide, pushing in as far as I can go and listening for her answering gasp. When she gives it to me, I move faster, thrusting into her with enough force to move her forward on the bed. Reaching up, I grab her hand and pull it away from the bedding, not stopping until it’s behind her back, her body twisted under me, her breasts bouncing with each forward thrust of my hips. Her face is slack, her lips parted and her eyes fluttering closed at every push into her. Holding her wrist with one hand, I slide the other to her mouth, brushing my finger against her lip.

  “Open up, baby. Suck it.”

  She complies immediately, her mouth opening to accept my finger, her tongue slipping out to brush over the tip. I groan as the soft, warm wetness of her mouth surrounds my finger, pumping my hips into her faster, harder, not able to control myself anymore. Pulling my finger from her mouth, I trail it down her chest to her exposed breast, swirling the wetness around her nipple, and smile when she moans, her eyes fluttering closed, her pussy pulsing around me.

  “That’s it, pretty girl. Give me another.”

  Tessa’s always been beautiful—even before I accepted this pull toward her—but now? Here, tonight, when she’s laid out in front of me, her mouth open on gasps from feeling me inside her, her eyes locked on me as I push her exactly where she needs to go?