by Mj Fields
���Yes I told Troy yesterday before I made plans, he may or may not join us, stop being so defiant,��� he smirked, gave her a wink and walked out.
He came back in with a glass of water and apple slices. She was lying on the bed with her eyes closed.
���Baby you have Zumba in an hour,��� he said, and she opened her eyes and saw how amused he was.
���You are ridiculous,��� she said quietly.
He reached down and pulled her up and kissed her neck. ���Want to go again?���
���As if you could,��� she laughed.
He grabbed her hand and placed it against him. Her eyes widened.
���No, I can’t,��� she said.
He pulled his shirt off of her and started again. Softer, gentler, and longer than before.
Troy tapped on the door, ���Tessa ��� ten minutes till Carmen gets here.���
She gasped.
���Let���s get you ready,��� he laughed.
She sat up and softly yelled to Troy, ���Just a minute.���
She looked at him and blushed, ���I love you and if I could kick your ass right now I would.���
���Time to dance baby,��� he stood up and did a few moves, and she laughed.
* * *
Tessa walked out just in time to start. Lucas stood in the back watching her, and Troy laughed the whole time. Carmen ordered them both back to the patio telling them they were being too distracting and not in a good way. When they finished, Tessa walked out into the ocean and lay in the water for awhile. Carmen walked out to meet her.
���You okay?��� Carmen asked.
���I am exhausted��� she laughed.
���You can relax you don���t have to try to show me up every time��� Carmen laughed.
���Oh no, Lucas kicked my butt all day,��� she sighed.
���Oh nice,��� Carmen smirked, ���Did he have a list of girls, too?���
���Oh yes, a dozen actually,��� Tessa laughed.
���And he changed?���
���Yes, we���ve been together for awhile now, and even though we���ve been through a lot��� I know he loves me, and I love him dearly. I���m so glad he was my first and will be my last��� she smiled.
���So what about your cousin? What should I do about that?��� Carmen asked.
���Be available, but make him bust his ass for you. He comes from a good family, a little crazy, but we are very close, he will be an amazing catch for whoever can give him a run for his money��� she laughed. ���We are going to the Keys for a couple days, Lucas asked Troy to join us you want to come?���
���Oh no, I couldn’t,��� Carmen looked down.
���Sure you could, come get a drink and then decide,��� Tessa smiled.
* * *
They walked into the resort, and Tessa was amazed. She had never been somewhere so beautiful. She smiled at Lucas and he kissed her head.
They lay by the pool and just lounged for the day with Troy and Carmen. They would only be staying one night. They talked about family, faith, field hockey, and football. They ate dinner and danced. Troy slept on the couch which amused Tessa and Carmen. Lucas thought it was mean. Troy would have slept on it if the damn thing were on fire to impress her.
The next morning they left, and Carmen and Tessa exchanged numbers and hugged.
���I hope to see you again,��� she whispered in her ear.
Tessa and Lucas lay by the pool and lounged all morning. They hit the spa, and both got Mani Pedi���s and a couple���s massage. Tessa got waxed, and Lucas got tidied up very nicely.
���I���m so lucky I don���t have football right now. Showers would be awkward,��� Lucas looked down at the newly manscaped area.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They flew to Syracuse. At the airport, people took pictures of them, and she was confused. He was angry. They held hands, and he held her against his chest while they waited for their bags. Neither said a word, didn���t smile, they barely breathed. They walked out and got in the SUV.
The car ride home was quiet, they pulled in front of the townhouse jumped out and grabbed the bags and went into the house. His phone rang.
���Here we go,��� he grumbled
She sat down and held his hand. His coach called and was coming over to help do some damage control.
Lucas answered the door and Coach Brown, Miles, and Jenny walked in.
���Hey, baby you want to come down?��� he yelled up the stairs.
Tessa walked down and saw Jenny and Miles.
���Can I ask why the hell she is here?��� she snapped at Coach Brown.
���Miss you need to check that attitude. Link���s ��� control her.���
���Yeah, that���s not going to happen��� he laughed and held her hand. They led everyone into the dining room.
���I don���t know what the hell happened in Florida with you two, but it���s caused a media circus,��� Coach Brown grumbled.
���Really you don���t know? Miles was at a gay bar with his tutor��� he and I danced, he saw photographers come in and kissed me, Lucas socked him in the mouth, and he hit him back. My cousin broke up the fight. Does that work for you?��� she asked. ���Oh and Jenny is his fake girlfriend who really would like take my place with Lucas, she is actually borderline stalker material and I would appreciate her ass being put on a leash, now I am finished.���
���Good, but I think you���re confused about Miles and Jenny,��� Coach said.
���I think you���re full of shit,��� Tessa said. ���And I think I want her out of my house.���
���Well, I think you should give us a chance here,��� he said.
���Are you going to try to bullshit us because I have really liked having my fianc����� all to myself and would������ she began.
���Tessa,��� Lucas said softly.
She looked at him, and he looked nervous. ���Come sit with me, please.���
She sat next to him, and he held her hand.
���I think we all know the story, and I���m sure no one here really cares about Miles sexual preference. The problem was the whole kissing my fianc��e��� thing to make himself look good, it didn���t sit well with me��� he said, ���So what do we need to do?���
���Well, a whole lot of local media want interviews. I want you boys to make nice, so this goes away. And you two need to stay together for a bit longer than the typical three months��� he said looking between Tessa and Lucas. ���That���ll make you look less like a villain Links, we don���t need that next year. Do you understand?���
���I have a question ��� where does she fit in?��� Tessa asked pointing to Jenny.
���Jenny has Miles��� best interest at heart and she offered to do whatever it takes for us,��� Coach Brown smiled at Jenny. ���We had planned to have them go out to dinner to make up with each other until your lovely walk and the proposal was aired.���
���Lucas, are we almost done here?��� She whispered in his ear.
The doorbell rang, and it was dinner. Tessa shook her head, leaned back, and groaned loudly making sure her displeasure was heard.
Miles apologized. Jenny didn���t.
���Lucas, can I talk to you for a minute?���
���Of course,��� he said and excused himself.
���Can this be done, I don���t want her here,��� Tessa asked.
He hugged her and smiled sweetly,
���Let���s move this into the living room; if we fall asleep, they will have to leave.���
They sat in the recliner to allow for the others to sit. Tessa looked at Coach Brown.
���Can we be done with her now, ���please?���
He walked Jenny out and came back in.
���Miss, do you understand that she could blow this school and Miles chances right out of the water?��� he said scolding Tessa.
���Do you understand that THAT is not my problem, but her obsession with Lucas is?��� she snapped.
���Alright ��� I���ll do what I can about that, you and Miles need to make nice,��� he said to Lucas, ���Right now Links, you���re a bad guy because you hit the star, you two can do an interview together and I���ll set it up. Tessa, can you try to control yourself?���
���Did he seriously just ask me that?��� she loudly said to Lucas.
���With all due respect coach, she did nothing wrong, and she has sat on a lot of information. She didn���t even tell me. I don���t think it���s necessary to treat her like that.���
���I apologize, so interview tomorrow at ten in the morning?��� he said reading a message on his phone.
���Yes,��� they both said.
* * *
Tessa got ready, walked out and fixed Lucas���s tie.
���You can stay home,��� he said coldly.
���Nope.���
���Tessa, I���ll be fine.���
She grabbed his face, ���I���m supposed to tell you when you���re being an ass, remember? Well��� you���re being an ass. I want to be there with you.���
He looked at her and scowled, ���Fine.���
She kissed him and smiled, ���Good.���
* * *
They walked in the studio, and Jenny stood against the wall. Tessa looked at Lucas, and he smiled.
���Sorry,��� he kissed her. ���I should listen to you more often.���
They sat in chairs on the small set, and the anchor introduced the story. He showed all the photos and read the headlines from the papers.
���We had an in- depth conversation with a source close to you two. They said that it was your fianc��e��� who was going after Miles and has since the team party at the end of the summer.���
A picture of the Tessa pulling Miles out on the dance floor flashed across the screen. Lucas laughed, and Miles looked down.
���Seriously man? Is this really news? Is this source Jenny, Miles��� girlfriend?��� Lucas was red immediately. He started taking the microphone off.
He looked at Tessa she was shaking her head no.
���Baby, I don���t care what they think.���
She walked up and smiled.
���I���m going to kick your butt after this Lucas,��� she whispered.
���This must be the girlfriend��� the anchor laughed.
���Hello,��� she smiled. ���He���s a little upset, but he isn���t that bad, actually he���s kind of wonderful.���
���So you���re the one that is being called the villain here.���
���I can take that,��� she laughed, ���I got the guy.���
���So tell us your side,��� he said.
���That picture is real. I dragged Miles out to dance after his girlfriend made a comment I overheard about Lucas the hotty new quarterback. She and I chatted and thought we had made nice.��� She laughed. ���I guess not. We���ve had to deal with that for the entire season, we even broke up. But then we figured out her game��� she said and smiled at him, ���We are stronger now than ever. Check out this ring,��� she smiled. ���So Lucas, the bad boy here, asked me not to say anything to Miles. He wanted Miles to have a clear head when the scouts came and while playing for Syracuse. Miles sent us a message in Florida, and we met up at a dance club. He had seen Jenny acting weird and asked me to dance. Unfortunately, he asked me, and I told him the truth. I think Miles kissed me to make her jealous, and it worked, well on Lucas anyway.��� She said looking down. ���He was over last night and apologized, and we accepted his apology.������ She smiled at him, ���Right Miles, we���re all good now?��� He shook his head yes and smiled. ���Lucas is a rock star on the field. He���s a selfless person, and I���m sure even Miles can attest to that. He���s a team player. He even puts the toilet seat down,��� she laughed. ���So SU fans don���t be alarmed, last season was really good, but my fine, fine boy here is going to make next season the best season yet. No pressure,��� she smiled at Lucas.
���Wow��� well ��� I guess that clears things up��� the anchor said. ���You two have anything to say?���
���I want to go on the record that I���m sorry, and it was completely out of character for me to act like that,��� Miles said.
���How about you, Lucas?��� he asked.
���Apology accepted. Now if you���ll excuse me, and if it���s alright with Tessa, I���m going to take her home and go all caveman on her,��� he stood up and took their mic���s off she smiled and his arm over his shoulder and took off.
They got in the car, and he looked at her.
���Thank you,��� he kissed her. ���You���re the best, do you know that?���
���I���m so glad you aren���t annoyed,��� she sighed.
* * *
They watched the interview on TV.
���Look at us! All grown up and on TV,��� she laughed.
The door bell rang, and Lucas jumped up and answered the door. He brought in a basket of flowers. ���It says they���re for you.���
She opened the card and laughed, ���It���s from Coach Brown, welcome to the team.���
Coach Brown took care of the Jenny issue, she wasn���t sure how��� but she was SO thankful
* * *
She woke up, and Lucas was in the shower, she didn���t ask anymore if she could join him it was just something she did. She liked when he washed her hair but what followed she loved.
���Do you think we could go to Jade and Ryan���s today?���
He looked at her and smiled softly, ���Of Course.���
They drove quietly, and she held his hand. It had been a year since the accident and Little Luke was five months old.
���Should we stop and get flowers?��� she asked. ���Or would that be too much?���
���Why don���t we grab some stuff to make lunch, could you text them and let them know?���
Ryan opened the door, and they walked in Jade���s eyes were red.
���Thanks for stopping over,��� Ryan said.
Tessa hugged Jade, ���Where is that little man?���
���He���s sleeping, we had a long night, he���s gotten teeth,��� she touched her breast, ���Ouch.���
* * *
Tessa and Jade made lunch and Ryan walked in, ���The Lane���s called and want to stop over. I told them it was alright.���
���Of course,��� Jade said, ���Thank God you cook for an army.���
Lucas walked out holding baby Lukie. ���Say Hi to Aunt Tessa.���
She took a deep breath and stared at him, she smiled it had been far too long, she thought. She didn���t think it would sting, but it did. He saw her eyes and knew she was hurting. He kissed her, and she smiled.
���Come here little chunk- a- munk,���
� she smiled.
���We saw you two on TV,��� Ryan laughed.
���Yeah, thank God Tessa stepped up,��� Lucas laughed. ���I���m not sure what I would���ve done.���
She walked around chatting with baby as he smiled and cooed. She saw his teeth and smiled.
���You have baby buckies��� she laughed.
Jade watched them, and she felt very sad for Tessa.
���How are you doing?��� she asked quietly.
���Good, but how are you today?��� Tessa asked.
���It���s been a year Tessa, I can���t believe it���s been a year,��� Jade said quietly.
Tessa held her hand and remembered how much things had changed since that day. The pain, the anger, the tears. Looking at baby Luke lessened the hurt but didn���t take away the memories. Tessa knew for Jade it had to be ten times as emotional she felt.
Things between the Lane���s had gotten better ��� they had eased up. Ryan and Jade had them over once every two weeks for lunch. They knew Jade and Ryan were great with their grandchild.
After lunch, Lucas and Tessa left so that Jade and Ryan could be alone with the Lane���s.
���Lucas do you want to go to the cemetery?��� She asked as they walked to the SUV.
���I do,��� he squeezed her hand.
They stood and looked at the stone without saying a word. Tessa wrapped her arm around his waist.
���Do you want to say something to him?���
���Like what?��� he rolled his eyes.
���Hey Tommy��� we just visited your son, you���ll be happy to know Jade named him Luke. He���s beautiful and looks just like you. He has two new teeth and is very very happy. Jade misses you, but she and Ryan love each other and are taking good care of your son and each other. Your parents visit him and love him, too. They���re getting along knowing that���s what you would���ve wanted. Lucas misses you too Tommy, very much. You should see him on the field; he���s a rock star out there. We know that this is for us. Your shell may be here, but your soul is high above us watching us every day.��� She looked at him, and he was still staring at the ground.
