The water was freezing and did absolutely nothing to help, especially when I thought about the night before, and that morning, and what would most likely happen tonight, and what I hoped would happen for the next 60 years at least. I had a feeling that she wouldn't be easy to convince, but I'd be damned if I wasn't going to try.
***
I was showered and dressed up by the time Benny came back to the suite and hurried into the bedroom with Tess. I heard her gasp when she opened the door and I tried to lean over the back of the couch far enough to get a peak, but Benny was in the way. Trevor smacked the back of my head when I sat back down.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?"
He smirked, "Not sure, but as the big brother, I think I'm allowed to do that… a lot."
We waited an hour before Benny emerged looking elegant with her blonde hair pinned on top of her head and her green satin cocktail dress hugging her curves. She was very easy on the eyes and I wished that Trevor would pull his head out of his ass, but wishing was all I could do.
"She's just about ready. Did you boys make reservations?"
Trevor was staring at her again with his mouth hanging open and couldn't seem to string together enough words to reply.
"Yeah we did," I said and I smacked him on the back of the head to snap him out of it.
"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he snapped at me.
I just laughed and shook my head, "Not sure, but as the best friend's boyfriend, I think I'm allowed to do that."
He frowned when he realized I had thrown his own words back at him, then nodded in agreement. "Touché. Thanks for that."
I didn't get a chance to question him because the door to the bedroom opened and Tess stepped through.
I have had the wind knocked out of me plenty. Getting punched in the gut during a fight is no picnic and in the beginning, it happened a lot. But when Tess stepped out of that room, it was like all those punches rolled into one, without the pain. I couldn't breathe.
Her dark hair was curled and hung loosely over her shoulders and down past her shoulder blades. Her eyes were given just enough of a smoky look that it didn't overpower the chocolate caramel color I couldn't get enough of. It was her dress, though, that really made the cold shower I took earlier even more pointless.
Clinging to her breasts and shoulders and tapering down to flare out at her hips and fall just above her knees, it left everything and nothing to the imagination. The strappy heels on her feet, that made her legs go on for miles, brought up a whole new set of fantasies where those pointy heels dug into my ass as I thrust inside of her.
"Wow… Tess… I-I can't… y-you look… holy shit." I ran a hand through my hair and tugged hard to pull out the images running through my mind.
She smiled so brightly that the air that had been slowly coming back into my lungs was thrust out again.
"Aww, he's been struck dumb by the sight of you, T. And you thought it was too much." Benny shook her head and her finger at Tess like she was scolding a child. "Don't ever forget, I know all about these things. It's pointless to question me."
Tess just smiled and let out a quiet giggle while tugging at the hem of her dress.
I still hadn't said anything smart or even coherent yet and Trevor was still looking at Benny, then darting his eyes over to Tess to scowl, then moving them back to Benny where his expression must have looked like mine. He couldn't decide whether to be upset at Tess for dressing like that, or to gawk at Benny for dressing like that.
"You guys okay?" Tess asked.
Trevor came out of his beauty induced coma first, "Yeah, umm, yeah. Hey, T? I don't think it is a good idea for you to… I mean, both of you… maybe we should just stay in tonight."
"What? Why?" she protested.
"Because we are going to spend the entire night trying not to kick the ass of every guy who looks at the two of you," he bit out. "I, personally, do not want to spend a night in jail because another guy couldn't--"
"No! We are going out tonight," Benny said firmly as she raised a hand to stop him from speaking. "Now, you boys can come with us," she said, snaking her arm through Tessa's, "or you can stay here and regret not taking two hot chicks out who, I might add, will have to end up finding other dance partners because you decided to act like morons."
One of her eyebrows had arched defiantly and sent shivers up my neck. Benny was not one to be messed with. Plus, she made a good point. I was definitely going out. No way was I going to let another guy touch Tess.
She started to pull Tess to the door and I realized I still hadn't said anything to her. I reached out and wrapped my arm around her waist to turn her to me while Benny kept going with a defeated looking Trevor following after her. Tess frowned when I still hadn't said anything even after they left the suite.
"Are you okay, Charlie?"
Her voice wavered slightly and I could feel how nervous she actually was even though she looked like a goddess. She started to pull away and her expression fell. I nodded my head to answer her question and cleared my throat. "Tess, you look… there are no words worthy enough. Amazing, stunning, gorgeous, breathtaking. I can't seem to think straight with you looking like this."
She smiled and stepped back into my arms. She was just staring at my chest and I hooked my finger under her chin to tilt her face up to mine so I could see her eyes.
"Just… promise me you won't leave my side at all. Trevor was right. You two are going to keep us busy, but I want you to have a fun night."
She rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the amusement on her face, "I promise, Charlie."
"Gah, you are so sexy! Don't roll your eyes again unless you want to skip going out and get locked into that bedroom."
She laughed and the sound nearly brought me to my knees. "Let's go then before you change your mind."
***
Trevor was right. The girls must have turned down a million guys throughout the night. Even though we were right next to them the whole time. Isn't there a guy code or something like that? One that says if a girl has her arm wrapped around a guy and he has his arm wrapped around her, she is off limits?
Tess was smiling throughout dinner and laughing with Benny and me while we reminisced about our childhood. Trevor was quiet through most of dinner and kept glancing at his phone with a frown. When I asked him what was wrong, he just said that Ellie wasn't responding to him and he had gotten a text from one of his buddies back home who saw her with her friends. Apparently, there were some guys with them, but his buddy couldn't tell if they were with the other girls or not. He looked like he was about to bolt and go back home to find her, but then I saw him glance over at Benny and he seemed to relax a bit more. He didn't pull his phone out for the rest of the night.
We found a small table in the back of the club and Tess got quiet for a minute. Benny was saying something to her that I couldn't hear and she just kept shaking her head. When she excused herself to go to the restroom, I took the opportunity to ask Benny what was going on.
"Is everything alright?"
She shrugged and took a gulp of her martini, "Not sure."
I narrowed my eyes while she did everything in her power to avoid my stare. "Benny."
"Charlie, you just have to be patient with her. There is really no way to predict a switch or to truly prevent it and with everything going on between you two, her emotions are a little… jarbled."
"Jarbled? What the hell does that mean? She knows how I feel about her. I haven't given her any reason to doubt--"
"That's not what I meant." She took a deep breath and glanced toward the restrooms to make sure Tess wasn't on her way over. "She still doesn't know all her triggers and so far, the only constant she has had is control of her emotions. Any change to that and who knows what could happen. I'm not saying it's a problem. Actually, I think it's the best thing for her."
"What do you mean?"
She sipped her martini again as she tried to think of how to explain it to me. "Okay. Pictu
re a bottle of soda sitting on this table. The liquid has the potential to bubble up and burst out if the bottle is shaken at all. As long as nothing touches it, as long as it's in control, we can assume the soda will just sit in the bottle, right?"
I nodded, not quite sure where she was going with this.
"Tess has all these emotions stuffed inside a bottle, Charlie. She has had control of all of it, on a steady surface with no outside interference to shake her up. Until you. And you are shaking the hell out of her bottle, Charlie."
"So why do you think that's the best thing for her? Won't that hurt her?"
She laughed loudly and gulped down the rest of her drink. "Have you ever drank a soda that hasn't been touched in 5 years? It's flatter than that stomach of yours, and not as nice looking either. If she doesn't get shaken up, she'll end up emotionless. Flat. Indifferent. And no one will be able to pull her out of it. She's got multiple personalities, so what? I'm manic bipolar. Doesn't mean I shouldn't be allowed to feel anything."
It made sense. Tess couldn't keep bottling everything up inside of her. There had to be a way for her to let go and just feel without worrying about what will happen.
"Problem is, she isn't as in control as she thinks."
My eyebrows raised in surprise. I thought Tess had a good handle on things for the most part. "She isn't?"
She shook her head and widened her eyes at something behind me.
"She's on her way back, but I need to tell you. There's not just Lydia and Camryn. There's no way that girl, who has been holding back so much for years, has only two alters to take care of all of her emotions. She's only got stress and anger covered. Don't tell me she doesn't feel anything else. And she needs to start talking to them, Charlie. They need her to. She needs it, too."
"I think maybe I need to go back to the hotel," Tess said from right behind me. She hadn't heard what Benny said, but when I turned to look at her, she looked like she had been put through the ringer.
I stood quickly and wrapped my arms around her waist. "You okay, babe?"
She shook her head and glanced at Benny.
"Has it gotten worse?" Benny asked loudly.
Tess glared at her. Apparently, she didn't want me to know what was going on, but instead of continuing to glare at her best friend, her face softened and her shoulders slumped. "I think I need to get out of this crowd."
I didn't ask her anything else. Benny just nodded at me when I told her to let Trevor know we were leaving and pulled Tess out of the club and got us into a cab. By the time we got back to our room, she seemed a little more relaxed, but a little distant. I wasn't sure what to make of it.
"You want to go to bed?" I asked.
She gazed at me for a while and I couldn't look away. Her eyes seemed lighter than the chocolate caramel I was used to, and looked almost hazel. I didn't get a chance to detail those eyes further because she attacked me the next second. Her mouth found mine and her arms wound around my neck. Mine automatically wrapped around her waist and hauled her into me.
She was so soft, small and fragile in my arms. I felt like I could crush her if I held on too tight. That thought didn't pass through lightly either. I had to hold onto her tightly, I could lose her if I didn't, but at the same time… would I crush her? Would holding onto her the way I wanted make her lose herself?
Benny's words came back to me. I was shaking Tess up more than she had ever been shaken before, but it could be a good thing.
"I'm sorry ahead of time, Charlie," Tess muttered against my lips.
I pulled back, confused and a little anxious. "For what?"
She kissed me lightly before entwining our fingers and pulling me into the bedroom. "For whatever happens tonight that might not make sense to you. I've felt really… off, since this afternoon. Disconnected."
Disconnected.
She had used that word before, but where?
"You seem to keep me grounded so I'm not too worried," she said quietly and kicked off her heels.
I decided not to worry either. Actually, the sight of her hands reaching back to unzip her dress made the decision for me. I stepped into her space and grasped her upper arms, pressing for her to turn her back to me.
"Let me. Please."
Her skin flushed the most glorious shade of pink as she turned around and dropped her hands to her sides. Sliding a zipper down had never been so erotic. I couldn't help but slip my fingers inside her dress and run my fingers down her spine as I separated the metal teeth. She shivered, very noticeably, and that sent a surge of pride coursing through my veins. I affected her and knowing that gave me the confidence I needed to understand how my shaking her up could really be great.
I let the dress fall to the ground to pool at her feet and helped her step out of it. She turned back to me as I got a good look at what had been underneath that bit of fabric all night.
"So, I-I was right," I breathed.
One dark, perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose in question.
"You are trying to kill me. I know it."
The bra she was wearing was black lace, but just barely. It looked like whoever made it, forgot to sew a couple of things together. I could clearly see the hard peaks of her nipples and the rosy skin surrounding them. Her panties matched perfectly and I suddenly realized why Benny had taken my credit card earlier.
I would have to let her borrow it again for a few hours to pay her back for this.
"Benny forced me," Tess replied with a giggle.
Maybe I'd let her borrow it for a whole day.
I don't know how much time had passed as I took in every detail of her. She was exquisite. Her skin glowed with her bashfulness and it reminded me of how innocent she truly was.
She was perfect.
When she started to squirm under my stare, I realized that holding still was no longer an option. Neither was talking. I pulled her against me and kissed her tenderly, conveying every emotion I was feeling into that kiss. She responded immediately and I was lost.
I made love to her, slowly, savoring the feel of her around me. The scent of her arousal nearly zapped my control, along with the softness of her skin against mine. She was breathless as I thrust into her, holding tightly to the last threads keeping me from consuming her. She was hot and tight as her body gripped mine.
"I love you, Charlie."
I heard the snap of those threads just before I lost myself all over again. Those words coming from her mouth were my downfall. She gasped as I lifted her hips off the bed and thrust harder.
When she came, I crushed my mouth to hers and swallowed her cries as I followed after her.
Disconnected? No. I had never felt more connected in my life. Connected with the woman that I would spend the rest of my life worshipping.
Chapter 18
Tessa
Have you ever woken up from a dream that was so real you felt the effects of whatever happened in the dream? For example, I had a dream once when I was in the 7th grade that I had gone sledding down this giant hill and crashed into a snow drift and went flying through the air and landed in an ice cold river. When I woke up, it felt like I had been run over by a train and my fingers and toes were freezing to the point of pain.
I hate those kinds of dreams. Always have. They always made me question reality. Did it really happen and I was just suffering from some memory loss, or was I just going crazy and needed to see someone about it?
Then I learned that apparently, this was very common. Lots of people have really vivid dreams and feel the after effects of it. It's just part of the whole workings of the mind.
The only difference? It was when they were actually asleep and dreaming.
I never realized until now that my mind was doing this to me more than just at night and being the naïve and unknowing girl that I was back then, I wrote it off to being under too much stress. After all, I was always told that I suffered from anxiety attacks and that I had to learn to manage myself better. Why would I assume any differently?
They weren't dreams, though. It was reality. I would be at school and all of a sudden snap out of some reverie that had taken over. I would be sitting in class and the teacher would be in the middle of a lesson that I had missed half of. Charlie always helped me out back then. I would tell him that I had just dozed off and missed half the class and he would laugh at my supposed laziness and lend me his notes or help me with the material. I could never make myself question it.
Maybe some part of me - a deep part of me - knew that it would open a door that would change everything, and I wasn't ready for that. I could analyze it for days and probably get absolutely nowhere and that wasn't something I couldn't waste my time on at the moment.
I smiled as Charlie ran his fingers up and down my arm, forcing goose bumps to rise at his attention. He chuckled at the full body shiver that ran through me.
I don't know exactly what happened after the sound of his laugh, but it would end up changing everything I thought I knew.
***
Charlie
It happened so fast, so suddenly, I couldn't quite take her seriously at first.
Tess sat up with a jolt, the sheet held to her breasts tightly to cover herself. She looked at me incredulously and for a moment, I thought I might have said something awful without realizing it.
Her voice was normal, but lazier. "Qui diable êtes-vous? Pourquoi êtes-vous dans mon lit?"
"What?"
"Qui êtes-vous?" She ran a hand through her hair and huffed, "Je dois être ivre."
"Tess, what the hell are you saying?" I put my hand on her shoulder and she flinched away from me with wide eyes.
Every One Of Me Page 18
