by Mj Fields
He sits next to me and kisses my hand. Kendall and Jake come in and squish between us, and then Chewy takes it upon himself to jump on me. I give him a scratch behind his ears as he sits on the floor by my feet.
“Who wants popcorn?” I ask as I pet Chewy.
Kendall and Jake both say, “I do!”
I head out to the kitchen, grab the air fryer from the cupboard, and set to popping. When it’s finished, I bring a bowl into each of the kids first, then come back out and grab one for Alex, Dad, and Lucas.
I toss pieces of popcorn to the kids, and they try to catch them in their mouths yet fail. Then they throw some to Lucas, Alex, and even Dad.
“You are all terrible at this.” I laugh.
“You think you’re any better?” Lucas asks.
“Bring it on,” I joke.
When he does, I catch the very first piece, and then both Jake and Kendall toss me pieces, trying to make me miss. I make sure I don’t.
After all the popcorn is gone, most of it on the floor, I am deemed the champion.
After the mess is cleaned and the dishes are done, Jake and Kendall head to bed, Alex walks into the kitchen to call Phoebe, and Dad walks outside to use his cell phone.
Lucas takes this opportunity to whisper, “You’re pretty good with your mouth, Tessa. First, the whole finger trick, and then the popcorn was nice.” He smiles as he rubs his thumb across my lower lip.
I bite lightly on his thumb. “Next Friday, you and I will find out how good I really can be.”
The next morning, I make ham and eggs, and then I make lunches.
“Did you like taking the bus yesterday, Tessa?” Jake asks.
“Nope. It’s still stinky and smelly, just like I remembered.”
“Yeah, it sucks,” Kendall says.
“Watch your mouth, Kendall,” I say, trying not to laugh.
“How about, two days a week, you ride with us?” Lucas asks.
The three of us look at him, all pretty shocked.
“Are you serious?” Jake asks.
“Why not?” Lucas shrugs.
“Can we today?” Kendall asks excitedly.
“You’ll have to ask your sister.” Lucas winks.
“Do you know they have to be there twenty minutes before us?” I ask.
He smiles and wags his brows. “Uh-huh.”
Oh, I think and can’t help but grin. “Well then, okay.”
When Lucas and I walk in from school, Mom, Dad, and Jake are sitting at the table. I notice immediately that Jake has a black eye.
I drop my bag and ask, “What happened, Jake?”
“Jake was suspended for the day—he got in a fight,” Mom answers.
“A fight … What? How did that happen?” I ask.
“Joel Black punched me in the eye, because I told him that Lucas lived with us and he was your boyfriend.” Jake rolls his eyes.
“Why would someone punch you for that?”
“Joel is Sadi’s younger brother,” Lucas says quietly. “I’m sorry, Jake.”
“Did you punch him back?” I snap.
“Yep, that’s why I got suspended.” Jake smiles.
I hug him really tightly. “Good job, buddy.”
“Tessa, that’s not appropriate,” Mom corrects me.
“Then it’s going to be really inappropriate when I kick his sister’s—”
“Tessa,” Dad warns.
I grab Jake’s face and raise my eyebrow. “It won’t happen again without major consequences, I promise.” I kiss his head.
“I’m so sorry,” Lucas tells Jake again.
Jake smiles. “I’m not. Now Sarah thinks I’m cool.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Ross, Tessa, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, son,” Dad says.
Blood boiling, I stand up and walk outside.
On my way out, I hear Mom tell Lucas, “You might want to go calm her down. You’ve never met Tessa the Terrible, have you?”
Five. I start the countdown as my feet pound against the cracked sidewalk, the kind of crack I want to give Sadi fucking Black—a permanent one.
I round the lilac tree, no longer flowering, and hit the driveway.
I run even faster now, eyes on the field beyond the shop.
Four. I inhale deeply as I run between the bare fields, feet pounding against the hard, uneven, rutted dirt driveway.
Faster.
Three. I push myself harder as I approach the bare cornfield.
“Two,” I pant as my feet hit the overgrown grass.
“Tessa Ross!” Lucas yells from somewhere behind me, and I slow down. “Wait up.”
“Try to catch me, Links.”
I turn back around and run as fast as I can, but he quickly catches up.
“Give me a challenge, Ross.” Lucas smiles as he turns and runs backward ahead of me, mockingly.
“First one to the trees wins.” I fly past him.
“You ready to get your fine ass kicked?” He passes me again.
“Hey Links, I’m no cheerleader. I can beat you. Check this out.” When he turns, I slow down, pull my shirt up, and toss it on the ground, leaving me in just my sports bra.
“Not fair, Ross.” Clearly sidetracked, he stumbles.
I points to my shirt and yell, “You better get it, or I will tell my daddy that you took it off me.”
When he does, I pass him and yell over my shoulder, “See ya at the trees, Links.”
I run as fast as I can, and when I’m almost there, he grabs me around the waist, slowing me down and moving in front of me. I wrap my arms and legs around him as he walks us to the edge of the woods and sets me down. Then he softly falls on top of me. We both start laughing as we try to catch our breaths.
He rolls to his back and looks up at the sky. Then he turns to his side and looks at me.
“I won,” I say, smirking.
He smiles as he leans in and kisses my cheek, my neck, and begins moving down. And then we hear a tractor.
“Shit.” I laugh. “My shirt!”
Lucas gets up, hurries to it, and then holds it up, saying, “Say please or I’ll tell your daddy what a naughty girl he has, Tessa the Terrible.”
“Forget it then.” I stand.
“Dammit, Tessa. Here.” He laughs and throws my shirt at me as Alex gets closer.
“You better stand in front of me and block the view.”
He does. “You, Tessa Ross—”
“Won.” I smile. “And, by the way, you haven’t seen Tessa the Terrible yet.” I kiss his cheek.
“No, but Tessa the Tease … that’s another story.” He smacks my ass.
My jaw drops, and I scold him, “Lucas!”
“Sorry, baby, did I hurt you?” he asks with true concern.
I wag my eyebrows then wink.
“Tessa.” His voice is gravel. “Killing. Me.”
We walk toward Alex, and he begins to lower the bucket. “Mom sent me down to see if you were both still alive. Wanna lift?”
We both hop in.
Lucas looks back and yells over the loud sound of the tractor, “Alex, what are you doing tonight?”
“Not sure. Why?”
“How about you, Phoebe, Tommy, Jade, Tessa, and I go out to dinner? We can all ride in the new SUV. It’ll be an early night—big game tomorrow for all of us.” He squeezes my hand.
“Sounds good. I’ll call and ask.”
“Cool with you, TT?” Lucas smiles.
I smile back. “Can I pick the spot?”
“Of course.” Lucas links his pinky with mine as Alex begins driving faster.
“Good, you get to meet my aunt tonight.” I grin then look back at Alex and yell, “Hey, Alex, we’re going to go to The Spot.”
“You sure he’s ready for that?” Alex laughs.
When we pull into The Spot, Lucas asks, “Your aunt works here?”
“She sure does.” Jade chuckles.
“I thought you said she owns it?” Tommy asks.
“Tha
t, too,” Jade says, grabbing her purse off the floor.
I watch Lucas as we walk into the rundown bar and make our way through the dining area.
The decor is definitely rustic, the tables all picnic tables surrounding a makeshift dance floor. As we walk by each table, almost everyone says hello.
We sit down, and I hear Josie say, “Hey there, babies.”
I watch as Lucas takes her in. Like her bar, she’s also a little bit rough, but beautiful just the same.
She gives Alex, Jade, and myself all hugs and says, “You haven’t been to see me in almost three months. The last time I saw you two girls was when I took you to the concert. You still love Pearl Jam, or have you moved on?” she asks while looking over Tommy and Lucas.
“We definitely still love Pearl Jam.” I tell her with a laugh.
“We’re sorry, Aunt Josie.” Jade smiles. “Been a little busy. This is Tommy. Tommy, this is my aunt, Josie.”
Josie looks him up and down and says “All right, boy, stand.”
Tommy stands.
She looks him up and down. “Nice. Now turn around and let me get a look at that butt.”
Laughing, Tommy turns around.
“You on the pill yet, Jade?”
Tommy looks shocked but, being that we are used to Aunt Josie’s bluntness, Jade just smiles and answers, “No, not yet.”
“You can have a seat now, Tommy. You’re a doll.” She then looks at Alex and asks, “Now, who is this pretty little thing?”
Alex smiles. “This is Phoebe.”
“Very nice to meet you, Phoebe. Be good to him; he’s a keeper.” Josie gives her a hug.
Blushing, Phoebe smiles. “I think so, too.”
Aunt Josie turns to me, smiling as bright as the moon, and shakes her head. “Tessa, Tessa, Tessa, who might this be?”
Before I have a chance to say anything, Lucas smiles that dazzling smile, stands up, waves his hand in front of himself, turns around so she can get a good look at his ass, and then looks over his shoulder and says, “I’m Lucas, the lucky one Tessa said yes to.” He then does one more full three hundred and sixty degree turn and laughs. “Pretty nice, huh?”
Oh. My. God. He did not just say that.
“Hell yes!” She laughs.
“Now you?” he says, making a circle with his hand and causing Aunt Josie to blush. I swear to God that’s the first time that has ever happened.
“You coming up to help out during deer season, and then when the snow starts falling, girls?” Josie asks us.
“I don’t know,” I answer honestly
“I will,” Lucas offers.
“What kind of experience do you have?” Josie asks smugly. “Oh hell, who am I kidding? You wear a tight tee-shirt and jeans, you’re hired. Can you wash dishes?”
Lucas smiles. “Yep.”
I can’t help but laugh again. “All right, I’m in, but we are both playing a sport right now.”
“That’s fine. We can work around it.” Josie nods. “Jade?”
Jade smiles. “I’m a little busy right now. I’ll check my schedule.”
“Kind of a lame crowd tonight, and no one is singing along. Go get them started and dinners on me.” Josie winks at me.
“Dinner is always on you.” I laugh as I stand. “All right. Any requests?”
“Joplin, baby!” She twists up her bar rag and snaps my butt before I have a chance to get away.
Grabbing the cordless mic, I stand in front of a nearly full dining room and wait for the music to start. When Joplin begins, so do I, but I’m focused on the crowd, not Lucas, because I don’t want to feel anxious or nervous about doing something I’ve always loved without giving it a second thought. By the end of the song, though, I find myself singing to him and watch as he sings along, smiling.
At the end of the song, I start to set the microphone back in the stands when Karaoke Joe asks, “One more, Tessa?”
“Sure,” I agree. “Pick one for me, will you?”
I can’t help but laugh when Shania Twain’s “Any Man of Mine” begins. It seems only natural to sing the song to Lucas.
I shake off my nerves, grab a chair, and set it beside me. I then curl my finger, calling Lucas to the stage.
He has no problem coming up and sitting, and I have no problem singing and dancing around him.
When the song ends, I’m surprised when Lucas stands, walks over to Joe, and whispers something in his ear.
As I walk off stage and toward the table, I hear Lucas say, “Tessa Ross, care to join me?”
“You sure about this?”
“Hell no, but I’m going to try.” He turns his hat backward as the old song “Don’t go Breaking My Heart” starts.
Every bit of the nerves I had dissipates when he begins. The boy can sing … Of course he can. I’m pretty certain there isn’t anything he can’t do.
When the song ends, he twirls me in a circle, and we finish with a kiss, the sweet kind.
The crowd begins clapping, hooting, and howling; the loudest obviously coming from our table.
When we get back to the table, prime rib and chicken parmesan are waiting on plates, family-style, in the middle of the table.
Before I have time to sit down, Aunt Josie links her arm through mine and pulls me aside.
“He’s beautiful, Tessa, talented, and the way he looks at you … swoon.”
“He isn’t alone, Aunt Josie. I am head over heels in love with him.”
“Be careful, baby girl. I don’t want to see you knocked up before you graduate.” Josie winks.
I look around to make sure no one heard her before I admit on a laugh. “We haven’t had sex. And by the way, why aren’t you having this talk with Jade?”
“Has she?” Josie asks.
“No.”
“He’s living with you, right?” Josie asks.
“Yep.”
She chuckles. “That’s why I am talking with you and not her.”
Before I have a chance to sit down, Phoebe and Jade grab me and pull me back up to the stage.
I am shocked when Phoebe is the one to request the song, grab the mic, and begins singing Joan Jett’s “I love Rock and Roll.”
When we finish, I hug Phoebe and tell her, “You can sing, girl.”
“Pretty good?” Phoebe asks.
“Damn good.” I laugh.
“We’re goddamn rock stars!” Phoebe throws a victorious fist in the air.
When Alex, Lucas, and I return from dinner, Dad is in the recliner. “Josie called and said she gave Lucas a job?”
I laugh. “Yep.”
“What’s so funny?” Dad asks.
“Lucas has never had a job in a kitchen. She didn’t care, because she thinks he’s cute.”
Dad rolls his eyes and nods to Lucas. “You’ll do fine. Just be careful—she’s a cougar.”
“I’ll be careful.” Lucas chuckles.
“You kids need to get to bed. Big games tomorrow.” Dad stands then walks out to the kitchen.
“I had a lot of fun tonight.” Lucas gives me a peck on the cheek.
“So did I. It was fun. I don’t know why I was surprised that you can sing, but we’ll have to make sure to do that again.”
Chapter Thirty
She looked cute as hell, and sexy, too. Never thought that was possible until her, but right in front of me, with pigtails braided, is five-foot-eight of legs, tits, a tight little ass, the kindest, most telling eyes … I smile. I swear to God above that I’d do anything, including possibly joining a circus, because Tessa Ross is in her blue and white warmup gear, headphones on, dancing and singing as she cooks breakfast for five, as she does every morning. This, in and of itself, makes me love her even more.
She turns and sees me standing there and doesn’t even act startled like she has for the past several days. She just pulls the headphones off her ears, sets it on her shoulders, and smiles.
“How the hell is it that you look so damn hot all the time?” I kiss he
r. “Good morning, baby.”
“I made breakfast.”
“I love you,” I whisper then kiss her cheek again.
Laughing, she says, “You better.”
She smiles as if I’m laughing, and it’s cute, but down deep, I sometimes wonder if she knows just how much. I love her so much that sometimes it almost hurts. Never in a million years would I have thought it possible. I suppose I should have known. Movies, books, songs, poems have all been written on the very subject of love, but it wasn’t until her that I actually got it. I hope—no pray—that she loves me even half as much as I do her, because then I have no doubt that she will be mine, and I’ll be hers forever.
“You wanna listen to—”
“You saying my name over and over again?” I interrupt her.
“Head in the game, Lucas.” She giggles as she walks over to the boom box sitting on the counter and turns on the radio.
“The Billboard top 100?”
“Don’t tell Jade, but I’ve been slacking. It’s kind of our thing. We listen every week, write down the songs that we love the most, and discuss them later.” Her face turns red, and she shakes her head, pigtails bouncing about. “Must sound lame to someone like you, huh?”
“Not at all. Music just sounds better now, I guess. I never had a reason to pay attention before.” Now I feel my face burning. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit something like that. “Let’s dance.”
I grab her hips and pull her tight against me, just the way I like her—close.
Smiling that beautiful smile up at me, she puts her hands on my shoulders. “You know there’s no song playing right now, right?”
“On the charts for four weeks in a row, climbing from number sixty-five to number forty-nine, ‘Linger’ by The Cranberries.”
We both smile.
“Sing to me, baby?”
She begins, “If you, if you could return. Don’t let it burn. Don’t let it fade. I’m sure I’m not being rude. But it’s just your attitude. It’s tearing me apart. It’s ruining every day.”
“The fuck?” I force a laugh. “This song sucks.”
She laughs and keeps singing, and even though the song is not like the one we danced to at the beginning, the one that makes me think of her every time it comes on, “Eternal Flame,” I don’t give a shit, because she’s singing in that sweet voice, while her hands are on me, smiling up at me like I’m something more than a good fuck or someone who gives her clout.
