by Sam Destiny
Tagged For Life
By Sam Destiny
Copyright © 2015 Sam Destiny
Cover Copyright © Airicka’s Mystical Creations
www.AirickaPhoenix.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied or reproduced without written consent of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, places or people, living or dead, is coincidental.
Dedication
Sometimes you just gotta let yourself fall and not be afraid.
In the end you’ll fly.
To the brave people that fall hard and fly high:
You are brave.
Stay that way.
Prologue
29th Nov. 2014
Tessa,
My beautiful, amazing Tessa.
It's kind of scary knowing that you are close to me and yet so far away. But then, close is always a question of definition, isn't it?
I've had a lot of time to think over the last couple of days, and frankly, all I really worried and wondered about was how to start this letter. 'Hey' doesn't seem to cut it. 'My love' might scare you off, right? And everything else wouldn't be enough. I figured your name was the best thing to express what I wanted to convey. I can still feel it on my tongue. I can remember the way it would roll off and how it always filled me with such warmth.
That moment before you’d look up at me, was always filled with anticipation because I had a feeling every time you raised your eyes to mine, you were more amazing and I was falling just a little bit more for you.
I know what is between us in the sense of distance and trouble, but I won't lie, when I think of you I feel tall enough so I can look over it all and see you.
There's nothing I want more than to tell you I hope you flying back home hasn't changed any of the things you felt for me. You just... Remember? We both know how that sentence should have ended. You just love me. I can't wait to hear the words from your lips. You keep me going right now. Do you even realize that?
We never exchanged contact details and I don't know why. Maybe things had been just too head-over-heels in the end? Maybe you didn't want to because you thought that I needed to focus on other things. Maybe you thought I wouldn't contact you. Either way, I figure I need to fight for this harder than I have ever fought for anything. That sure means something because I am a soldier. Anyways, I got your address from the front desk. Remember that you needed to sign it? Well, technically the solider did that for you, so maybe it slipped your mind. It certainly vanished from mine. Either way, thankfully Tank reminded me of protocol.
It’s too funny how he suddenly changed his tune about you because he thinks you are what will keep me sane. Little does he know that sane is not what you do to me.
When I think of you I cannot help but feel all warm. I want to be rough with you even while I'm soft. I want to mark you mine even while I hope you'll mark me yours. I want to own you while I want to be owned by you.
I've never been one to write letters. I always hated that there was no response or no chance to see what the person reading thinks while doing so. With you I don't mind. I guess it's because I can always tell myself the letter got lost.
Or someone kept it from you.
I don't know how good I'll be with writing, or how often, but I want to try, because the need to pick up the phone and call you is overwhelming. Not that I have your number or anything...
No matter what's coming our way, Tessa, remember that I'll always be your soldier. Remember that you are the woman who cracked my heart wide open. Remember that you are all I want. There are moments when I think that you are maybe MORE important than anything else. Does that scare you?
It sure as hell scares me. And proves one thing:
I love you.
Jazz
Chapter One
October 2014
Tessa Rowan checked her list for the hundredth time. It wasn't every day that she would be traveling to the US to meet all her crazy online acquaintances. Aimie, Hilary and Emma were going to be there once she arrived. Three weeks of fun, friends and festivities. She hated that her best friend wouldn't be able to join them, but Evy had just gotten a promotion and wasn't ready to leave yet.
"What if we don't get along?" Tessa asked again, hearing her best friend sigh. She was trying to help her pack, but she didn't offer much useful advice. Instead though her best friend seemed distracted.
"It'll be fine. The good thing is none of the girls have met before. I mean this will be new for all of you. Imagine how I'll feel next time I come along. You already know each other and I will be the outsider," she complained and Tessa turned back to her, placing her hands on her hips. As if she'd let her bestie feel left out.
"Please, as if I'd ever give you the chance to feel unloved," Tessa mumbled, grabbing a pair of jeans. For some reason, she was nauseous. In less than twenty-four hours she'd be sitting in a plane, getting away. For years she had thought about that trip and finally it was becoming reality.
“I know you’d never do that, but still, I want to go with you,” Evy fussed and Tessa rolled her eyes.
“And I want your ten thousand plus paycheck every month,” she replied, and Evy grinned, sitting up. That definitely was something she really liked. This probably was one of the few moments where her best friend didn’t look pensive.
“Okay, so I checked you in online. You’ll have a window seat throughout almost every flight. In LA you’ll have to hurry since I’m not able to reserve a seat from there to Monterey. Not that it will matter, because by then you’ll be ready to drop.”
Evy was damn good at her job as a travel agent and therefore, Tessa didn’t have to arrange anything. She had just pulled out her credit card and paid for whatever Evy had gotten her.
“Thank you, I can’t say that enough.”
Her best friend just waved that off, giving her a hug before finally starting to fold Tessa’s clothes and helping her pack. She had so much stuff that she would need six very strong guys to carry her bags. Half of it would stay in the US, since Tessa had agreed to bring chocolate and other goodies with her, but she sure would fill the space with new items in no time.
“I want you to message me once you’ve landed and found Wi-Fi. Remember, roaming costs are enormous. You want to avoid them, trust me,” Evy explained and Tessa felt a little as if her mother had gotten a twin. Between those two it wasn’t hard to feel twelve years old again: “Wear a sweater. It’s California, I know, but it’ll be October nonetheless.” Her mother was worried out of her mind, and Evy wasn’t far behind, even though her best friend would never officially admit to being concerned.
“Keep an eye your bags. You’ll most likely have them checked in all the way, but your handbag and carry-on definitely need watching. There’s a lot of pickpocketing in LAX, but I’m sure you can keep your stuff together. Split your money. Everything you have should be in four different bags. It’s safer for you. Plus, the credit card; keep it where you can reach it and not lose it. I don’t know, sew a pocket into your bra or something,” Evy went on and Tessa turned, cocking her head.
“It’s not my first flight. Even though my last trip to the States was more than a decade ago, I still know overall what I need to be aware of. Besides, I plan on keeping my credit card with me at all times. It’s the only thing that can save my life after all,” Tessa winked, hoping that once she’d start her trip, her calm would finally return.
Thinking about which handbag to take for the flight, and which to pack for use in the US, she threw her favorite black one into the luggage since it was too small for a trip like that.
With combined forces they clo
sed the two suitcases and then sat down on them, sighing. This was it. She had her clothes ready and all she had to do now was wait for morning and her trip to begin.
The moment it was time to say goodbye, the tears started streaming down Tessa’s cheek. It made her realize how quickly life could be over. Even though airplanes had amazing statistics when it came to delivering their passengers safely to wherever they wanted to go, there were enough accidents to bring Tessa to remind Evy that she loved her more than anyone on this earth. She was the sister heaven had refused to give to her.
“I’m going to miss you like hell. No matter what’ll come, you’re the best friend a girl can wish for. I’m gonna text you whenever I can. And I’ll facetime you every night. You work forever anyways, so we’ll have all the time in the world. Please, try to get out of work earlier than you did the last few days though. Actually, don’t. It might make you regret not coming, and regret is something you shouldn’t be feeling. We’ll make sure the next get-together is here, at our home,” Tessa promised, seeing how Evy wiped away her own tears.
“Stop making it sound like we’ll never see each other again. I want you to get out, clear your head and have fun. I know you need it.”
And it was true. Tessa’s life had run in circles for the last three years and her usually calm demeanor had changed into a short-tempered, frustrated one.
Besides, Tessa knew she needed to get away from her monotone routines in order to find out what she was missing. Hanging with the girls seemed to be the perfect way to get her head back in the game and think about what she wanted from life, because even though she always used to have a plan, life seemed to take an entirely different turn. Twenty-nine was by no means old, but she wasn’t the exactly a teen anymore, either, and kids seemed to be a fantasy that didn’t belong in her reality any longer. After all, just the timeline already was difficult: finding a guy and getting to know him enough to maybe plan a baby … that could take years. And then you never knew if you’d even get pregnant right away … nah, children most likely weren’t in her cards anymore, especially since finding a guy seemed impossible. Once burned, twice shy; that was definitely Tessa’s motto since her ex-boyfriend had managed to crumble her self-confidence into little pieces again and again.
Perfect, none-cheating guys existed only in books. Romantic gestures were a creation of the female mind because they were deprived of the flowers-and-candles-reality. Maybe all stories had spoiled Tessa for any real guy out there. She had no idea and didn’t want to think about it any longer.
“We both know I do,” she agreed and then kissed her best friend’s cheek another time before hugging her tight. Her luggage was checked in, her tickets were safely put away in her handbag and her credit card rested between her Starbucks- and her health-insurance-card.
“I want postcards. A million. And pictures. A million-and-one,” Evy whispered before releasing her.
“Everything you want, I promise,” Tessa laughed and then stepped back, knowing she needed to go now or she wouldn’t ever leave without stowing her best friend away in her handbag.
Passing through security, Tessa thought about the last time she had been so excited and obviously it had been too damn long because she simply couldn’t remember it at all.
Chapter Two
Corporal Jesse “Jazz” Connor checked his watch and cursed. He was late. Again. Seriously, picking up his best friend should have been a priority, but Jazz had been caught up with some paper work. He knew he needed to step back at the base, but life just didn’t offer much else. He wanted to go higher up in the ranks and for that you needed to kiss about every ass you could reach.
Monterey Airport wasn’t the biggest thing out there. In fact, it was a rather small one at that, but finding the right gate still proved too hard for him.
Looking up and not watching his way it didn’t take long for him to stumble over a person sitting at the floor.
“Fuck,” he cursed as the blonde cried out in pain. He had caught her by the ankle and with the way her wrist cracked as she tried to catch herself, he worried she had broken a bone.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she mumbled, shaking her hand as if she seriously thought that this would help ease the pain.
“You are sorry?” he asked in disbelief. He had run her over and she was apologizing?
“I should’ve probably looked for a real seat, but they were all taken earlier and I just…” She shrugged, trying to get to her feet. He held out his hand to her, figuring since he was already late anyway he might as well be polite. She had an accent, and Jazz guessed she was a tourist.
“Thank you,” she whispered and then took a deep breath. It was pretty obvious that she tried hard not to cry. Upon looking at her face, he noticed she was pale and seemed exhausted, yet underneath she was a true beauty.
“Let me see your wrist,” Jazz gently demanded and she shook her head, pulling her hand closer to her body. She only wore a top and he lifted a brow, deciding against commenting on that because surely she would have put on a sweater if she were freezing.
“I’m fine. It was my fault. It hasn’t exactly been my day. Or maybe my last days. I … what time is it?”
He checked his watch. Forty minutes late, that was the time.
“You’re in a hurry. That’s okay, I’m fine. And again, I’m sorry you fell over me,” she said, giving him a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked away, bending down to collect her handbag and carry-on, and he saw goose bumps spreading over her skin as she shivered.
Looking towards the gate that was his destination Jazz thought different about leaving her alone.
“Word of advice: It’s cold out there. I mean, not winter or anything, but you should at least wear a sweater,” he suggested and she snorted, looking back at him.
“Oh, really? I wouldn’t have noticed. Hold on, I’ll put on my favorite hoodie … oh, damn, I can’t because my luggage got lost somewhere on the way from London to Los Angeles. And my emergency jacket … that is most likely on some nice plane traveling back to Miami. I could buy a new one, but … oh, my credit card and all my money are in my luggage because I packed the wrong handbag. But hey, I’ll only be here four more hours or so,” she cried out with frustration, her hands shaking as she threw them up in the air. She was clearly a mess … a pretty one at that though.
“London is quite a trip from here.”
“Almost half way around the world,” she agreed.
“You don’t sound British,” he mentioned, noticing how she rubbed her wrist subconsciously; it still hurt, Jazz guessed.
“I’m not. I’m not originally from there,” she explained and then brushed a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear. “You know, I don’t want to keep you. I’m gonna throw myself a pity party and trust me, it’s not the first one where I’m the only guest,” she admitted and he realized that she felt guilty for keeping him. Frankly, he didn’t really want go.
Thomas would not leave without him and he would have to pass them on his way out anyway.
Jazz gently reached for her hand, being taken aback as he felt how ice-cold it was.
“How long have you been sitting here?” he asked, surprised to notice the worry in his voice. Jazz gently probed her wrist, letting go only after being sure that nothing was broken, then pulled off his army hoodie. He wore nothing but a shirt underneath it, but he’d soon be back in the warmth of his car.
Her chocolate eyes got wide as Jazz put it right over her head, not even waiting for any protest. She pulled her arms through the sleeves, breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
“Two minutes. I just need two minutes to warm up and you get it back,” she promised, closing her eyes as she pulled his hoodie up to her nose, burying as much of her body in it as she could. Looking around, she seemed to searched for something. “Ninety minutes. I’ve been here for ninety minutes,” the blonde girl added and Jazz ran a hand through his hair.
“Your pick up forgot you or somethin’?”
he wanted to know, wondering who’d forget someone as adorable as her. She almost vanished in his sweater.
“I … actually no. I got delayed in Miami and they told me I’d miss my connecting flight. I texted my friend that I’d be six hours late, but once in LA, I actually made it even though I had to run. Thus no jacket and no luggage. And since there’s no Wi-Fi here, I had no chance to contact my friend. My carrier actually blocked my phone for international calls and, funny enough, I cannot get that sorted out until I get to a phone. I’ve sure had a day from hell. But hey, only three-and-a-half more hours,” the stranger explained with a bitter smile and shook her head. No matter how pretty she was, Jazz really needed to get going. On the other hand, she was stranded in a foreign country and he was a soldier. Helping others was ingrained into his personality.
Pulling out his phone Jazz handed it to her, unlocking it. “Call your friend. I’m gonna get my buddy before he kills me and then we’ll be right back,” he promised, squeezing her shoulder before walking away. He didn’t worry about getting his phone back. In fact, Jazz didn’t even worry she could get far with it. If he called out for his stolen phone, she would be on the floor before she even got ten steps away.
Reaching the gate he noticed that no one was there, not even stewardesses or airport security.
“Where’s the flight from San Diego?” he wanted to know and a lady emptying a trash can, pointed at something over her head. The board read that the flight was delayed due to troubles.
“There were a few messages on your phone…”
Jazz spun around, finding the blonde girl right behind him.
“If you’re waiting for Thomas, I think you might still have some time on your hands,” she smiled and Jazz couldn’t help but grin. This was a development he definitely liked. “I promise, I didn’t read anything else, it just popped up on screen and I couldn’t help it.” She blushed deeply, holding out his phone, but he just cupped her hand, making sure the girl met his eyes before he spoke.