Tagged for Life

by Sam Destiny

  “Okay, now, what happened to your luggage? And to your jacket?” Hilary asked and Tessa fell into her story, not finding it half as bad as when it had happened.

  “Why didn’t you call me when you first landed?” Hilary asked.

  “Fucking phone company locked my network for international calls,” Tessa ground out, still angry.

  “Oh, I had that before. Turn your phone off and back on and it’ll work,” Aimie explained and Tessa didn’t trust her ears.

  “You’re not serious, right?” Turning her phone off and back on she found a signal almost instantly. Blowing out a breath she grinned again.

  “At least I got to use his phone. I swear it even smelled like him. I wanted to eat it. But of course, Hils didn’t answer!” She couldn’t help the jab and saw Hilary glaring at her through the rearview mirror.

  “I called back like ten minutes later and he told me it would take you an hour or so to reach the airport. He sure wanted to spend more time with you,” Hilary reported and Tessa shook her head.

  “What?” she asked

  “Yeah, he told me that you meant to tell me you were coming earlier than the six hours we talked about before, but still later than planned. He even told me something about you still being in the air. As if he had no real idea.” Hilary snorted and Tessa sighed. She wished she would have known because then she might have told Hilary herself that she’d be there only later.

  “Oh well, that topic is done,” Tessa reminded them. If only she could have met him at home, at her airport, instead of a thousand miles away. Shaking her head another time she decided to stop thinking about the hot soldier and focus on the awesome vacation waiting for her. After all, she was wide-awake now, ready to tackle whatever was coming her way.

  Jazz had returned to the table he and Tessa had shared and stared at the seat she had vacated.

  “Next time you order food for me, make sure you don’t eat half of it.” Jumping in his chair, Jazz looked up at his best friend Thomas “The Tank” Michaels.

  “It’s not yours,” he replied, irritated. Usually nothing caught him off guard. He had learned to pay attention when he was in basic training and it had become second nature to him since then.

  Tank dropped into the chair across from him and Jazz couldn’t help but notice how small the table seemed with two grown men occupying it.

  “Obviously, since I haven’t ordered. Man, what’s up with you? You don’t look too well,” Tank remarked, still stealing one of the cold fries on Tessa’s abandoned plate. He made a face, pushing it away. “Ew, they’re cold,” he announced and Jazz sighed in exasperation.

  “Of course they are, she’s been gone for like half an hour,” he replied and Tank leaned forward in his chair, trying to catch his eye.

  “She is gone? Who is she? You and girls don’t exist. I can’t remember the last time I saw you with one,” Tank said matter-of-factly and Jazz moaned. Talking girls with Tank was something you definitely didn’t want to do. He loved girls. In fact, he loved so many of them he never remembered their names. If there ever was a guy who had a girl on every base he’d ever been assigned to, Tank was the one.

  With his short-cropped dark blond hair and the grey-blue eyes he totally fulfilled the expectation of how a soldier should look and it was a hit with the ladies.

  “There was a girl stranded. I helped her. She thanked me and left. The end.” No need to tell Tank that he had given into the absolutely crazy impulse of kissing her. Or that he had almost gone after her to do it again right away.

  Tank watched him for a long moment in silence, then he leaned back in his chair. “What’s her name?”

  For a second Jazz considered lying. If he hadn’t caught her name, Tank maybe would drop the topic.

  “Tessa,” he still said, needing to hear that he’d most likely never see her again.

  “Okay, Jazzy boy, tell me about Tessa and you from the beginning to the real end. You ordered her a burger. In my book that’s as good as declaring your love for her, bro. So?”

  “She waited for her friend and had a lot of bad luck on her trip. Her luggage didn’t make it; her credit card is in her luggage, her money in another bag and her jacket … yeah, well, she seemingly lost that on the trip. She wore a short-sleeved shirt made of some flimsy material that held no warmth at all. She was ice cold when I literally ran her over. I handed her my hoodie and…”

  “I was wondering why you wear your nipples for the world to see,” Tank grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Jazz glared at him. “She was freezing and I’m a gentleman,” he gave back. Tank started laughing.

  “She stole your sweater when she left,” he remarked and Jazz pushed his chair back, getting up.

  “I told her to keep it. That’s not stealing, that’s…”

  “Pussy whipped.” And that was the reason why there really wasn’t any use in talking girls with Tank.

  “Whatever. Let’s get your lazy holiday ass back to base,” Jazz ordered, starting to walk towards the exit.

  “Was she hot?”

  Groaning, Jazz realized that this would be a long drive back, no matter how close they really were.”

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Three

  “You’re up early,” Hilary remarked, entering the kitchen. Tessa sat at the table, holding a hot cup of milk and honey. It was a foggy morning, creating a rather contemplative mood.

  Monterey was a big town if you looked it up on the map, but really it was more widespread, giving it the huge feel.

  Hilary’s neighborhood was nice and clean, and even though you could see your next-door neighbor, you weren’t sharing a yard with them. Down the street, there was a playground and Tessa had no doubt that Hilary knew everyone living in the area. It was nice. She couldn’t deny that she wanted something like that one day. Lifting her eyes to the dew-covered grass outside, she easily could see herself living a happy life there. Sighing, she focused back on her friend.

  “Yeah, sleep evaded me last night. We need to talk, Hilary,” she announced, setting down her cup. The comment in the car hadn’t left her mind, especially not because Hilary had made more of them throughout the rest of the day.

  “What’s up, sweet cheeks?” her friend asked, getting busy with the coffee pot. Tessa actually liked the thought of a freshly brewed coffee, but she hadn’t wanted to rummage through the cupboards, so hot milk and honey had been it for her morning.

  “Are you okay? You seem bitter sometimes...”

  “Cynical. That’s not the same. And I’m always cynical,” Hilary replied, clearly evading a true answer.

  “You would tell me if there was something, right?” Tessa still probed and Hilary sighed.

  “I promise. These next three weeks will be awesome and I’m so glad that there’s no husband around. Seriously, I need the peace and quiet,” Hilary insisted and Tessa knew for sure that this was a lie because if she saw four girls in one house as peace and quiet she was used to far bigger calibers.

  “Okay…” Tessa replied, hoping that once Hilary was ready, she’d talk. “Tell me about everything you have planned for us,” she asked as Hilary settled down across from her while the coffee was brewing.

  “Halloween party, that’s what we’ll prepare for the next week. I was thinking we all dress up according to some theme, you know? And I get to chose is…”

  The way Hilary looked at her made Tessa’s skin crawl. She sure wouldn’t like what was coming out of the crazy brunette’s mouth.

  “Ugly! That’s the theme. We’ll put in fake huge teeth, glue warts to our faces and then go as witches with baggy clothes and all,” Hilary announced and Tessa knew she had been right. “Look! I even already got some stuff,” Hilary went on and Tessa couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head.

  “It’s going to be fun and seriously, we’ll draw a lot more attention if we don’t dress up like sexy bitches, but as evil witches,” Hilary pleaded her case and Te
ssa nodded, figuring that maybe it really would be fun.

  “It sucks that Evy couldn’t make it,” Hilary continued, holding a plastic spoon up as if she wanted to point something out with it. “I had so many great plans for her,” she sighed and Tessa shrugged, looking down at her phone. Thanks to Hilary she had Wi-Fi, at least being able to facetime her friend. So far though there hadn’t been any chance to talk to her. She basically had sent some messages, giving minor details about the ordeal the day before, but Evy hadn’t answered.

  “I can’t get a hold of her. Seems she’s pretty busy at work.”

  “She told me a million times to write her once I picked you up and she didn’t get back to me, either. You think she’s okay?”

  Tessa turned her phone over and over in her hand, thinking back to Evy. In retrospect her best friend had looked like shit: hollow cheeks, almost greenish complexion, tired eyes.

  “Fuck, I think I have been a little too focused on my packing and not enough on her. I should have probably wondered more about her cancelling just four weeks before the trip, but her explanation with the promotion seemed logical. She’s working like crazy,” Tessa reported thoughtfully just when a message came through.

  “Meetings all day, can‘t talk,” she read out loud and Hilary snorted.

  “Someone’s lying to you. She’s avoiding you. She didn’t even bother to ask if you’re all right now and when your luggage will arrive. She’s not the kind of person to think of her meetings before you. You’re her best friend.”

  And it was true. Tessa couldn’t imagine a life without her best friend. After all, if even the online friends noticed how selfless Evy was, there must have been something to it.

  “It’s time she becomes my main focus again. I think I created enough drama for the two of us to last a lifetime.” And that was true, too. Tessa could be a drama queen if she wanted to.

  “You’ve been pretty lonely for a long while and, to be honest, guys can be dicks. I guess I can totally understand why you’d pine for someone you thought would be your life. Or why you’d worry you’ll never find anyone again. You couldn’t know that you’d need another continent to find the hottest piece of ass out there,” Hilary said gently.

  “Hottest piece of ass after your husband, right?” Tessa asked, noticing that again Hilary had switched from joking around to being deadly serious. It was hard imagining that someone like her friend, who was crazily happy married since five years now would be able to understand any of her fears. She was pretty sure she couldn’t understand them anymore if she ever found someone new.

  “Yeah, of course, that was what I meant,” Hilary corrected a little too quickly. Tessa shook her head quietly.

  “Just to mention it, I did notice that you are wearing a certain sweater again,” her friend pointed out, very obviously changing the topic. And damn, it worked.

  “You know I don’t have my own clothes yet, so of course, I need to wear his,” Tessa gave back, pulling the material up to her nose. If she’d wear it any longer, his scent would be gone way quicker than she had anticipated.

  Hilary’s expression got soft while she went and got them both a mug filled with steaming coffee. “Are you sure you don’t want us driving by that army base to try to find him? You could always pretend you wanted to bring the sweater back and pay your dues,” she suggested, but as much as Tessa wished she would see Jazz again, she was too scared of the rejection. If he wanted something from her, he would have asked for her number, right?

  “You seriously would do that, wouldn’t you?” Tessa asked and Hilary instantly nodded.

  “Hell, I’d wear a top that shows a little something, put some makeup and some tight jeans on and then they’d tell me everything I’d want to know,” she promised and Tessa had to grin. She could actually imagine that. “I’d do a lot to ensure that my friends are happy … and by the way you smile when thinking about that boy, I am sure he could make you very happy. I bet he knows how to treat a woman to a good time.”

  Tessa couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She knew exactly what Hilary was aiming at.

  “I’m here for twenty-one days, Hils. And then what?”

  “Sometimes twenty-one days are enough to make you change your view on life. No one says you need to marry that guy. Hell, I don’t even say you need to like him to have some fun with him. And I think you need that.”

  “I think you talked too much to Evy behind my back,” Tessa grumbled and Hilary’s guilty expression confirmed her suspicion.

  “She says you’re too serious. She says you can’t relax. I think some Jazz might make you relax a lot … or I’m going back to my plan B,” Hilary told her.

  Tessa was almost scared to ask. “Plan B?”

  “Yeah, I wanted to get you a BoB to get some action, remember?” Hilary laughed and Tessa felt her cheeks heat. She didn’t mind naughty talk when they were miles and miles apart from each other, but face-to-face that was an entirely different story.

  Plus, she sure didn’t need anything with a battery to keep her happy. Okay, that was a lie; she needed her iPod.

  “You are… ugh,” Tessa fussed.

  “What did she do this time?” Aimie came in, yawning.

  “She’s being naughty,” Tessa replied.

  “What else is new?” Emma wanted to know, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she joined them as well.

  “Come on, you guys! I’m not the one posting half naked guys all the time. Or naked ones. That’s Aimie!” Tessa had to grin as accused girl blushed, trying to look inconspicuous.

  “They are never naked. They are just … covered in see-through material or material that got wet, or…”

  “Material that was forgotten,” Hilary interrupted and the group burst out laughing. Tessa felt herself relax. This was what she had come for and she was glad it worked out so well. The girls were exactly what she had needed to get away from herself.

  “Which of the two cars did you already finish, Corporal Connor?” Jazz blinked at the soldier that had just entered, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

  “Slot two. The car in slot one has a dead alternator,” he replied while Tank looked at him with a questioning expression. He didn’t say anything though.

  “Thanks, Corporal,” the soldier said, grabbing the keys Jazz held out to him. As he got in the truck, Jazz turned back to the paper he had been staring at. They needed to order some stuff, but he wouldn’t be able to remember what if his life would depend on it.

  “Uhm … Corporal, this car doesn’t work.”

  Jazz straightened while Tank came over. “Yeah, sorry, I switched the cars earlier because I thought it would make more sense to have the starting one up front,” he explained, casually wiping his oily hands on a rag. “Sorry, forgot to mention it,” Tank added, nodding towards Jazz. Technically he was ranked lower than Jazz, but whenever it was just them, it didn’t matter. Officially though, Tank had to answer to him with as much respect as he’d offer anyone else higher than Jazz.

  “No problem,” Jazz mumbled, knowing he’d never hear the end of this after the Private First Class left.

  Car one did start and they were left alone in the garage. Tank instantly punched Jazz’s shoulder, making him curse.

  “What the hell, dude? I should be getting your money. You ain’t doing anything here. You aren’t still thinking about that chick, are you?” Tank wanted to know and Jazz rolled his eyes.

  “No, I’m not. I just think maybe it’s time I took a leave for a couple of weeks, you know? Clear my head; maybe hang out with my mom and my sister.”

  Tank reached out, touching his friend’s forehead.

  “No fever. Hmm, must be something else. Are you taking drugs? The Army will kick your ass for that and you know it,” Tank told him and Jazz couldn’t help but notice his friend was being serious for once.

  “I’m fine,” he commented and Tank shook his head.

  “You can’t be fine. I can’t remember the last time you had off. Hell, I
don’t think you ever had time off, not even after you came back from your deployment to Africa two years back.”

  “We were building schools. Why should I have needed a holiday after that?” Jazz asked, irritated.

  “Because you were gone for six months, dude. You’ve been so focused on work, I was suspecting they turned you into a robo-guy over there.”

  “I just collect all the points I need to get my next promotion. I…”

  “I know the drill. I swear the next E-5 opening is yours. People love you here and there’s no one more fit than you, but that is exactly why I’m worried. We’ve been working since seven this morning. It’s three o’clock now and your dumb ass keeps staring at that form. You do remember what to order, right?”

  No, Jazz had no idea at all. In fact, he couldn’t even remember what they had been doing when they realized that whatever was missing needed to be ordered.

  “How can it be three already? I just checked my watch and…” Tank was right though. Where had the day gone?

  “You’re clean. That tells me your lazy ass didn’t work at all today. Care to share?” Tank settled down, placing his boots on the paper Jazz had just tried to fill out.

  “I’m okay. Just tired, I guess. I didn’t sleep well last night.” True, he had been staring at his phone, realizing that it would just take a quick call and that Hilary girl would be back on the line, probably being able to tell him where Tessa could be found. Or that chick would hand him his balls through the phone because she was sure he’d only play with Tessa.

  Pulling down his legs again Tank rested his elbows on his knees, looking at him with a serious expression.

  “That’s the first time I have ever heard you utter that phrase, my friend. You sleep like a baby, and you’re never tired. Hell, I could wake you up at two in the morning and you’d be running a freakin’ marathon. I know you think I never take anything serious, but if you need to talk, I’m here.”

  “You’re probably the last one I’d talk to because I’d never hear the end of it if we shared an emotional moment,” Jazz accused and Tank took a deep breath, obviously ready to protest when he thought differently about it.