Tagged for Life

by Sam Destiny

  “Be glad if they only get out tongues,” she grinned while Aimie tried to reach over the table, not quite reaching Hilary to playfully slap her.

  “I don’t know about you, but I have never met a guy who acted as selflessly as Jazz did last night. He really must have wanted to spend time with you,” Evy said quietly, joining Tessa in the kitchen.

  “I know, but, to be honest, that wasn’t planned. I didn’t know he’d be there, and I didn’t know you’d be coming.”

  “So you didn’t want to see him again?” Evy wanted to know and Tessa shrugged.

  “I couldn’t stop thinking about anything but him … until you showed up. I mean, now I plan on spending all my time with you and the girls just to make sure you understand that we will handle this,” she told her and Evy squeezed her tightly.

  “Please, you are glowing, sweety. He sat there all night, listening to me sob, and then he hummed and made boring macho jokes to make me smile. He didn’t even know me. He didn’t have any time to get to know you yet and still he was there. If he’s ready to hang out with you, try to enjoy it for a little while. I have no doubt that he could be an ass just like all the guys you met before, but how much of an ass can he be in three weeks? You live on different continents, girl, why not try and enjoy him for the time being? Not ask anything of him but to be faithful in your time here. I know you liked cuddling up with him.”

  Tessa couldn’t deny that and she wouldn’t, either. “He is too perfect to be real,” she smiled.

  “God, I might get a sugar rush with this sweetness. You got a text,” Hilary called and Tessa wished that she had a phone that would actually work here without costing a fortune, since right now she had to rely on Hilary for that.

  “Shut up, what did he write?” She knew that she didn’t have to keep anything secret since Hilary would share it the moment she was out of the room.

  “He and the boys want to join us for the Halloween party,” she announced and Tessa liked that thought a lot. “They actually even suggest a better party than I had in mind. One of the most expensive hotels here has a ballroom Halloween party, so it’ll be something higher class and yet fun. But, if I think about that, you probably won’t go as an ugly witch any longer, will you?” Hilary added, the disappointment clear in her voice.

  “She can do ugly witch for you, Hils, but seriously, don’t you think dressing up Tess for the soldier boy might be better? Let’s make his eyes pop out of his head,” Aimie suggested.

  Instantly Hilary’s expression brightened. “Hell yeah, we’ll turn her into one sexy mama! Oh, oh, how about a Frozen theme?”

  Tessa looked up in horror. She loved that movie, no doubt about it, but she didn’t think there was anything sexy about animated characters.

  “Don’t worry, I love that idea. Hilary, how about you point Tessa, Evy and me towards a costume shop and you two…” Aimie pointed at Emma and Hilary, “You get busy preparing for us to stay in today. Tomorrow is Halloween and we’ll spend the whole day preparing and getting ready.”

  “But we need costumes, too,” Hilary moaned, pouting.

  “We’ll bring you back some,” Aimie promised.

  “Why do you get to go?” Sometimes Hilary could be like a little child.

  “Because I still need some clothes and we can hardly leave people alone in your house. And in a group we’d take forever. Just prepare some lunch and movies and whatever and we’ll be back in no time,” Evy interrupted, making everyone look at her. Tessa squeezed her hand behind the counter.

  “Okay, fine.” Even though Hilary still pouted, she obviously had gotten the message that Evy and the girls needed some time without all of them.

  “Tessa, come and I’ll show you where you need to go,” she announced and Tessa sighed. She had a feeling that breakfast would never get ready.

  “Is she okay?”

  They stood in Hilary’s bedroom and her friend turned back to her.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think she is okay right now, but we’ll get her there.”

  “So it’s something we can fix?” Hilary wanted to know and Tessa leaned in to kiss her cheek. She was more than glad that she knew this girl.

  “I promise, it’s nothing a knife, a van and a shovel can’t solve.”

  Hilary nodded, thinking for a moment in silence. “Call me once it gets serious. I can dig the hell out of the ground,” she then announced and Tessa had to laugh. “Honestly though,” Hilary went on. “I’d prefer it if we could get this dealt with without a body.”

  “So do I, even though I am not sure I want to know what you two talked about,” Evy said, appearing behind them. “I finished the pancakes. Let’s have breakfast and then we can get the costumes and settle down for TV and hot guys.”

  Evy leaned in the doorframe, watching them with a slight smile. She was pale, paler than Tessa could remember.

  “Oh yeah, your way-too-skinny ass needs some carbs,” Hilary said, grabbing Evy’s arm while Tessa followed them down the stairs again.

  “Thank you for having me here, especially since I showed up unannounced,” she heard her best friend mumble, but Hilary, who obviously wasn’t the emotional type, instantly waved her off.

  “Please, you will always have a place to stay if you show up uninvited.”

  “Will you always provide such a hot pick-up?” Evy teased and Tessa couldn’t help but be glad that her friend tried to act at least somewhat normal.

  Breakfast was loud and noisy; something Tessa had missed after living alone for over a year.

  Eventually Aimie, Evy and her were in the car, with her driving. Aimie had refused to drive and Evy, no longer surrounded by so many girls, stopped acting as if she was fine, staring out of the window.

  “We need to talk,” Aimie said from the backseat and Tessa gave her best friend a worried glance.

  “Hilary. I think there’s something very wrong with her. You should have seen her. We were home pretty early because she got totally wasted and then she was all over one of Jazz’s friends. I don’t know his name. Hell, you left, we went inside and I think it didn’t take longer than probably ten minutes and … whoa, I swear, you could have shown up naked last night and Hilary would have still beat you,” Aimie explained and Tessa almost coughed.

  “She knew you were there. We know she’s taken! What in the world is she up to?”

  “Something’s wrong with Hilary?” Evy asked and Tessa shortly looked at her before focusing back in the street. The navigation system interrupted the silence with directions she followed, then she sighed.

  “I knew the moment I was there… I mean, after she eventually showed at the airport,” she explained.

  “After she interrupted that sweet meal you had with Jazz,” Aimie threw in from the back and Tessa glared at her through the mirror because she instantly felt herself beaming again.

  “She’s making comments about how much guys suck and that there won’t ever be any guy who is honest with a woman and…”

  “She’s right, I don’t see what should be wrong with her,” Evy agreed and Tessa sighed in exasperation.

  “But see, you aren’t in a happy relationship. You don’t have a boyfriend. You slept with a guy who’s obviously not smart enough to see that you are made for more than a night. That’s the difference between her and you,” she explained and Evy shrugged.

  “Listen, I didn’t want anything to do with him any longer. I thought maybe, at the worst, he and I would have that office affair, you know? I never wanted to be linked to him with a baby,” Evy explained and Tessa’s eyes flickered to the mirror, looking at Aimie.

  “They will all find out anyways, so she might as well now. I was stupid. I…”

  “It’s okay. I don’t need to know everything. You’ll manage. You’re strong. I’m not worried for you because you have an awesome sidekick. Tessa is going take care of you,” Aimie explained with a conviction Tessa wished Evy, too, would feel.

  “I’m not a slut or anything. He was cha
rming and kind of good looking and…”

  “No one’s judging you. Tessa will sleep with Jazz soon and she doesn’t know him, either,” Aimie said casually and Tessa stomped on the brakes.

  “Excuse me?” she asked, turning in the seat. She was already in a parking lot and, luckily, no one was behind her.

  “Oh please. I’d sleep with him. I probably would have done it the first night already when we picked you up. He’s seriously delicious.”

  Tessa could only stare at Aimie.

  “You said you’re the shy one of the group; that you’re antisocial. I think you’re a freaking liar,” she accused while Aimie grinned even wider.

  “I think you know it’s true and you would have done it, too, which is why you’re so mad now. And I can see you blushing.” Aimie’s playful expression vanished. “What would be so bad about it?”

  “True,” Evy said and Tessa threw up her hands, deciding to not comment. She parked the car, then got out without waiting for the other two. There was no denying that she was attracted to Jazz, but she simply couldn’t see herself having a holiday romance. Besides, she was there because of the girls, and while it seemed they had hidden a lot during their Internet conversations, she still wanted to spend time with them and was excited. Nothing had changed about that, yet by now she simply wished she’d have to think about Jazz only half as often as she truly did. Her friends wouldn’t like it if she always dragged a guy along. Hell, she wouldn’t like it much if roles were reversed.

  Before she even had entered the costume shop Aimie and Evy had grabbed her arm, leading her inside the electronics store next door.

  “We need a disposable cell,” Evy announced and the sleazebag behind the counter eyed them up and down.

  “You ain’t plannin’ on killin’ anyone, lady, right? You and ya hot friends here could probably cause some serious damage with your load…” He acted as if he had breasts, squeezing the air before wiggling his eyebrows at them. Tessa felt like throwing up right there on the counter while Evy leaned over it.

  “Listen,” she said, her voice sweet like honey. “My friend here needs a cell phone so her overly jealous boyfriend from the Army can call her. He’s waiting outside and, you know, he has a pretty trigger-happy finger. He doesn’t like people who sexually assault women. So, would you kind of move your fat ass and get us a damn fucking phone while showing some respect?” she asked, making Aimie and Tessa snicker. Damn, Tessa loved her best friend.

  “Sure, Ma’am. I’ll be right back. What do you need?” He blushed scarlet, no longer meeting the girls’ eyes. It was obvious not a lot of people called him out on him being a pig.

  “How about you make it the prettiest cell for the cheapest price?” Evy asked and he left, only to return a moment later with a golden cell that actually looked pretty classy.

  “Hey, is that your boyfriend stalking towards … oh, never mind, it was another soldier,” Aimie said, on purpose leaning around Tessa.

  Even before Tessa had turned back to the guy he had practically thrown the cell and a SIM-card at Evy, telling her that they’d get it for free if they just told their friends to drop by as well.

  “And what’s with a top-up?” Tessa asked.

  He quickly typed something into his computer, handing her a number and telling her to call it for fifty dollars extra.

  “Thank you. You are such a nice man!” Evy smiled, nothing left of the sinister woman that had just intimidated a total jerk.

  They stepped back out into the parking lot and Tessa turned to her best friend, who was already putting the card into the cell.

  “It’s actually pretty neat,” she mumbled, totally ignoring Tessa while Aimie couldn’t stop giggling.

  “Too bad you don’t know Jazz’ number by heart,” she then said, sounding somewhat out of breath from all the laughing.

  “No need to. Let’s get the costumes and then I can get it back at the house,” Tessa told them, taking a deep breath. She actually liked the idea of being able to text Jazz whenever… then again, what if he found her annoying then? What if he and his friends already had a good laugh at her expenses? She shook her head. He was too good to be true and she was just… herself.

  “Ladies! Looking for some nice costumes?” The little old lady behind the counter of the costume shop instantly came around and Tessa nodded.

  “Frozen… For grownups,” she explained, rolling her eyes, but the little lady was more than excited.

  “I have the perfect idea. You and your blonde hair, you’ll be Elsa, of course,” she gushed, walking away.

  “We might be quicker out than we thought,” Tessa whispered.

  “You comin’, dear?” the woman called and Tessa followed her. In no time she was wearing a tight fitting dress that barely reached her knees, but was covered in floor length see-through material. It sparkled whenever she turned. The neckline was low, leaving her shoulders bare. Even though Tessa was sure that she looked way too round in that dress, she couldn’t deny that it was sexy in a classic way.

  “I think…” she started, wanting to mention how big she thought her behind was, but Aimie and Evy already came around the corner.

  “Oh my God, Jazz will be… I mean … wow,” Evy said, making Tessa blush a deep crimson. She sure would have liked impressing Jazz with it, but she had no intention of running around like a sparkling pickled herring.

  “Here are the perfect shoes to go with it, sweets,” the old lady said, presenting Tess with killer heels that made her want to fall to her knees and pray, they were just that pretty.

  “Okay, that’s settled,” Evy decided, reminding Tessa more and more of her best friend again. She definitely liked this version better than the brooding one.

  “Okay, you…” The little lady looked at Aimie. “Anna. You get the Anna costume.”

  Boots topped off the black and blue dress and Tessa loved Aimie in it.

  “Settled, too. We need two more,” Tessa announced before Aimie could say anything at all. “I just assume you are not gonna dress up,” she then said towards Evy, who gave her a thankful smile.

  “Nope, I’m gonna put on some jeans and dress up a little nice, but that’s about it,” Evy agreed and Tessa squeezed her hand.

  “The ladies aren’t here with you, so I don’t know about what would fit, but those are the rest of the costumes concerning Frozen I have…” The shop owner pointed at a rack and the girls moved over, laughing as they settled for the last two costumes. They were sexy, but somehow they were sure Hilary would still fuss.

  “We’ll bring these costumes back soon,” Tessa promised, paying with a smile. She couldn’t help but be excited. Maybe in the end she’d just switch costumes with Emma since hers was cute, but in no way as revealing as her own.

  “It will blow his mind, Tessy. You’ll look awesome,” Evy said next to her and even though Tessa was a little sad her best friend would miss out on the fun of dressing up, she could totally understand her motives.

  “I hope so. I mean, seriously,” Tessa admitted, then they went back to the car.

  “You think we should talk to her?” Aimie wanted to know on the way back, but Evy shook her head before Tessa even got a chance to reply.

  “Hilary will come to you once she’s ready. Maybe she needs a time-out, something different to occupy her mind. Let’s just have fun and I’m sure she’ll come around,” Evy explained and even though Tessa would have preferred to just ask outright what was going on, she figured for once it would be smarter to listen to her best friend.

  Jazz stood next to Tank, looking at the engine of the car in front of him while not really seeing anything. He was tempted to text that friend of Tessa’s again, hoping she’d pass along his message to the girl that still occupied his mind.

  “I’m getting pretty sick of that, you know? I can’t remember you ever just staring into space. It’s a girl, dude. What did she do to get your panties all in a twist? You don’t even know her,” Tank groaned while Jazz moved next to h
im, bending down to take a closer look at some cables. They looked weird and for a moment Jazz wondered how oil had gotten to them before he noticed that they were actually burned, not greasy.

  “Something is wrong with this car,” he mumbled, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. He wasn’t allowed to carry it around during the day, but he hadn’t been able to resist in hopes of Tessa texting. Just a nice little message saying good morning and wishing him fun for the day. Simply something to let him know that he was on her mind just as much as she occupied his.

  “You want me to answer that damn phone?” Tank growled and Jazz looked around before pulling out his cell. It was an unknown number and he knew that he could get into serious trouble for that, but…

  “Corporal Jesse Connor?”

  The laughter coming over the phone made him hold his breath. Good thing he had picked up.

  “That sounds so damn official,” Tessa giggled and he bit his lip to keep himself from smiling. Tank was scrutinizing him enough.

  “It is my official title, Miss Tessa,” he replied. “I just thought of you.” Tank groaned next him again.

  “I take it Tank doesn’t like your soft side,” Tessa inquired and he could hear the cautious tone in her voice.

  “I don’t care what he likes. I’m your soldier boy, remember?” he asked, moving away from Tank into a corner where he could see his surroundings and not be caught off guard while being on the phone.

  “Jazz…” He absolutely didn’t like that tone.

  “Tessa,” he replied, ready to beg even though that usually wasn’t him at all.

  “The girls are … you saw Evy, I can’t really … this…” She obviously wasn’t convinced of the things she wanted to say, either. “You and I won’t have much time together. I came for the girls and I have a feeling they need this time. You weren’t planned and…”

  There was commotion on the phone, two voices that were somewhat muted, then another person was on the line.

  “Jazz.”

  “Evangeline. How are you?” he wanted to know, hearing Tessa’s faint protest in the background.