Tagged for Life

by Sam Destiny

  “I’m just … well… I’d call myself unorganized,” she admitted.

  “Messy,” he corrected with a grin.

  “No, just … not so tidy,” she protested.

  “Yeah, I understand,” he gave back and she turned her body toward him. Tessa knew that tone exactly.

  In the light of the lamp right next to them she could see his eyes sparkle.

  “You don’t even know me. I just don’t clean my apartment every day or put everything away right the minute I don’t needed it anymore,” she explained.

  “Messy,” he repeated and she wanted to say something, but he hushed her with a kiss. It was as if she could still feel his smile against her lips. No matter which fact she had been ready to protest, this definitely made her forget about it.

  “Jazz?”

  He didn’t want to move to look at her. He was holding her tight, all but lying cuddled up on the sofa with her. They spent hours talking, starting with favorite color and foods, or what she liked to do when being on holidays until eventually touching on more serious topics like their goals in life. Tessa had been pretty impressed with Jazz’s ambitions.

  Rising higher and higher in the army ranks had been his dream ever since he joined. Now though he thought that maybe there was more to life than just a good position.

  Playing with her soft curls he couldn’t help but wonder. If he ever found a girl like Tessa here in the US, would he be ready to get married? To cut back on his military services?

  Question would be if there actually were another girl like Tessa out there.

  “Jazz!” she repeated, making him realize that he had lost focus.

  “What?” he asked, finally sitting up enough so he could look at her.

  “It’s five. You might need to leave or you’ll be late for your shift,” she whispered gently. It was obvious in her voice that she didn’t want him to go.

  “I have time,” he replied, moving her enough so she was sitting on his lap again, smiling. He wouldn’t be able to catch any sleep at all anyway, so he decided that he could spent at least another few minutes with her before returning to base, shaving and dressing for the day. He let his hands wander up to her head before gently pulling her towards him, cupping the back of her neck to keep her from moving away. He would go soon, and he would get ready then, but right now he just didn’t want to leave.

  Jazz nipped on her bottom lip, teasing and tasting until she parted her lips on a gasp, allowing him to sweep his tongue into her mouth. He couldn’t get enough of kissing her, of feeling her body close to his.

  She drowned her hands in his hair, gently holding onto him while kissing him back. She was soft and warm against his body and he wished he could stay right where he was all day.

  “I need to go,” he mumbled against her lips, making sure his skin brushed hers while he spoke.

  “Told you,” she replied, kissing his nose gently, then his cheeks, running her fingertips over the stubble on his chin. It made him want to growl quietly.

  “Mmh.” An appreciative sound made its way over her lips, making him think that he should simply skip the shaving during the weekend. She obviously enjoyed his five-o’clock-shadow.

  “I’m never gonna leave if you keep rubbing my chin like that,” he told her, his voice having gone deep from needs he wasn’t yet ready to act upon. There was no denying that he wanted her, but it sure wasn’t going to happen like this.

  Her fingertips brushed over the beginnings of his beard again and he closed his eyes. He wanted to say something when he heard shuffling upstairs.

  “It’s probably Evy. She doesn’t sleep well,” Tessa explained and then moved off his lap. She was hugging herself, seemingly realizing only without his body heat how cold the room had gone.

  “I’m gonna talk to you soon,” he promised while she walked him to the door. He framed her face. She appeared small next to him and yet, he found her to be exactly the right size.

  “Thank you for dropping by,” Tessa told him and he nodded.

  “Whenever you call, I’ll be there, beautiful lady,” Jazz promised, meaning it. Time was slipping away right under his hands. Already they were down to a little more than two weeks to be together.

  “We’ll meet at the party tonight. I’m sure your Monterey friend knows where you need to go. See you soon, Tessa,” he promised, leaning down to kiss her another time, then he really pulled away, wondering why it was so hard to leave her.

  Tessa had just closed the door when steps came down the stairs. She walked closer, wanting to make it look as if she had just come from the living room.

  “Why are you up?” she wanted to know, looking at the dark rings around Evy’s eyes.

  “I thought I heard voices. I was worried someone had gotten inside. Question is, why are you up already?” Evy gave the question right back and Tessa shrugged, brushing some strands of hair behind her ear.

  “I couldn’t sleep anymore and so I figured I would watch some TV, hence the voices you heard, but there’s nothing good on. I don’t know, I guess some of the European time still stuck,” she explained, moving into the kitchen to make a large pot of the coffee. “Talk to me, girl. How are you this morning?” she wanted to know then, looking up at her best friend. Why hadn’t she noticed before how pale Evy was all the time?

  “I’m getting pretty damn emotional … and horny. I swear I’m ready to tackle just any guy. Seriously.” Evy rubbed her hands over her face while Tessa couldn’t hide a secret smile.

  “Maybe you should take the advice I got and just enjoy these three weeks. I’m not saying you should let any guy take you against a wall somewhere, but flirt, be careless for a few days. That doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate drinking or smoking, but we both know this is a good time to stop worrying for a few days. Once you and I go back, we’ll prepare you for being a parent, but until then … try to relax,” Tessa suggested and Evy came into the kitchen, leaning against the counter.

  “I was thinking about giving the baby up for adoption,” Evy rushed out.

  “Oh, no, you won’t,” Tessa instantly protested. Even if she’d have to raise it by herself, she wouldn’t allow Evy to give it up to anyone else. She knew that her best friend would come around to regret that sooner rather than later. Tessa was not going to have it.

  “Tessa, I love my job, I do, and even though I would be ready to walk away from it, I know I’d be brokenhearted, especially since ... I didn’t plan for a baby. And most of all I didn’t plan for a baby from this guy…”

  “I don’t give a flying shit about the dude that got you pregnant. It’s yours. And even if you never ever will or should take anything from him, this is your baby. You maybe didn’t plan for it, but guess what? It happened. We’ll manage. I swear we will. And you’ll keep that job. I’m personally gonna go and seduce him if we need leverage. This will work out, I promise. Just don’t give up hope,” she insisted and Evy watched her for a very long moment before suddenly hugging her at an awkward angle. Tessa wasn’t the one-night-kind of girl, but she knew that there wasn’t more leverage than that.

  “Would you really seduce him for me?” Evy asked quietly and Tessa shrugged. She knew Evy’s boss and even though he wasn’t her type, he was at least somewhat handsome and well built. She couldn’t even answer though when Evy already shook her head.

  “I can’t believe you’d really consider that,” she whispered and only then Tessa realized that Evy was silently crying.

  “I’d kill for you,” she whispered, meaning it.

  “That’s exactly what worries me,” Evy replied, but Tessa just kissed her cheek, returning to the task of preparing the only thing that would get her through the day.

  “Corporal Connor, we need to talk. As it is, with the Ebola-crisis going on right now it looks like we might be able to deploy you even sooner than we thought. It’s still gonna take a few months, but prepare to be gone by March. I really want you to advance further with your career. Which reminds me, we have some Whit
e House people coming in to take a look at the base and our work. Just no-names, but White House nonetheless. I want you to change into your uniform and then we’ll meet at the front gate. You’ll be able to make contacts. I think some of them might go high up one day, so even though you are here for the Army, it’s time to talk Politics, Corporal,” his Sergeant told him and Jazz nodded, staying quiet.

  “A tour, a question-and-answer-session, lunch, a parade and then we’ll have dinner with them. This affair should be over by ten, maybe eleven tonight. Afterwards your name will be known a little better. Do this right and I’m sure you can go further than we ever imagined.” The Sergeant slapped him on the back and then turned around to march away.

  “I think your date just got cancelled,” Tank remarked, appearing next to him with a cloth and grimy hands.

  “Just take my damn invitation and get the girls in. I’ll try to make it. I’ll just show up in uniform,” Jazz said and Tank stared at him, wanting to protest, but one look from Jazz silenced him.

  “Fine. By the way, you realize you need to bring someone else still, right? There are five girls,” Tank announced and Jazz stared at him. He had not thought about that.

  “Fuck,” he cursed and his best friend sighed.

  “I talked to Jonas. He’s coming and he’ll be someone nice to talk to and something to look at,” Tank explained and Jazz felt relief pouring through him. He didn’t even want to think about the girl that maybe wouldn’t have been able to enter.

  “Thank you. I’m gonna go and change.”

  “Are you gonna tell your girl?” Tank called after him and Jazz thought about that, figuring that he’d just give her the chance to actually be excited about the preparations. At least he hoped his no-show wouldn’t put a damper on her mood.

  “Tell her I’ll be there later,” he gave back, then he went to change. This was not how he had imagined his Friday night to go; no matter if it meant that he was getting closer to achieving his goals.

  Tessa was glad her preparation didn’t take forever. Instead, she helped put makeup on Emma and Hilary, not being able to stop laughing.

  “Sit down, I’m gonna braid your hair,” Evy eventually said. Tessa knew that the time of the party was coming closer. At nine they were supposed to meet the guys and it was going on eight now.

  “You want another sip?” Hilary asked, handing her the bottle of red wine the girls shared. Tessa couldn’t help but think that she would need the liquid courage, so she took a big gulp, feeling goose bumps spread over her skin. It normally was a sign that she should stop, but that night she was tempted to ignore said sign.

  “He’ll be blown away,” Evy assured her, finishing her hair and makeup in less than twenty minutes, before the girls slipped into their dresses. Against everything Hilary had feared, they all looked amazing.

  Arriving at the venue, Tessa felt like throwing up. She got out first, spotting Jazz’s stupid best friend, but saw no trace of her own soldier boy.

  Introductions were made, but Tessa didn’t really listen.

  “He wanted to be here, he really did. And he would have loved your outfit. You look amazing,” Tank said next to her, but she heard the insincerity in his voice.

  “I don’t care what you think about my looks,” she gave back, being surprised to realize she meant it. She didn’t care about anyone’s opinion concerning her appearance. She had wanted to be pretty for Jazz and now he wasn’t there.

  “We can still have fun,” Hilary said, taking her left side.

  “Hell yeah we can,” Aimie agreed, taking her right side.

  “Plus, did you see the fifth guy?” Emma asked and Tessa looked at the blond sunny boy that had been introduced as Jonas.

  “As if, she only has eyes for Jazz,” Aimie said.

  “Jazz, who isn’t here,” Hilary remarked.

  “Let’s go in. I’m gonna solve the issues at the door,” Tank announced, not even bothering to talk to her again. She didn’t mind that, either.

  Like Evy, he wasn’t dressed up, while the other guys had come as Tarzan, a surfer, a zombie and a doctor. Tessa straightened her shoulders, deciding that she was there to have fun and it was what she’d do, too.

  They got in easy, but at the door Tank held back Evy.

  “You and me, how about we get out? Burger and fries, how does that sound?” he asked towards her best friend and Tessa knew that anything sounded better to Evy than this Halloween party, yet she knew as well that Evy wouldn’t go if Tessa asked her to stay.

  Problem was, did Tessa trust Tank enough to let her best friend go with him?

  The moment Evy turned to her though she had her answer. It didn’t matter that Evy didn’t know Tank. It didn’t matter that four girls were ready to go to a party with her, Evy wanted to get away.

  “Are you gonna bring her by afterwards?” Tessa wanted to know, looking at Tank.

  “She couldn’t be safer if a whole group of bodyguards were watching her. I promise I’ll bring her back better than before,” he promised and Tessa was taken aback by the sincerity she detected in his voice this time around. There was no lie in his words. He really believed them.

  “If she isn’t back by morning or she’s unwell because you did whatever to her, I will stalk Jazz until he tells me where to find you. Then, I’m gonna tie you to a wall in a nice little barn so no one can hear your screams. I’m gonna twist your balls until they turn blue. Afterwards, I’ll cut them off. Then, I’ll slowly take your dick off, piece by annoying piece,” she threatened, knowing she’d hurt him until she was satisfied, even though graphic violence wasn’t exactly her thing. Someone needed to protect Evy, and Evy didn’t do it herself.

  “I kind of like my balls and my dick. I swear, she’ll be fine, little Miss Ice Cube,” he replied and then turned away.

  Tessa went inside before she could talk herself into stopping Evy after all.

  “There’s no need to worry,” Jonas said next to her and Tessa looked at the doctor that should have dressed as surfer boy. “Jazz is pretty stupid for picking his career over you. You look stunning, but then again, he didn’t expect you to dress up for him, did he?” he went on, making her cock a brow.

  “Jazz and I aren’t an item. In fact, he has known me for five days only. His career means everything to him and I don’t think he had much of a choice,” she replied. She didn’t know, but he had sounded so convinced that he’d see her, she simply couldn’t believe that he chose anything over her. Or had he? Even if, this was his life after all, and he couldn’t put it on hold for her.

  “Whatever kept him from you makes this my lucky night,” Jonas went on and Tessa closed her eyes, wishing Jazz would just waltz in and take her away.

  It was close to midnight when Jazz finally got to his car. He couldn’t get a hold of either Tessa or Tank, but he sure hoped Tessa would still be at the party.

  Arriving at the hotel he went into the ballroom and looked around. He had no idea which costume Tessa had chosen. In fact, he didn’t even have an idea as to what the guys had dressed up. He pulled his hat off, sighing.

  “Wow, dressed up as a Navy dude … that is seriously hot,” a voice behind him said, but he knew instantly that it wasn’t Tessa. He decided to let the girl off as easy as he could, but he didn’t even get that far.

  “Actually, he dressed up as an Army Corporal.” That was Tessa. He’d recognize that voice anywhere.

  “Tessa, I…” His voice got stuck in his throat as he looked at her. Whatever he had expected, it sure hadn’t been a character from an animated movie. It didn’t matter though, because she looked breathtaking: The blue, short dress hugged her beautiful curves while the wraparound material shone as if a million diamonds had been strung together. She easily was the most stunning girl he had ever seen.

  A slight blush crept over her cheeks as he kept staring at her.

  “It’s a little…” She shrugged and he realized that she thought he didn’t like it.

  “You look incredibl
e. If I had known you would look like that I never would have gone to that dinner. It was…” She silenced him with her finger on his lips.

  “I’m glad you’re here now. I was ready to go home,” she told him, but he couldn’t get around how beautiful and yet sexy she looked. His heart was racing in his ears. “By the way, you look hot in uniform,” she then added and he nodded.

  A slow song started to play and Jazz led her to the dance floor. He wanted to hold her close, and dancing with her gave him exactly that excuse. Plus, he could show off that she was his.

  “I know you planned a different night. Hell, I planned it differently, but I can’t help it. It was important and…”

  “I didn’t ask,” she said gently. No, she hadn’t, and he loved that. “I know that you don’t owe me either an explanation or any time at all,” she then added and that he didn’t like.

  “You are my girl for the time you are here. That’s what we agreed upon, so you have every right to fuss at me, to demand answers and to expect apologies for having left you hanging high and dry. Just like I’m going to ask if you ever not answer my messages … or leave me hanging. After all, I’m yours just as much for the time we have together,” he insisted, stopping to frame her face so he knew she was looking at him.

  “Oh, Jazz, I just don’t want you to get the impression I want too much from you. I’m not a clingy girl. I know how guys are. I’ve been told enough that guys don’t cuddle and that little signs of affections are a girl-thing. I know I’m not perfect, or daring enough, but this is my holiday. I can be who I want to be and so… I’m not clingy. I’m not demanding. I’m not shy. I don’t doubt myself. I won’t be who I used to be after my last relationship. I’m just happy I have you and will make the best out of this because you make me feel good.”

  He grabbed her chin, a little harder than planned, his nose almost touching hers because he actually wanted to beat up every guy that so far had hurt her with uncaring words. Or actions. And he’d do that right after he thanked them for having left her. After all, somehow the road and brought her to him.