Tagged for Life

by Sam Destiny

  “You can keep that on,” Jazz told her, finally closing her door and walking around the truck to get in as well.

  “I’m in a car, I’m no longer cold,” Tessa smiled, but her lips were almost frozen into position.

  He closed the door and shortly thought about locking it just so she couldn’t run away. Not that she would. At least he hoped she wouldn’t.

  Just when Jazz wanted to say something about how this simply would not have been what she deserved, she leaned over, kissing him softly. Nothing of her earlier passion was left, but he enjoyed the kiss nonetheless.

  “Don’t worry about saying something, okay? I understand,” Tessa told him, taking his hand, but still not looking at him.

  “I didn’t say anything, so how could you understand how much I wish we could do what you so clearly were ready to do? But no, not here, not now. You aren’t like that, Tessa, and no matter what you think you should be, in the end you’ll realize that it’s not who you are,” he whispered, starting the car.

  “Yeah, true,” she said, but something about her tone made him wish that for once he could actually read thoughts.

  Tessa wanted to be sexy and daring, had even felt like that with Jazz, and still, now she felt nothing but cheap. Not good enough for him. She knew she wasn’t sexy, but for a short moment she had almost believed she could be.

  The drive home felt too long and it was too silent, but she couldn’t help how she felt and he couldn’t find the right words to say to take that feeling away. Not that he knew what she was really thinking.

  Jazz parked the car in Hilary’s driveway and she wanted to get out, but he held her back. There was something in his eyes that made Tessa shiver. He felt bad, that much was obvious, even though he had nothing to feel bad about. She had thrown herself at him as if she knew what she was doing and yet, she should have known Jazz simply wasn’t the type for … yeah, for what? For her? Or rather for fast sex? In the end it didn’t matter because deep down she knew she wouldn’t have liked sleeping with him in a car.

  Tessa turned away from him, wanting to get out, but he pulled her back until she was in his arms, cuddled into him. She closed her eyes, actually enjoying the way Jazz held her and nuzzled her neck.

  “You deserve slow and sweet, and you deserve to know that you’re worth more than a quickie. I swear, I’m gonna fulfill your every wish, but Tessa, you’re elegant, not cheap; you’re sweet, not slutty. You deserve serious and not fun. I’m not sure you know what I’m trying to say, but…”

  Oh, but she knew.

  “Guys like you don’t exist outside of books,” she mumbled and he laughed, chasing away all the cold she had felt since that dreadful moment earlier.

  “Then just pretend I’m your favorite character,” he replied and she turned, meeting his lips in a slow, sensual kiss. Maybe she’d simply stay where she was and never ever move from his side again. Inside his truck cabin she found a happy bubble she never wanted to leave again.

  Chapter Seven

  Hilary was the first one to get up the next morning and Tessa was glad about that. Not that she felt up to a serious talk. After all, she had yet to get a good night’s sleep; however, she thought it was a necessity.

  “Hilary,” she said. Tessa didn’t want her friend to run away again. She just needed her to understand that they knew something was up.

  “It’s serious if you welcome me like that,” Hilary said quietly and then sat down across from Tessa at the table. “Can I still get myself some coffee or tea?” she went on and Tessa shrugged, grabbing her own mug tightly. It was empty, and no longer warming her, but suddenly she felt as if she needed something to hold onto. She was tired and worried, curious and confused, but most of all she feared she wouldn’t find the right words to say.

  “Sure. I’d just like to ask you something before all the others come,” Tessa told her and Hilary sighed, running a hand through the hair that had been blonde when the girls first had talked. It was now a dark brown color, which Hilary had decided on some months’ prior. Between the pictures Tessa was used to and the real-life-version, Hilary simply was damn pretty.

  “Fine, let’s talk while we still have some quiet time alone. What’s up?” she wanted to know and Tessa stared at her empty cup, gently tapping a finger against it.

  “That might be the best place to start,” she finally said. “Where exactly is your hubby, Hils? What did you say he was doing during the time we were here?”

  “He’s at his parents for a week and then out with his friends to do a camping trip. You know, with fishing and all that stuff.” Hilary shrugged and Tessa slowly nodded.

  “You want to hear what I think?” she wanted to know, finally meeting Hilary’s eyes.

  “You’re not gonna let me get away until I do,” she gave back and Tessa couldn’t help but smirk.

  “True. So, I think he left, maybe even before that. I’d say you two had a falling out. Was he cheating on you? A long-time thing or was it a spur of the moment fling? Whatever it is, maybe you should’ve said something because we’re your friends. Or at least we want to be,” Tessa explained, already hearing Hilary snort. “Yes?” she inquired.

  “You try to be my friend, I see. Yeah, especially since you spent so much time with us,” Hilary said coolly and Tessa’s jaw dropped.

  “Excuse me? I’ve spent as much time with you all as I could! Have I neglected you?”

  “Neglected us? All you do is think about Jazz or the next time you’ll see him. We were supposed to be at that party together last night and look at you! You ended up going home without us … again. And the first night we went out, you know, where we wanted to get you and Jazz to meet again, you left.”

  “I went to pick Evy up from the airport! He offered to drive me. You think I planned that?”

  Hilary jumped up from her chair. “What do I know? One day you land and tell us she’s not coming and bam! The next day you jump into the car with him and leave to pick her up. Maybe you did plan that!”

  Tessa could barely trust her ears. “You went to his base and asked him to meet us. I never even knew that. Man, I’m so smart planning this! Besides, this was about you and how you act, making out with guys you don’t even know and worrying all of us. I spent my entire day with you and would never change it. If I had to choose, it would be you guys always. Don’t forget I came for you! You were there when I needed it most and you know that. Can you please tell me what I did? When did I really give you the impression I was only thinking of him? I wanted you to tell me your hubby is an ass and I wanted to tell you that he truly is and you deserve something so much better. I planned on telling you that we stand behind you no matter what. This was supposed to be a talk about how much I seriously enjoy being here and how important you’ve become to me even though we’ve only been online friends. Instead you…” She stopped, taking a deep breath as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks. “You are right though. This was about all of you and I thought I could split my time well between you and him. I’m sorry. And, for the record, your hubby is the biggest jerk out there because he should have never ever cheated on you. Someone who exchanges you for someone else simply is a moron.”

  She didn’t wait for more; didn’t need to hear any more of Hilary’s accusations. She knew her friend was hurt, proving that Tessa most likely had been spot-on about what was up, but that didn’t matter. There was no denying that Tessa was mostly only half way there because she was thinking of Jazz, yet she had thought she managed to hide it well.

  Walking up the stairs, she found Aimie. “You know she was out of line, right? It’s not true, Tessa! I know you -”

  She didn’t let her friend finish, just giving her a smile. “It’s okay. I know she’s hurt. Seriously. I’m just gonna go and shower and…”

  “Try for two or three hours of sleep, okay? I know what you do at night. I’m not stupid,” Aimie said behind her and Tessa only nodded, closing the door to her room behind her back.

  She rea
ched out for her cell, typing a message that actually made her heart feel heavy.

  Jazz stared at his screen, not saying anything. He had no idea what had brought this on. He thought after the disaster of having refused her he had made it up to her.

  Tank, who was playing some video game, finally paused.

  “What now?” he asked and Jazz looked up.

  “Nothing,” he replied, trying to shrug it off, but Tank just picked up a brow.

  “It’s that pussy of yours again, right?” he asked and Jazz wanted to knock him back on his ass, but he didn’t.

  “Actually, she texted me a few minutes ago, informing me we won’t be meeting anymore, so no, not my anything. She just doesn’t have the time and her girls mean more to her,” he explained, being glad that he actually could talk about it. “Besides, don’t call her that. Her name is Tessa.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, but that’s utter bullshit. She was all doe-eyed. She wanted you to fuck her and she won’t give up until you do. Trust me, I know how girls tick.”

  Jazz highly doubted that. Plus, Tessa wasn’t like any of the girls Tank usually dated, so they were no real reference points.

  “It doesn’t matter, right? She was just some chick I met at the airport. It’s not as if I was planning to marry her,” Jazz replied, trying to sound casual. He thought about picking up a controller, too, just to get his mind off Tessa’s weird behavior, but he knew as well that he probably wouldn’t be a good wingman right now.

  “Don’t even think about it. We’d get shot before you shouldered your weapon,” Tank accused, watching how Jazz eyed the controller.

  He had to laugh. Tank really knew him inside out. “Probably, but I’d get a kick out of laughing at your angry expression,” he teased and then leaned back, dismissing the game idea anyway.

  “Why don’t you text her back and tell her you’ll be there tonight just like all the other times? Offer to talk this whole thing over. Women love talking. Besides, when was a woman’s wish ever taken into consideration anyways?” his best friend asked and Jazz shook his head, sighing heavily, before he remembered something he had wanted to mention.

  “Last night obviously. What happened to you and Tessa’s best friend? I never realized you had a soft heart and then I come to the party and find an anxious Tessa asking me if I’m sure you won’t kill her best friend. What was up with that?”

  Tank’s smug expression vanished pretty quickly and he started a new game while obviously thinking about how to answer.

  The gunfire on TV got louder and Jazz picked up a brow.

  “She wasn’t dressed up, so I knew she wasn’t ready for a party. You said she doesn’t eat right. I wanted food. I just thought it would be two birds with one stone, you know? I took her away, did you a favor, did her a favor and I got food. Man, such good food. We went to that -”

  “Since when is taking a chick out doing me a favor?” Jazz asked, on purpose moving so his best friend had to look at him. The gunfire died down and finally Jazz could see the weird expression on Tank’s face.

  “You worried about Tessa because Tessa worried about Evy. Evy was fine last night and Tessa can feel better now. That’s how I did you a favor. She said she’s fine and that she’ll force herself to eat more so she and the baby will stay healthy. I can’t stand knowing some ass would do to a woman what her boss is doing to her. Let’s face it, you can treat girls like shit if they ask for it, but if you have a decent girl, you treat her -”

  “Like decent shit?” Jazz helped out, but Tank just glared at him. He felt obviously very uncomfortable with the topic.

  “There’s no decent shit. There’s shit and then there’s decent. She needed to get her mind off things and I needed to get out of a damn Halloween party. Stop making this about more than it really is,” he snapped, turning away.

  Jazz stepped away from the TV again and sat back down when his phone announced another incoming message.

  “You might as well read it out loud since you’ll tell me about it anyways,” Tank grumbled and Jazz had to grin. Emotions weren’t Tank’s thing, but it didn’t keep him from still talking them over with Jazz. One day, whenever Tank would be ready, Jazz had no doubt that he’d be a great boyfriend … or even husband.

  “It’s not from Tessa. Actually it’s her crazy friend, that Hilary girl. I don’t know how to take her,” Jazz said, admitting out loud what he probably could never tell Tessa.

  “I don’t care if it’s from the Pope. Why would she text you after Tessa told you she wouldn’t see you anymore? Oh my, maybe they had a bitch fight over you and Hilary won you. Maybe if you talk to them, you can have a -”

  “Shut up, Tank! I never once wanted anyone but Tessa. Nothing has changed about that, and I never had the feeling that Hilary would want anything from me, either,” Jazz replied, staring at the name on his display, then opened the message.

  “She told me to drop by now and pick Tessa up, no matter what she texted me. She even said she’s pretty sure Tessa did write something that I’m not supposed to believe. What in the world?” he looked at Tank, but his best friend just continued his game.

  “Chicks. I swear I’ll never understand them. For real, are you gonna go over there?”

  Jazz got up and walked over to his window. And what would he do then? If Tessa didn’t want to see him, what would he say? Another message came and Tank reached out before Jazz could go back to the phone lying on the sofa.

  “I mean it. Come over and pick her up for the whole day. Don’t bring her back before evening tomorrow,” he read out. “Oh, she did end it with a please though,” Tank grinned. Jazz couldn’t deny that Hilary was pushy, but something about this was weird. The thing was, he couldn’t stay away. He wanted to see Tessa and find out what exactly had happened.

  “I’ll be back later. Or I’ll text you. Or … you know. Just…” He shrugged, checking for his car keys in his pocket.

  “Just get away. Being around you turns me into a chick and that sucks,” Tank fussed, throwing an empty chips bag at him. Jazz laughed, then left, wondering the whole drive over what exactly he would need to expect, but he sure couldn’t imagine the scene that awaited him at Hilary’s house.

  The little brunette stood in front of him at the door the moment he pulled into the driveway. She looked terrible and no matter how weird Jazz found her, he went over to hug her.

  She hugged him back, sniffing slightly.

  “I messed up. Seriously. It’s my fault if she texted you. She did, right? I’m not making a scene for nothing, am I?” she wanted to know and Tessa’s other friends joined them at the door, too. They all looked as if someone had died.

  “She texted me that she doesn’t want to see me anymore, so I am guessing you aren’t creating drama for nothing,” he replied, wondering if he’d be allowed to come in. He still hadn’t seen Tessa.

  “Come on in. Right now she’s taking a nap. I don’t think she got much sleep in the last few days. She’s always up first and goes to bed last,” Hilary said and Jazz had to bite his lip to not grin. Of course Tessa was up first. If Jazz had to guess, he’d say she hadn’t gone to bed last night at all.

  Jazz didn’t know if Tessa had told them about his nightly visit, but when Hilary went and started to show him around, he knew she hadn’t. It was better if he simply acted as if he hadn’t seen anything yet. They settled down on the sofa and Jazz felt weird being watched by Aimie, Evy, Emma and Hilary.

  “I’m glad she found you. She looks so much better whenever she’s thinking of you,” Emma offered and Jazz realized that he never had talked to her before. He just didn’t know if she was quiet or shy only because he was around or not.

  “That’s true,” Aimie agreed and Jazz wondered what was up.

  “Can someone tell me what’s going on?” he finally asked, but just as Evy took a deep breath to say something, they heard footsteps descending the stairs.

  Everyone stared at the person behind him and for some reason, he suddenly
dreaded turning around and looking at her.

  Tessa froze before fully reaching the bottom of the stairs. She had slept for two hours and then taken a long shower. Jazz never once had written back, accepting her message without any protest. It hurt probably just as much as the fact that she had to write him in the first place, but Hilary was right. She came for the girls and she hadn’t spent as much time with them as she wished. Plus, Jazz had just proven to her that he didn’t think about her as much as she thought. At least that was what she believed until she stepped down the stairs.

  “Jazz,” she said, her voice breaking at the end, no matter how hard she tried to sound unaffected.

  He jumped up at her words, looking at her with an uneasy expression. She wanted to run to him and hide her face against his chest, just so she could forget she had fought with Hilary. Of course, that led her right back to the reason why he shouldn’t be here.

  “You shouldn’t have come,” she added, but her voice was barely above a whisper. Aimie stood by his side now and so did Hilary.

  “I texted him to come and get you,” Hilary explained, a guilty expression plastered across her face.

  “You were right, Hils, and I -”

  “No, dammit! She wasn’t and we all know that. And please, in order to stop talking around that poor guy who trampled right into our drama, let’s give him a run down, okay?” Aimie interrupted and Tessa had a hard time not to smirk.

  “I’ll do it. I fucked up. Tessa asked me what’s up with me and I accused her of dumping us girls so she can hang out with you,” Hilary said grumpily.

  “Which is the biggest lie ever. I know she stays up at night to spend that time with you, waiting until we all were in bed,” Aimie went on.

  “And because that’s exactly it, I figured he could take you away for the day. I even packed you a little bag,” Hilary finished towards Tessa, pointing at a carry on next to the stairs that Tessa hadn’t noticed yet.