The Legacy series: The Love series, the Wrapped series, and the Burning Souls series.

by Mj Fields

  ���You look gorgeous and happy. I���m so excited seven more weeks, right?���

  ���Hey Tessa,��� Jessie hugged her. ���I rode in a minivan for 7 hours listening to those two talk about vaginas and breastfeeding the entire way, you owe me! We���re going out this weekend got it!���

  Jessie was shorter than Tessa and had bobbed brown hair and deep brown eyes; her mouth was so beautiful, she had the fullest lips you could ever imagine. She hadn���t known Jessie as long as the others, but they knew each other enough through Lucas���s football friends Jessie was dating one of Lucas���s friends.

  Jade opened the sliding door and looked amazing. Her flowing black hair and big green eyes were gorgeous.

  ���I���m ready to have a great time are you?��� Jade hugged her.

  Tessa smiled ���Of course!���

  Molly, Kendall, Sarah, Cassidy and Becca all piled out of her sisters black minivan. Molly looked anxious.

  ���You okay?��� Tess asked her older sister.

  ���I���m just a little nervous about leaving Sydney with Mom and Dad, but it���ll be fun,��� Molly said with a smile.

  They unloaded the vehicles and went inside. They all chose their rooms and threw on their suits. They decided they were all going to catch the last hour of sun. Sarah and Kendall set the table as Molly and Cassidy helped Tessa get the food off the grill and set out the salads. They all sat around the table and made plans for Friday night.

  ���So, where are the dresses ladies?��� Tessa asked with a smile.

  ���Are you sure this is what you want to do this, Tessa?��� Kendall asked.

  ���Absolutely,��� she said with a big smile.

  They were all dressed in their floor length black strapless gowns and standing on the patio when Tessa emerged with her long Ivory princess waist dress. She laughed anxiously when she saw them all staring at her. Phoebe had her camera and began snapping shots.

  ���This isn���t a funeral ladies it���s a do- over! Once these are gone there will be nothing physical left to remember my near fatal mistake,��� Tessa laughed. ���Phoebe where is the tripod I want group shots.���

  They all stood and did various poses and drank. One with them all bending over showing cleavage, several Charlie���s Angels poses like they had done at Prom, another as they lay in a circle with all their heads together. They were having a blast! She was so glad they were here.

  She looked over and saw Tomas standing on the deck watching them.

  ���Hey, Tomas I could use your help over here,��� Tessa shouted.

  He came over immediately, and she asked him to take some photos. He looked very uncomfortable but agreed.

  ���Ladies this is Tomas, he���s going to help us out,��� Tessa yelled to the girls all half in the bag.

  They walked down to the water, and he took a bunch of shots as they threw water at each other. Finally, they all carried Tessa out and tossed her in the water. They laughed and swam with the sun going down behind them.

  ���Hey Tomas, how about firing up that hot tub, we could all use some warming up?��� Kendall yelled.

  Tomas went next door and did as he asked. He came back over and was on the phone as he lifted the cooler and brought it back to Collin���s deck.

  Phoebe grabbed the camera as they walked over to the neighbor���s house. 90���s music was playing, and Tomas handed them all glasses of wine. The girls all decided to remove their dresses and get in with just their undergarments on. Phoebe asked Tomas to take shot���s and he looked completely uncomfortable.

  ���No, Ma���am, I won���t. If you need anything else I���ll be inside,��� he scurried into the house.

  The girls all took turns taking pictures as they all got in.

  They drank and laughed the Ross girls made up their own words to every song that came on.

  ���Check this out, you���ve been busy doing landscaping over there and he has here,��� Sarah said.

  ���Wow, did you do it together?��� Kendall asked as she laughed.

  ���No, Kendall,��� she scowled as she looked at Phoebe, Molly, and Sarah, who were all laughing under their breath.

  Jade smiled coyly ���Do tell sisters, come on we would love to know what our little Tessa has been up to for the past week with Tomas, who does anything she pleases.���

  The girls all burst out laughing.

  ���It���s not Tomas, by the way, who the hell is Tomas?��� Phoebe asked dangling her feet in the water.

  ���Tomas works for Collin and is house sitting while he is away,��� Tessa gave her sisters as look saying one more word and I will kick your asses.

  ���House sitting or Tessa sitting?��� Kendall asked.

  ���I don���t know what you think is going on, but nothing has happened. Ok well, maybe not nothing, he is an amazing kisser and hot as all hell. But his little business trip, so not a business trip,��� Tessa explained. ���I heard him on the phone with some woman and he said ���Not here I���ll meet you, I miss you too��� in his sexiest Collin voice.���

  ���I don���t know he was pretty into you, holding your hair out of the toilet as you blew chunks last week,��� Sarah giggled.

  ���Well, he has taken care of my drunk ass again since,��� Tessa confessed and started laughing.

  ���Tessa!��� Becca said, ���How much are you drinking nowadays?���

  ���A lot,��� she began to laugh, they all laughed along.

  ���No, seriously Becca��� I just can���t stand to be around him sober. I don���t feel like I���m even on the same playing fields as he is. He is major league hotty, no joke,��� Tessa confessed.

  ���Major League, huh?��� Jade laughed, ���As opposed to National Football League hotty? You���re a sports whore Tessa!���

  Tessa laughed out loud.

  ���Seriously he can���t be that good looking. I mean you���re used to Lucas,��� Jade laughed.

  ���No I don���t think Collin plays sports,��� she started to laugh, ���But I bet he would kick ass at naked twister.���

  Becca looked at the sisters, and they all shook their heads and said at the same time, ���Great View��� and laughed uncontrollably.

  ���Holy Shit,��� Jade said, ���that must be why all our men are drunks��� they just feel inferior when they are around us.���

  They all laughed.

  They stepped out of the water and grabbed the towels Tomas had left. He had hung their dresses on the railing of the deck.

  ���Tomas good night, and thank you,��� Tessa yelled in. ���We���ll be back tomorrow morning for our dresses; can we please leave them here to dry?���

  ���Yes Ma���am��� he yelled from behind closed blinds.

  ���Come out; come out wherever you are Tomas! Don���t be afraid, we don���t bite��� Jade called to him.

  Becca grabbed Jade���s hand, ���Behave you���re not even drinking and you act like this!���

  ���Some of us don���t need an excuse to loosen up girl,��� Jade laughed at Becca.

  They all went next door giggling like they had done together forever. They cleaned up from dinner and went inside to get their pajama���s on. Phoebe grabbed her laptop and popped in the SD card as they all gathered around to look at the pictures. There were so many great shots. They started at the end and worked their way back. They laughed and giggled at the pictures.

  ���Please,��� Becca warned ���None of me on facebook,
my parents and husband would flip out!���

  They kept going back until they came to the ones from last weekend, when the family was all together.

  ���You have got to be fucking kidding me. Holy shit Tessa he isn���t just hot he���s ��� beautiful,��� Jade said as she saw the pictures of them on the lounge.���And he is looking at you like he is ready to take you right there.���

  ���Well Jade��� he didn���t.���

  ���Yeah���that would have been a bit uncomfortable,��� Kendall chimed in.

  ���You think those are hot, check out these ones,��� Phoebe skipped back to the ones he had taken…

  They were all focused on Tessa close up as the pictures progressed. He took so many.

  Tessa���s phone chimed and she had a missed call and a text from Collin.

  Jade grabbed the phone, ���Who might that be,��� she teased. ���Collin���. oh Collin, he says,���

  ���Jade,��� Tessa said as she grabbed the phone away from her.

  She read his message.

  - Tessa hope you���re having a great time with your friends, behave!

  She replied

  - Having a great time, don���t tell me what to do! Goodbye���..stay safe.

  ���Behave, seriously he told me to behave, he is out of his mind,��� Tessa pouted.

  They all stared quietly, and she saw them, she smiled.

  ���Ladies, we are going out tomorrow night and coming back here and throwing a big old dress burning party���behave, seriously!���

  They all laughed.

  They all made their way to bed and woke at noon the next day with pounding headaches. Jade opened the fridge and grabbed the OJ, she popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and everyone moaned.

  ���Seriously have you learned nothing from the boys? This shit actually works,��� Jade handed out mimosas. ���Wish I could join, but fetal alcohol is not something I wish to deal with.���

  Tessa made toast and cut up fruit; they carried everything out to the patio. They sat and ate and chatted about family and work, and then about their men.

  ���Damn girl,��� Phoebe said, ���That is one sweet sign.���

  They all looked at the sign Tessa had made and laughed, it said, ���DOE CAMP.���

  ���Lucas and I may not be together, but we are. No matter where we go or what we do, I hope we can all remember that.��� Tessa smiled.

  ���You mean who we do��� Jade laughed, and they all laughed together.

  ���Are we ready to have a good time tonight?��� Kendall yelled they all responded hell yes.

  ���Phoebe and I will be driving,��� Becca said drinking her water and popping a Tylenol ���I don���t much care for feeling this way again tomorrow.���

  The girls laughed and cleaned up. Tessa, Molly, Kendall, Cassidy, Jessie, Sarah, and even Becca drank mimosas and lay in the sun.

  Tessa���s phone rang, and Jade answered it.

  ���Hello, this is Jade, Tessa���s assistant and stunt double for the weekend,��� Tessa laughed ���May I ask who’s calling? Oh Collin, she���s right here, but if she gets all weird on you, just tell her to give the phone back to me, I can help you out.���

  Tessa grabbed the phone from Jade and got up and walked in the house away from the laughter of all the girls.

  ���Hello,��� she said.

  ���Tessa you don���t sound good, are you ok?��� he seemed very bothered.

  ���I���m actually very good. We���re going out in a few hours, do you know any good singles bars in the area, with music? We want to dance tonight,��� she asked sarcastically as she walked outside and sat next to the girls who were listening intently.

  ���How long have you been drinking. Tomas said you all put on quite a show last night, I think you should stay in,��� he was angry and she laughed at him.

  ���You know what; I really don���t think it���s any of Tomas���s business. I didn���t realize he was my father. I will not be staying in. I���m going to be taking a business trip tonight, you know blow off some steam,��� she went on ���So you enjoy yourself as I���m sure you have the last three nights. I���m going to be shaking my ass with my girls all over town!��� she ended the call, and they all laughed.

  ���Well, if you���re going to be shaking your ass Miss Tessa, we���d better get started on Dolling you up,��� Phoebe giggled. ���I will be in charge of hair and makeup this evening, not sure you���re in much shape to do that.���

  They all laughed and started to head inside.

  ���Tomas!��� Jade yelled across the yard ���You���ve been a very bad boy. When I get home, I���m going to huff and puff and blow that door in, and then I���m going to have my way with you!���

  Becca heard her and walked outside and grabbed Jade���s arm and pulled her in saying, ���For the love of God girl ��� behave yourself!���

  Tessa ignored several calls from Collin and finally turned her phone off and tossed it on the counter.

  They were all ready, and looking good. Short dresses and heels. They piled into the minivan, Jade and Phoebe grabbed straw floppy cowgirl hats they had bought for the bachelorette party and handed them out to all the girls. Tessa laughed and put hers on her head.

  It was 8pm when they pulled into the first place. It was a small seaside bar, a DJ on the deck. They drank fruity frozen cocktails with umbrellas in them. A few of the guys told them about a bar that would be hopping to in a couple hours, a Metallica cover band was playing. They decided to hit a karaoke bar on the way there. They all sang Tessa���s favorite Abba song together and laughed. They danced for hours Tessa led as they followed.

  Jade looked into the back of the bar and could have sworn she saw Tomas, she whispered in Phoebe���s ear. ���Hey is that Tomas? I think he wants me,��� Jade laughed.

  They decided it was time to leave and head to the club that they were told about earlier.

  They walked in, and it was packed, they found a table next to a small stage that women were encouraged to dance on. Tessa laughed.

  ���I���m going to be up there tonight, and you Phoebe are coming with me,��� Tessa hugged Phoebe and tossed back a shot.

  In less than 30 minutes, six of them were on the stage dancing their fool heads off. They had a group of young men gathered around them drinking and staring. The girls thought it was hysterical. They got down to give some others waiting a turn and made their way to the back of the dance floor. Their admirers followed. They danced with each other and the men laughing and having a great time. A cute guy kept trying to dance with Tessa, and she would smile and shake her finger.

  ���No, No, No,��� she would say.

  He was persistent but finally gave up and walked to the bar to get more drinks.

  Tessa glanced at the table behind her and saw him sitting there. Ok, Tessa you���re drunk and obviously seeing things, she squinted and looked again, and he glared at her and crossed his arms. Tessa yelled to Sarah.

  ���Ok doesn���t that guy look like Collin?��� she said laughing ���I am soooo wasted!���

  ���No Tessa that is Collin��� Sarah laughed.

  They all turned to look and he just stared at her, his eyes not leaving hers.

  Someone grabbed Tessa around the waist and began to dance, she turned and faced him, and it was No, No, dude. She was annoyed. She grabbed his arms and lifted them over his head and pushed him against the back wall, swore at him a few times before she turned to walk away.

  Collin turned his white hat a
round and like a storm, he blew past her, Tessa turned and grabbed his arm he stopped and picked her up and set her on the bar stool and kept walking. She jumped and ran and got between Collin���s arm and No No���s face.

  ���Collin don���t, please don���t, I already took care of it.���

  ���Beg me,��� he said looking at her, his eyes irate and dark.

  ���Please don���t, Collin,��� Tessa asked quietly.

  ���What?��� he snapped.

  ���I said please don���t,��� Tessa repeated herself.

  ���Are you begging?��� he asked and she shook her head yes, ���That���s twice.���

  He was angry, beyond angry; his eyes were wide and crazed. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

  He turned towards the girls who stood watching as their jaws dropped.

  ���Ladies,��� he said, ���who���s driving?���

  They pointed to Jade and Phoebe.

  ���Good, she���s had a long night. She���ll be leaving with me. Tomas is the car out front? Please see that these ladies get home, soon!��� he walked out.

  They all followed.

  He placed her in the car and shut the door. They all stood watching. She pushed the button and locked the doors. He tapped on the glass.

  ���Tessa, open the door,��� she shook her head no ���Tessa open the fucking door now!���

  Tessa flipped him off.

  ���Are you begging, Collin?��� she asked mockingly.

  ���I am going to ask you one more time to unlock the door and then I���m going to smash the fucking window in,��� she glared at him and he back at her.

  She pushed the button and unlocked the door.

  She looked out the window at the girls and started laughing. They all laughed too. He peeled out of the parking lot and ran his fingers through his hair. She looked in the rearview mirror and saw them following close behind. She reached for the radio and turned it on it was Kenny G.