by Mj Fields
“Nice skirt pretty girl” they heard someone yelling at them, followed by a bunch of cat calls and howling. Jade flipped them off and kept walking.
“Damn Tommy was that your girl?” Luke asked pretending to be shocked.
“You’re breaking my heart pretty girl,” Tommy called after her and dropped to his knees.
Jade turned around and smiled and shook her head.
~
They ran to the state park that bordered the property, including the one hundred plus stairs at least ten times. “This is like basic training ladies,” Coach V yelled at them. “It will show us who is varsity field hockey material and who is not. If it’s not for you don’t bother coming back tomorrow! Half of you will make it through the next two weeks and the others will walk away. It is not for everyone ladies. We are looking for skill and heart. That’s a wrap, see you all tomorrow.” He excused them and they walked back to the school. They showered, dressed, and walked out to the back parking lot to see if Alex was there.
~
“You crushed me pretty girl,” Tommy shouted from Luke’s car as Luke pulled up next to them and stopped. Jade laughed as Tommy jumped out of the car shirtless, holding his heart he fell dramatically to the ground.
Tessa stood looking at the ground, her phone vibrated and she grabbed it. She looked at her phone, a message,
-You look hot Tessa…LL
She rolled her eyes and ignored it and put the phone in her bag.
“Is that how it’s going to be Tessa?” Luke asked leaning over towards the window flashing his perfect white half smile.
“Oh I’m sorry was that from you?” Tessa asked sarcastically.
“You are not used to this kind of attention are you?” he said trying to hide his smile, “You need to get used to it Tessa, I am going to be watching you.”
“Sounds kind of stalker-ish, LL” she said.
“No Tessa, just someone who admires your assets,” Luke smiled and looked her up and down.
“Wow does that normally work for you?” she said to him and looked away annoyed. “Jade you ready?”
Jade was kneeling down laughing at Tommy, he sat up and smiled, he had a kind smile. “Can we give you ladies a lift?” he asked.
“Sure,” Jade said, “We were going to walk to Tessa’s house.”
“Thank you for accepting,” he said bowing down to her, he pointed his hand to the back. She followed him and climbed in.
“Looks like you’re up here with me,” Luke smiled at Tessa and leaned across and pushed the door opened. She got in and buckled her seat belt and crossed her arms over herself.
Jade and Tommy were in the back of the car. Tessa looked back and saw them laughing as Tommy pointed to the clouds through the side window resting his head on her shoulder.
“That one looks like a monkey,” he said “Do you like animals?” he asked.
“Yes, I do, why?” Jade asked.
“Just wondering? I want to know everything about you, you are perfect on the outside, and funny, I just want to know you pretty girl, is that alright?” He asked.
“I guess so,” she smiled, “Since you asked so nicely.”
“I told you Jade,” he continued, “I always will.”
They drove down Main Street and Luke saw a blonde looking towards his car “Oh shit,” he said, “Don’t ask questions, bend down and hide.” Tessa did and waited there till he told her it was okay to sit up. “Sorry Tessa, crazy ex.”
Tessa rolled her eyes “That will not happen again,” This is so uncomfortable, she thought.
Jade and Tommy talked and laughed the rest of the way. She looked happy. Jade tapped on Luke’s shoulder “Could you pull up this road and let us off, I don’t want my aunt and uncle to get upset about us riding with you guys.”
Luke pulled over and reached across the car and pushed the release on her seat belt, his hand stayed on her leg for a moment before she started to get out, “Tessa I think you’re hot, and you’d have to agree I am not bad on the eyes either, think about it. I would love to spend time with you Tessa Ross,” he squeezed her hand and she jumped out.
“Thank you for the ride,” Tessa said, she shook her head and waited for Jade.
Tommy gave Jade his hand as she jumped out, he smiled at her, “Come to my game this weekend” he asked.
“My cousin play’s Tommy, I will be there,” she smiled.
“Oh that’s right, well when I make a touchdown and hold my hand like this,” he grinned making his fingers into a J, “you know I will be thinking of you pretty girl.”
She laughed and walked towards Tessa. “He is so cute, and funny, and he really likes me” Jade said grinning ear to ear. She talked the whole way home about the J when he made a touchdown and how he called her pretty girl. She liked this boy.
What does this Tommy have a parrot fetish Tessa wondered? They walked into the farm house and there were suit cases in the kitchen, Jade gave Tessa a questioning look, Tessa shrugged her shoulders. She knew it was coming but wasn’t thinking it would be this soon. Jade called her dad for a ride and he answered from the barn, “I am here with John,” he said “Meet me at the truck.”
“Dad’s waiting outside, call me later Tessa,” Jade gave her a hug and walked out.
~
Tessa’s parents sat the kids down at the table and told them they needed a break from one another, but it was nothing to do with them. Maggie had an apartment about ten miles away and was going there tonight. The kids were going to stay at home for the week to not disrupt school. They did not get to or have to choose who they stayed with. There was no discussion or choices about this, as in most cases the adults in the situation made the decisions. Maggie was going to get the apartment set up so for the next two days they were definitely staying at home. Kendall and Jake cried but the others said nothing.
Tessa put her shoes on and went for a walk to her favorite thinking place. She walked behind the barn then ran down the dirt road as fast as she could to reach the edge of the woods. She started down the trail and began to cry. Hypocrites she thought, one love, one marriage, and family first. She had tried her whole life to live up to their expectations and now this. “What the fuck!” she screamed, and it felt good.
She walked down and sat next to the water; she threw stones and watched the water crash down over the rocks. Ironic, she thought. She could see the sun starting to set behind the towering pine trees and decided to head back up the trail towards home. She realized her legs were sore and slowed down a bit.
When she reached the edge of the woods she saw her sister Molly with her boyfriend Cory making out. Damn it this is embarrassing, she thought. She cleared her throat loudly as she walked out of the woods.
“You okay Tessa?” Cory asked.
She shook her head yes and started to jog home.
~
Molly and Cory had dated for three years; he was in his second year of college. He kissed her head and told her everything would be alright, she kissed him deeply, his kiss was intoxicating and took her mind off of what was going on around her. Her mother had told her that morning and she called him, he drove four hours home. She would be going to a college an hour away from him next fall, after finishing her two year degree at a local community college.
“Molly we should walk up to the house, I need people around, and you’re driving me crazy,” She kissed him again and placed her hand on his knee and began moving it up his leg, he was holding his breath and finally let it out, “Molly damn it, stop.” He said. She began to cry, “Hey, hey, don’t cry, I just don’t want it to be like this, and you would hate me,” he said hugging her.
“I hate you right now,” she said pulling away from him, “Now I am embarrassed.”
“Don’t be,” he said taking her hand, he pulled her up and hugged her, “I love you, and I want to, just not under these circumstances.” They walked back to the house arm in arm.
~
Tessa walked in the house and grabbed her
phone. Three missed calls from Jade and two text messages. She ignored them all and started the shower, her third today. She got out, wrapped a towel around her head, grabbed her robe, and ran upstairs to the girls room. She threw on a tee shirt and pajama shorts and walked downstairs. Kendall sat on the couch with Jake and her Dad was on the phone. She put her butt between Jake and Kendall and scooted it back and forth like a broom sweeping stairs, so that she could sit with them. They both had red eyes and snuggled into her as she hugged and kissed them. “So crazy cousin Jade has called three times, I think she thinks we are really upset. We should take a picture of us making super silly faces and send it to her so she doesn’t worry,” Tessa said and they smiled and took about twenty crazy-faced pictures and sent them all to Jade. She finally texted,
-Glad to see your all still nuts, see you in the morning…Jade
“Can we sleep in your bed Tessa?” Kendall asked.
“Well that may be a little tight but maybe we could all get our sleeping bags and sleep on the deck,” she said.
“Could we really Tessa on a school night, won’t Dad be mad?” she asked.
“Look at him. He won’t even notice,” she said. The kids could sense her sadness by the sound of her voice. “But that’s why this is going to be so cool,” she laughed tickling them.
~
Jade knew that Tessa must be hurting, but she kept herself very busy taking care of the kids. She would be crushed if they were hurting. She couldn’t help herself. When they were kids and the cows on the farm gave birth she was always there. One time the uterus came out, the farm help said the cow had cast its withers, and Tessa stayed with the cow for three hours keeping her uterus wet and covered until the vet came. It was three in the morning, and she continued talking about it for a year. Tessa was all heart.
Jade received a text message, it was from Tommy,
-hey pretty girl, I was just thinking about u, T
-what were you thinking? J
-about how much fun I had with you, you are a lot of fun to be around, T
-yes, yes I am :)…J
- I would like to take you out this weekend…unless you have a boyfriend… T
-I don’t know I am a pretty busy girl…no boyfriend…u have a girlfriend…J
-not yet…working on it…T
-well if she will be upset by you taking me out, I don’t think you should take that chance…J
- Oh Jade I am ready to take that chance…T
-I will check my schedule, time for bed, very tired…J
- Sweet dreams pretty girl…T
-they will be now…J
Wow, she thought, he is so perfect, cute, funny, athletic, and into hot chicks, she laughed as she smiled the biggest cheesiest smile. She fell backwards and kicked her feet in the air, he’s working on it. It’s going to be a great year, she rolled over and turned out her light, hugged her pillow and fell asleep smiling sweetly.
~
Tessa’s phone chimed.
-Tessa Ross, do you know how gorgeous you are? I don’t think you do. I want to get to know you much better. If I am wasting my time let me know…Lucas Links.
She stared at the phone and shook her head and threw the phone on the table. She tossed and turned and grabbed her phone and read it again. Seriously, he was pushy she thought, but he was very cute even without the white hat. I can’t do this now. He made me hide, what the hell am I even considering this for? Well at least it takes my mind off this train wreck. She fell asleep.
Tessa woke up remembering her dream. He was smiling at her in her dream, and he kissed her. She kissed him back and she had a ring on her finger. What was that about she wondered as she walked in the bathroom to get ready for school.
Chapter 2
Jade woke and jumped in the shower; she got out and dried her hair. She ran down to her room and tried to find something to wear. She finally settled on a denim shorts romper and a short black cardigan, she grabbed black cowgirl boots and stepped into them. She looked in the mirror and knew she looked good.
Her father yelled for her to wake up as she skipped into the kitchen and gave him a kiss on the cheek, “Good Morning Daddy,” she said smiling.
“You’re awfully chipper this morning,” Jack said.
“Excited about school Daddy, I think it’s gonna be a great year,” Jade smiled.
“You have a lot of classes with Tessa this year?” he asked.
“I do, and field hockey,” Jade said, “How is Uncle John?”
“He is hurting but it’s a very busy time of year for him. I will be there a lot so I am hoping you can meet me there after practice for a couple weeks,” he said.
“Sure, I would love that,” Jade beamed.
The horn honked. It was Alex. She grabbed a banana, kissed her Dad, and ran out the door.
Jade arrived at school early and walked in with her cousins. Tommy was standing at the door waiting for her, “Good morning,” he said. She blushed and waved running up the stairs.
He looked at Alex and smiled, “Your cousin is very cool,” he said sincerely.
He could see Alex was angry, “You better back off man.”
“Sorry, I have no bad intentions, I just think she is a cool girl,” Tommy said as he walked away.
~
Tessa walked in and saw Jade all smiles. Sassy Jade was now goofy smiley Jade. It looked good on her.
Jade reached in her Vera and grabbed her phone, a new message from Tommy. She giggled as she read it.
-uh oh, the cousin is not happy pretty girl…T
-what did you do?!?!?! J
-nothing…just that I thought u were cool…T
-Well he should know that already, lol…J
The bell rang; and the day was to begin.
Throughout the day Tommy and Jade texted back and forth, while Tessa continued to ignore Luke’s texts.
Alex was sitting at lunch with his friends Jeff and Mike. “How are you guys doing?” Mike asked.
“Fine, just busy,” Alex said. “After practice we need to get the hay in the barn because not much got done yesterday, ya know.”
“We can help,” Jeff said smiling.
Alex looked relieved and replied coolly, “That would be great.”
~
Tessa, Jade, Becca, and Phoebe sat at lunch and read the texts that Jade had received. She was freakishly happy. Tommy walked in and bent over Jade’s shoulder and grabbed a carrot off her tray. “Hey pretty girl,” he said as he shoved the carrot in his mouth and winked at her. Luke sat next to Tessa and Tommy next to Jade. Holy awkward, Jade thought.
Luke smiled and whispered, “Your phone broke Tessa?”
“Nope, just been busy,” she said avoiding eye contact.
The blonde, Sadi, and the cheerleaders walked in and upon seeing them sitting there with the boys, they walked by glaring at Tessa and Becca who simply looked down. “What’s going on guys, sitting at the kiddy table now?” Sadi hissed.
“Hey girls, this is Jade,” Tommy smiled.
“Seriously,” Sadi said as she glared at her and walked away.
“Nice meeting you, um ladies,” Phoebe yelled after them. They all laughed.
“So Jade, what do I have to do to win your cousin over?” Tommy asked in a loud whisper.
“Good luck,” Jade said.
“No one will be worthy of Jade. She is the princess,” Tessa spoke.
“And how about you Tessa, how does one win you over?” Luke asked.
Becca and Phoebe gasped; they didn’t know anything about this potential budding relationship. The bell rang moving Tessa to stand and glare at Luke, who laughed. He and Tommy sat and finished their lunch. Luke turned to see Sadi looking at him. He glared at her and walked out.
~
The girls were walking out to practice and the boys stood there. Tommy was smiling at Jade, and she smiled back raising her eyebrows. Practice was going to be a long one today, including first the dreaded stairs and then running back to do skil
l sets. Fortunately, they practiced in the field next to the football players. The boys practice ended. Tommy overheard Alex talking to some team mates about the hay they were going to do and offered him help.
“No fu..” Ryan started, but stopped himself.
“Sure man, we could get it done much faster with extra help,” Alex aid smiling.
Luke and Tommy said they would be right up. Alex laughed, “Those two won’t last five minutes.”
~
They all piled into the truck and moved hay wagons around. Three cars pulled in. Alex watched as half the team piled out of the vehicles. Tommy and Luke walked up in jeans and t-shirts. There were eight wagons to unload into the main barn.
Tessa and Jade walked up the hill from town. It was a very hot late summer day, and as they got closer they saw the vehicles in the driveway. Her Dad met them at the door, “Hey girls you want to go get some jugs of water and cups? Alex brought some hay help. We may have to feed them. There’s a lot of hay,” he smiled and walked away.
“Wow there’s a lot of vehicles here. No way, Tessa is that Luke’s car?” Jade asked.
“I do believe so,” she said shaking her head.
Kendall and Jake ran out and hugged their sister. She grabbed them and kissed them asking, “How was school?” They told her about their day as she walked in to get the water jugs together. They pulled out hamburgers and hot dogs to grill later.
“Kendall and Jake will you guys go out back and grab a couple dozen ears of corn?” Tessa asked. They ran carrying a large basket between them.
“What’s going on out there?” Molly asked as she walked out of the family room taking a break from her homework.
“We have to feed and water the dogs,” Tessa said rolling her eyes.
The first load was done and Alex, Frankie, Ryan, Tommy, and Luke slid down the hay elevator. Jade and Tessa carried out the big green water jug. The boys were all dripping with sweat. Tommy poured a cup of water over his head and shook his hair. Jade smiled wildly at Tessa, as he took his shirt off and drank down a large glass of water. He was beautiful, Jade thought. Great definition in his chest and his abs rippled. He had a little bit of hair going down his belly. She bit her lip and smiled at him, while he laughed and smiled back. He was perfect with his brown hair and green eyes standing about six feet and just smoking hot, Jade thought.