Ms. Bitch: Finding happiness is the best revenge.

by Tricia O'Malley

  “True….”

  “You know, I’m beyond ecstatic to see that you’d be willing to try. I’ve been worried for you.”

  “Why?”

  “Between Vicki cutting you out, the divorce, and then you hunkering down in Colorado, I just worried you’d lose yourself. That too much hurt, losing too many people – well, I guess I just mean some of the main people in your life – would turn you cold. And that’s not who you are,” Mae said.

  “I’m scared,” Tess admitted.

  “So be scared. But do it anyway.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Go big or go home, Tess thought, and her stomach did a weird little flip as the plane bumped down onto the runway. She’d found an Airbnb to rent just down the road from Aiden’s place, and had boldly agreed to stay for two and a half weeks. Aiden hadn’t invited her to stay at his apartment, and she hadn’t bothered to ask. There was something comforting about having the buffer zone of her own place, in case she needed to be alone, or if everything fell apart – her own space to lick her wounds. Space was important to Tess, and having just recently claimed her own space in her life again, she wasn’t quite willing to surrender it again.

  The taxi dropped her in front of the apartment, and Tess pressed the buzzer, leaning against the faded red cement wall that surrounded the courtyard. Kids raced by in the streets, and people casually honked their horns at each other and waved a hand in greeting as they drove past. Though many of the houses in the neighborhood were not pristine by United States standards, the trade-off seemed to be a thriving community of neighbors and family. She watched as another group of children ran past, chattering away, a soccer ball clutched gleefully in the ringleader’s hands. At home, kids wouldn’t be allowed to run down the street together. Instead, they’d have supervised playdates in protected backyards, and everyone would be buttoned up in front of the television by dark. The warm sense of family – of community – was palpable here.

  “Hola, senorita, bienvenido,” the owner of the apartment greeted her and let her into the courtyard, showing her around the space. Unfortunately, it was not remotely as nice as it had been portrayed in the photos online. Unsure of how to handle it, but knowing Aiden would arrive soon, Tess just smiled and thanked the man before ushering him out of the door. She wanted a quick shower to freshen up before seeing Aiden.

  If she could call the trickle of water that came from the rusty spout on the wall a shower, that is. Sighing, Tess made do and wondered about the windows in the back of the apartment. Ultimately, she’d stayed in worse accommodations, so it wasn’t a big deal – but there were no bug screens, and it looked like the windows had a hard time latching. Safety would be a concern. Not finding a safe for her passport or money, Tess did what she normally did in situations like this – hid it in a tampon box in the bathroom.

  The buzzer sounded for the front gate, and Tess’s heart fluttered in her chest. This was Aiden, she reminded herself as she scurried around looking for the gate key; she’d been with him before. It wasn’t a big deal.

  Liar, liar, her heart whispered as she went outside and found him leaning into the gate, his hands on the bars, a mile-wide smile on his face. Did the sun just follow this man? His blonde curls were a halo of light, and suddenly everything in her world seemed much brighter.

  “Hey,” Tess said, smiling at him and he leaned forward to kiss her through the gate, not even waiting until she unlocked it. The taste of him imprinted on her lips, and a frisson of excitement whispered through her.

  “Hey yourself,” Aiden said, and Tess unlocked the gate. It slid open achingly slowly, the metal rollers squeaking in protest.

  “How was your flight?” Aiden asked, and then Tess found herself buried against him as he pulled her in for a long hug. She let herself be held there for a moment, enjoying his arm around her, loving how they fit together.

  “Good, all good. It’s nice to see you again.” Tess pulled back to meet his dancing blue eyes. Then she turned and tugged him along, winding through the shared courtyard back to the first-floor apartment she’d rented. She unlocked the frayed metal door and, pushing it open, said, “Welcome. It’s not as nice as the last place.”

  “I’m not looking at the apartment right now.” Aiden whirled and pinned Tess to a wall, taking her under with a kiss so searing she felt herself go liquid.

  “Oh, well, in that case –” Tess gasped against his mouth, his hands everywhere “– the bedroom’s…” But Aiden was already leading her there, his mouth covering hers. They fumbled their way down the hallway and toppled onto the bed. Losing themselves in each other, in being together again, Tess no longer noticed the haphazard room or the broken bug screens. She only saw Aiden.

  “I’ve missed you,” Aiden said, when they lay spent, sweaty and sticky, the fan in the corner lazily blowing the humid air at them in little puffs.

  “I missed you, too.” Tess turned her head on the pillow to smile at him.

  “Tess,” Aiden said, reaching out to brush a curl from where it stuck to her face, “remember when I told you not to fall for me?”

  “That I do,” Tess said, mock-glaring at him. “It was not your finest moment.”

  “I realize that I meant it as a warning for myself.” His eyes searched hers.

  Tess just nodded, unable to speak. Her heart felt the same, but the words were too dangerous. She leaned forward to brush her lips against his. He held her there, forehead to forehead, and they both breathed together, silently acknowledging what was. In agreement, they moved apart, the moment passing them by, and Aiden turned and looked around the room for a moment.

  “The bugs are going to eat you alive.” He motioned to the screen. “I know how much the mosquitos love you.”

  “I know. I’ll have to coat myself in bug spray each night.” Tess shrugged.

  “Should we get some food? Or can I take you to dinner?”

  “Let’s get some food and a bottle of wine and check out the yard in the back. Maybe we could play a card game,” Tess suggested. “I brought cribbage.”

  “What’s cribbage?”

  “You don’t know cribbage? Oh, man, it’s a great game!”

  An hour later, they sat in two rickety folding chairs in the quiet backyard, a few scraggly trees lining the wall and providing shade for them. Tess had brought a portable speaker, and propping her iPod against it, they’d settled on the Black Keys for their music choice. Slowly, she taught him the rules of cribbage as they drank wine and nibbled on snacks they’d picked up in the store.

  It was an easy afternoon, with no expectations, no rushing about, no reason to try and impress each other. Instead, they relaxed, playing the game, chatting idly about life, while the shadows grew long around them. When night finally came, and the bottle of wine was empty, Aiden drew her to his side once more.

  In this perfect moment in time, snapshotted in her mind, there was only him. Only us, Tess thought, and held onto that through the long night as mosquitos refused to let her sleep, lest she dream the impossible.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “Come stay at my place,” Aiden insisted in the morning.

  “I don’t want to impose on you,” Tess said, her eyes puffy from lack of sleep. Bug bites dotted her body and Aiden rubbed one of her legs absently.

  “It’s fine. I have bug screens. We’re going to be together anyway, just stay with me. It will save you money, too.”

  “I’m not sure I can get a refund on the place.”

  “It’s obviously not portrayed accurately online; this looks nothing like the pictures. I’ll talk to the owner.” Aiden leaned over to bump his forehead against hers.

  “You sure about this?” Tess asked, not wanting to intrude on his space, but also not sure if she would want her own space at some point on this trip.

  “I’m sure. It’ll be fine. And if you need time to write, you can work from there – just don’t come with me to the dive shop one day.”

  “Then I’ll accept y
our offer,” Tess said, leaning over to kiss him. “I doubt I’d get much sleep here unless I purchased a mosquito net.”

  “I’ll go take care of it. You pack.”

  Tess beamed after him, hearing him trudge upstairs and knock on the owner’s door. While she gathered her things, which didn’t take long as she’d barely spent any time unpacking, her mind wandered to their easy day yesterday. Could her life be like that? Relaxing with a card game, making love at night, going for dives in the morning? It had been something she’d been aspiring toward for years – she’d even started a book series with a diver as a main character so she could research on dive trips. When she’d first started writing, she’d always asked herself, What am I working toward? It wasn’t just financial success or freedom, because anyone who only works for money is left feeling empty inside. She only had to look to Vicki for confirmation of that.

  Instead, she’d decided to work toward her perfect day. She’d even outlined it in her journal, though it hadn’t taken much to outline. It quite simply read: wake up, go diving, grab an iced coffee, write in the afternoons. It had seemed so unattainable at the time, what with Gabe not even wanting to be near the ocean, that it was just a pipe dream she could work toward. The carrot at the end of the proverbial stick, so to speak, and yet here she was, looking dead-on at a different way of life. It was shocking, really, to stare her dream in the face and see how it could all work, to almost tangibly feel all the puzzle pieces dropping into place, and have to walk away. Which, ultimately, Tess knew she would have to do.

  “All set?” Aiden asked, popping his head in the door. Tess glanced up at him, her cheeks flushing, and nodded.

  “Yup, all set. Thanks for taking care of that for me. Was he mad?”

  “No, it’s fine. He knows the place is a bit shit. He’ll refund you today, he said.” Aiden hefted her bag. “Anything else?”

  “I’ll just grab my backpack and check the place through,” Tess said. Moments later they were walking down the sidewalk, on their way to Aiden’s place.

  “What do you want to do today?” Aiden asked, and just like that they were over any potential weirdness of her staying with him.

  “Do you have anything you have to get done on your day off?” Tess knew that days off were few and far between for dive instructors during high season.

  “I just need to drop my laundry off and pick up a new five-gallon jug of water. Otherwise, I’m all yours.”

  “Let’s just go walk around and explore then? I don’t really want to do anything else but dive and hang out with you.” Tess followed him up the stairs to his third-floor apartment. She hadn’t seen it last time she was here, and was curious about where he lived.

  “Your wish is my command, my lady.” Aiden unlocked his door, opening it to a small apartment with a neat living room, tiny kitchen, and bedroom in the back. “Let me clear some space for you.”

  Tess followed him, checking out the various pieces of art and collectibles tucked on his bookshelf. She smiled at the picture of him sitting next to an impressively large black bear, a huge grin stretching his face.

  “There you go,” Aiden said, gesturing to two drawers and several hangers he’d cleaned out. “Is that okay for you?”

  “Perfect, thanks. Let me just put a few things away and I’m all yours.”

  “I’m counting on it,” Aiden said, his tone husky as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “Or… you know… now works, too,” Tess laughed as they tumbled onto his bed.

  “Is this your local pub?”

  They’d stopped in front of a large building, almost designed like a house, with a wide front porch and a courtyard with trees in the back, well lit, with a variety of bar games. They had been wandering their way around town with no particular agenda, simply walking and talking, Aiden pointing out favorite restaurants, or advising places to stay away from.

  “Yup, we have a tendency to meet here a few times after work when we’re not exhausted.” Aiden pulled her inside.

  “I completely understand why you’re so wiped out all the time, now that I’m diving as much as you do every day. It takes a lot out of you,” Tess said, nodding her agreement as she scanned the large open bar. “Today was fun though. I met a girl named Janie on the boat. She seems cool and has already asked if I’d go on any dive trips in the future with her. Not sure I would… but hey, it’s always nice to expand my community of dive friends.”

  “Be careful who you pick for dive trips down the road though. You want to make sure you’re at the same level of dive skill,” Aiden cautioned, motioning for her to follow him around the side of the bar to where several dart boards were affixed to the wall. “Do you play darts?”

  “Not well, but I always enjoy playing.”

  The bartender greeted Aiden by name, and he waved at a few people on the other side of the pub. A Bob Marley song ended and the music switched to Led Zeppelin. Tess relaxed into the moment.

  “Tequila?”

  “Sure,” Tess said, taking the darts from him and deciding she wanted to be red. “What are we playing for?” Tess shot Aiden a saucy look.

  “Hmm, I’d say winner is in charge tonight…” Aiden’s blue eyes seared into hers and a shot of lust tingled through Tess’s core.

  “Done and done. You’re in trouble.” Tess tugged the bodice of her sundress a little lower to expose more cleavage.

  “Not fair.” Aiden’s eyes were focused, but most definitely not on the dart board.

  “All is fair, my dear,” Tess purred, as she stepped up and shot what she considered to be a fairly reasonable round. Pleased with herself, she twirled her skirt as she turned to Aiden and winked.

  “Not bad.” Aiden stepped to the line. He immediately closed out three twenties and Tess felt her heart drop.

  “Play much?”

  “Here and there, darling.” Aiden smiled as he took a sip of his tequila and Tess glared at him. When he next stood to shoot, she leaned over and whispered in his ear.

  “What if I like it when you take charge?”

  His dart bounced off the board, missing its mark, and Tess beamed, slipping back to the bar to demurely sip her drink.

  “You’re playing dirty, lass,” Aiden said, raking his hand through his curls and leveling a fake stern look at her.

  “Me? Never,” Tess smiled, standing to take her turn. She squeaked when he trailed a finger lightly over her bum just as she tried to make her shot.

  Tess whirled and glared at him. “Did I give you permission to do that?”

  “I’m pretty sure you granted me an all-access pass,” Aiden said, raising an eyebrow at her.

  “I don’t recall doing so.” Tess crossed her arms over her chest.

  “You just did,” Aiden said at the same time his dart hit the bullseye, lighting the board up for his win. Pleased with himself, he sauntered back to Tess, standing so close she had to lift her chin to meet his gaze.

  “I’ll take a congratulatory kiss.” Aiden’s lips twitched in a smile.

  “Nope,” Tess pouted, pushing her lower lip out.

  “I believe the winner was in charge tonight?” Aiden asked. “Or do we need to revisit the rules.”

  “It was for tonight, not like, right now.”

  “You should have clarified that, lass, before playing the game, eh?”

  Caught, Tess grinned and pulled his head down to her, lavishing a kiss on him that had his face tingeing pink. He signaled for the check from the bartender. His friends whistled from the back and he raised a hand to acknowledge them, all while keeping his eyes on Tess.

  “I’ll be collecting the rest of my prize immediately.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Tess fell into a routine that brought her great joy. Each morning, she’d get the coffee perking, haul Aiden from bed, and they’d ride in to the dive shop with his co-workers, nobody saying much, everyone lost in their own thoughts, sipping to-go coffees. After a morning of exploring the
reefs, she would generally sun herself on the beach for a while, before diving right back into the ocean in the afternoon. A few days, when the winds were too high for the boats to go out, Tess stayed in town at the coffeeshop, spending hours working on her next book while gazing out dreamily at the sea. Everything felt more intense for her – it was like the ocean was even more vibrant and alive, the jokes told at dinner even funnier, and the touch of Aiden at night that much more electrifying.

  If she allowed herself to examine those feelings too closely, she’d probably freak out all over Aiden, Tess thought, so she shoved them deep inside, closing them firmly in a box in her mind. A part of her wanted an answer from him, a guarantee of a future together, but despite her ability to control where her characters in her books went, she couldn’t neatly arrange things that way in real life.

  One night, they wandered along the sea wall and sat, their legs dangling over the rough edges, the waves lapping below them, and watched as the sun said goodbye to the day.

  “You don’t talk much about your family,” Aiden said, bumping his shoulder to hers.

  “No, I suppose I don’t,” Tess agreed. “It’s a bit of a tough area for me. I lost my parents in college, and my sister and I aren’t all that close, I suppose.”

  “Ah, Tess, I’m sorry.” Aiden wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her into him.

  “It is what it is. I had a tough time growing up with my parents, and our relationship was strained when I lost them. I went through a lot of guilt in that time, wondering if I could have been a better daughter, or one they accepted more.”

  “Why do you feel like they didn’t accept you?”

  “They were just incredibly controlling. And very conservative. The daughter they wanted was basically the daughter that everyone in small midwestern suburbs wants. Clean-cut, follows the rules, caters to the men in her life, and studies an approved field.”

  “Your soul is much more wild than that, Tess.” Aiden twirled a curl of her hair around his finger.