Tessa’s POV“I mean it, Brian. This doesn’t mean we are getting back together. I just needed to get out of the school,” I said, folding my arms across my chest as I stared out the window.We drove for about 15 minutes and the further I got from the school, the more I felt I could breathe. But knowing I was in the passenger seat of Brian’s car; I felt a sense of unease boiling in my stomach.The inside of his car hadn’t changed at all; he still had that stupid stuffed turtle he kept on the dashboard that he always had for good luck. His car reeked of his friend's cigarettes and Amanda’s perfume. Just as it did when we were together.The more I thought about it, the more I realized, I was never truly with Brian. He was always with Amanda, I was just the girl in the way.I wondered where Amanda was right now and if she even knew that Brian was with me.I somehow doubted it very much.Part of me wanted to ask him, but then I figured that it really didn’t matter anyway. I was only here to
Tessa’s POVWhen I returned to my apartment, I felt a little better. Not because I spent the entire evening with Brian, but because I was able to get some space from the school and Joseph. I was feeling like the cloud in my mind was parting and a little bit of sunshine was sneaking in.Of course, I was going to have a good excuse as to why I missed Joseph’s class. But that wasn’t something I wanted to worry about right now.I grabbed my phone out of my bag, which was left at school initially, but Brian brought me back to grab it before bringing me home. I hadn’t had a chance to even look at my phone since grabbing it from my locker. I already knew what I was going to see; Ruby would be in a panic for sure.When I looked at the screen, there were about 10 missed calls. 8 of them were from Ruby and two of them were from Joseph.I winced when I saw his name.There were also a couple of text messages from Ruby as well, but none from Joseph thankfully.I decided to ignore Joseph’s calls an
Tessa’s POVI was surprised by how quickly I got responses and replies to my blog posts and messages. It seems that most of my followers had forgiven me, which was a huge relief. I even gained some followers back and some new followers.I woke up the next morning to a text from Ruby telling me that she was proud of me for writing such a wonderful apology message and that the outcome was positive. I was glad to hear that, and it even made me smile. It was my first genuine smile in what felt like a long time.My chest felt lighter, and my head was less cloudy.I woke up early so I could work on my missed assignment for Joseph’s class. I didn’t have his class today, but I knew he would be at school like he always was. I just hoped he would give me another chance to improve my grade before I fell too far behind.I also spent a little time writing my next story for Fable magazine; I sent my editor an email and let her know that I’ll have a story for her as soon as possible. I just hoped sh
Tessa’s POVHow did he know this information? I stared at him with disbelief written all over my face as he raised his right brow. He didn’t look pleased, but I also didn’t understand why he would be so upset about this.I mean, he was the one who broke up with me after all.“Well?” He asked when it was clear I was too frozen to say anything. “You have nothing to say?”“I’m not sure what you want me to say…” I admitted, tugging at my fingers nervously. “It’s not like I skipped class to purposely hang out with him. I really did need time away.”“But you took time away with Brian,” he said; his voice falling short with aggravation.I couldn’t deny it; he obviously already knew the truth.“Yes,” I said softly. “I took time away with Brian. But it wasn’t planned. He was just available.”I wanted to shout at him, “Because I was so upset that you were flirting and hugging Miss Emily!” But I kept my mouth shut, not wanting to make things worse.Every time I thought about Emily’s hands all o
Tessa’s POV“Amanda, we’ve already talked about this,” Brian said, shaking his head at her. “Tessa is my friend—”“Friend is a strong word,” I corrected.“I don’t want them sitting here,” she said through her teeth.“That’s too bad,” Brian said shrugging as he began to eat his salad.“Believe me… I don’t want to be sitting here either,” Ruby muttered as she stuffed a meatball in her mouth.I tried and failed at stifling a smile.“Ew,” one of Brian’s cheerleader friends, Kate, muttered as she grimaced at Ruby. “Do you have any idea how many calories are in that one meatball?”Ruby raised her brows.“I don’t know, but if it’s the calories that make this so delicious, then I’ll eat all the calories,” she said through huge mouthfuls of food.I knew she was doing this on purpose; if she kept it up, I wouldn’t be able to hold in my laughter.“Maybe eat with your mouth closed,” Jake, Brian’s best friend and Kate’s boyfriend, said as he narrowed his eyes at Ruby.“So, how have you been, Tessa
Joseph’s POV“I would love to come to the game tomorrow, Brian. Thank you for the invite,” Tessa’s voice rang across the campus as she smiled up at Brian.I was seeing fucking red.My stomach clenched as a cocky grin spread across his face. Ruby, Tessa’s best friend, looked horrified. I would have been able to hear the conversation, even if Tessa didn’t speak loudly, but it was almost like she purposely wanted both Emily and me to hear her.Emily had turned in their direction too and was watching them.Brian soon turned and walked back toward the cafeteria, and Tessa turned to Ruby.“It’s just one game,” Tessa said to her, shrugging.“I don’t trust him, Tessa,” she said, quickly standing to her feet. “Lunch was horrible. Why are you doing this to yourself?”“He’s going to be playing in the game. It’s not like he can do any damage there,” Tessa said shrugging.She then glanced back in my direction where our eyes locked once more. I felt my entire body tensing and my jaw clenching as I
Tessa’s POV“Why does he have to play with my feelings like that?” I cried as Ruby wrapped her arms around me.“Because he’s a jerk,” she said, rubbing my back gently. “Most men are nowadays. Maybe your post wasn’t far off.”I looked up at her, sniffling and wiping my eyes.“No… my post was wrong,” I told her, shaking my head. “I shouldn’t have written it. Not all men are like that…”She sighed and held me tighter, allowing me to cry into her shirt.“What even happened? He just kissed you and that was it?”The memory of Joseph’s lips on mine surfaced in my mind. His arms around my waist and the feeling of his warmth sent me into turmoil. I hated that I was weak when it came to him. I hated that he still made me feel like this.“He asked me about my relationship with Brian,” I told her through my tears. “He saw me with him the other night.”“He broke up with you,” Ruby said, furrowing her brows together. “Why does it matter who you see?”“I don’t know,” I murmured. “But then we got cau
Tessa’s POVHis lips were sweet.The moment he captured my eyes with his, I knew I was a goner. I couldn’t resist him. He just looked at me so sweetly and he was so incredibly good-looking. My entire heart belonged to him, and I didn’t want anyone else.I didn’t want to imagine him with anyone else either.He let me close the gap between us and wrap my arms around him. He let me stand on my toes and kiss him. Once I made that first contact, he wrapped his arms around me and deepened the kiss. In that kiss, I knew he wanted me just as badly as I wanted him. The doubts, the fears, and the pain had all evaporated from my body.At that moment, there was only me and him.He lifted me into his arms and turned us both around so he could sit me on top of his desk. As I sat on his desk, I wrapped my legs around his waist and closed my eyes as he kissed down the nape of my neck. His fingers traced my collarbone, sending a wave of chills throughout my body.I moved my hands down to the hem of my