“You gonna tell me what was going on with you tonight?” Tristan asks as they stand in his bedroom, both undressing from their dinner clothes.
Tristan only had one drink and a beer, but Tessa went through a few of her favorite cocktails, which had her currently swaying on her feet as she attempted to take off her heels.
“Let me help you,” he says with a chuckle, guiding her down to sit on the bed as he kneels in front of her, slowly taking her heels off, sliding his large hands against the soles of her feet causing her to giggle.
“I like this color,” he says, pointing at the bright red color of her toes, and standing up to full length, causing her to strain her neck back to look at him.
“So?” he says, tucking his hands in the pockets of his dress pants and giving her a shrug.
He knows something has been off with her tonight, or more accurately, the past few days, and he’s been waiting for her to bring it up.
Tessa sighs and looks back down at her feet, her shoulders slumping forward.
“Tess,” he says as he takes a seat next to her on the bed. “You can tell me anything, you know that.”
A few beats of silence pass before Tessa finally speaks up, still not making eye contact with him.
“I’m scared,” she whispers.
“Okay, about what?” he asks gently.
“This not working.”
Her eyes finally, reluctantly, come up to meet his, and her stomach drops at the love and concern shining brightly in his green eyes.
“And why on earth would this not work, baby?” he asks, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“What are we supposed to do when I go back to New York?” she asks with a sarcastic shrug, letting a tear slip down her cheek. “How often could we realistically see each other? I mean, you travel so much and I have strict deadlines that I need to meet, and how would we determine who flies out to see who and when should-”
“Tess,” Tristan cuts her off rambling and gently grabs her chin in his hand, turning her face and locking it under his gaze. “I’m going to be real fucking honest with you, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispers, leaning into the solid warmth of his hand on her face.
“I don’t want to do long distance. I need you with me, all the time, as much as possible. When I told you I wasn’t going to live without you again, I meant it. You’re not slipping through my fingers. I’ve had you to myself all this time. We’ve basically been living together the past month, and you think I can just send you back? Like I’d be able to breathe without you?”
Tessa’s stomach fills with butterflies and her lashes flutter under his intense gaze. Everything inside of her is screaming to throw herself at him – literally and figuratively. To rewire her whole life for him, but there’s a part of her that doesn’t want to give up everything she’s built for herself.
“Tristan, I don’t want you to think for one second I would be okay living without you. Experiencing this life with you and having this love come back, leaving is the last thing I want to do. But my job – mycareer, my apartment and everything in it. There’s just so many things that I-”
“I don’t understand why you think you can’t have everything you want and still have me,” Tristan says, fear etched all over his face. “Who says you can’t keep your career? I know the NY Times is a dream publication but there’s plenty of others who would be begging to get you on their team and let you live in Kansas. And I’ll fucking buy your apartment in New York, you can fucking keep it for whenever you need to travel back for work or whenever I’m on the off season who can stay there. I don’t give a shit, Tessa. But I’m not letting you run from me again.”
“Tristan, I-”
“I’ll get traded,” Tristan blurts out, and Tessa’s eyes grow big as saucers. “I’ll get traded to the Jets or the Giants, or even thefucking Bills, Tessa. I’d play for the Bills if it meant we stayed together.”
“Tristan, no,” she says immediately. “I would never make you do that. I would neverwantyou to do that. You’ve been with the Titans for so long, it’s the only team you’ve played for and they worship you here.”
“To be fair, they’d worship me anywhere,” he says with a wink and she shakes her head with a small smile tugging at her lips, which settles Tristan’s nerves slightly.
“I would never make you leave the Titans,” she says solemnly.
“Well I’m not losing you. And I’m also not having you live anywhere but here, with me, in this house. You want a bigger house? I’ll buy you a bigger house.”
“Tristan,” Tessa blushes and tries to hide her smile.
“I’ll buy you a big house, Tess. With lots of rooms so we can have a bunch of babies.”
She lets out a little gasp at the mention of babies, and something in her chest feels like it breaks wide open, and another tear falls down her face.
