“I’m keeping my eye on you,” he said as he handed the cup back, “I invited you, so I need to make sure you’re safe.”
“Safe?” She asked, both confused and slightly appreciative of his thoughtfulness. She wasn’t used to this type of treatment, but she liked it. It made her feel warm in places she had never felt warmth before.
“Yeah, I don’t know,” he said shyly, “Just stick with me, okay? There’s lots of big dudes here, they might run you over.”
She laughed and took a sip of her drink, which was slightly more bitter now.
“Come on, your friends are playing beer pong out back, let’s go join the game.” He put his hand on her lower back which was slightly exposed from the tight black shirt riding up, but it was enough for their skin to touch. He noticed immediately and tried to pull his hand away, but he couldn’t. It was like his hand was magnetically pulled towards her, and feeling the smoothness of her lower back caused his skin to flush. She also noticed thecontact and felt the burn of his hand, absolutely astonished by the size of it. It basically covered her whole back.
Tessa was surprised at how easy it was for her to relax at this party. Maybe it was the alcohol, or her best friends, or Tristan’s presence by her side the whole night, but she was able to loosen up and have fun. She met a few of Tristan’s teammates and watched as Amber flirted her face off with nearly every guy she crossed paths with. They played beer pong and card games and danced goofily to old hip hop songs. Tessa tried to think of the last time she had this much fun, and she wasn’t able to remember a time. She thought perhaps it was her 10thbirthday party where all her friends had a sleepover and stayed up all night telling ghost stories and eating cookies. Tristan was somehow able to bring this innocent light and happiness to Tessa that she hadn’t felt since childhood, and she was thankful for it, and made a mental note to continue to open herself up to him more, even if just in a friendship sense.
After Tessa had made several attempts to stubbornly pester Tristan for another drink, he finally relented after he laid out thecondition of him being the one who made it. She agreed and chugged the drink back but now had to pee badly. Her eyes scanned the party for her friends and saw Amber making out with some guy on the couch and she laughed and started looking for Abigail instead.
“Abby!” Tessa said, drunkenly stumbling over to her friend. “I gotta pee. Come with me pleeeease.”
“Okay geeze, let me just tell your bodyguard.”
Tristan leaned towards Abigail and couldn’t help but laugh at Tessa’s demeanor. “She’s quite the light weight, isn’t she?”
“You have no idea. We have wine night a lot and she’s on the floor with half a glass. It’s because she’s so goddamn skinny,” Abigail said, pinching Tessa’s side.
“Do not body shame me!” Tessa said with a gasp.
“I’m taking her to pee,” Abigail said to Tristan.
He nodded and let the girls walk away towards the back of the house and towards the bathroom.
He loved seeing Tessa like this – so carefree and happy. She had been happy every time they were studying together but was still always so wound tight, focused on perfection and following everything to a tee. He made a mental note not to pour her another drink.
The two friends had finished their business in the ladies’ room and walked back out towards the party, trying to weave their way through the crowd that was growing bigger by the minute. Tessa could barely see over the large bodies of all the athletes and the pretty girls that were hanging all over them. She allowed Abigail to lead the way, knowing that her friend had a bit more confidence in these situations than she did.
A large figure came to an abrupt stop in front of Tessa, and her body crashed into his, causing her to yelp and Abigail’s head to whip around.
“Woah, sorry,” the man said. He was tall with black hair, with a traditionally handsome face and he smiled charmingly down at Tessa. “I wanted to come introduce myself, I’m John.”
He stuck his hand out at Tessa and she took it politely, albeit reluctantly.
“Tessa.”
“I saw you guys in the stands at the game. You were in the very sought after family section, but I’ve never seen you before. Are you a sister of a player or...?”
“We’re friends with Tristan,” Tessa said shyly.
“Kelly? No shit. He’s a good dude. Hell of a touchdown he made.”
“Sure was,” Abigail said flatly, grabbing Tessa’s hand, attempting tolead her away.
“Hey wait, can I make you a drink? I hate to be this forward but there’sa million guys in here and you are very pretty so I kind of need to make my move quick.”
“She’s good thanks,” Abigail said, tugging on Tessa again who looked like a deer in headlights.
“Well can’t she answer for herself?” John replied, unable to hide his annoyance. “Tessa?” He asked again, his eyes searching hers. “I would like to get to know you and get you a drink and hopefully get your number.”
Before Tessa was able to awkwardly stumble out her rejection, she felt the now familiar warmth of Tristan’ hand on her shoulder, and she let out a sigh of relief.
“She’s good bro, she’s with me.”
“She said you were just friends,” John said, shooting daggers at Tristan. “You can’t have every fucking girl in the school man.”
