Katie noticed the shift in Tessa’s energy and followed her eyes towards the back of the bar.
“Ew, gross,” Katie said with disdain. “Zero out of then, didnotlike that girl one bit.”
Tessa felt her neck grow warm and she bit her bottom lip, trying her best to avert her gaze but not being able to. She watched as Veronica placed her manicured hand on Tristan’ chest, and although he was visibly uncomfortable with the interaction and promptly removed her hand from his chest, she still couldn’t help but feel her body react to what she was seeing.
“Tess don’t worry about her,” Katie said, “Trust me, Trist regrets every second he spent with her. I told him he needs to keep his dick in his pants more or else he gets crazy girls like her stalking him around campus.”
Tessa let out a shaky breath and put her cards down and finally tore her eyes away from Tristan. She looked around awkwardly before she stood up from her chair.
“Where are you going?” Katie asked.
“Um, bathroom.”
“Wait Tessa, stay here. I promise he’s probably telling her to fuck off in a nice way, there’s no reason to be upset, come on!”
Tessa was unable to respond. She simply shook her head and walked away from the table. Katie stood up and waved towards Tristan, who was visibly trying to peel Veronica off of him without causing a scene. His eyes met Katie’s, and she gestured towards Tessa who was walking away and mouthed, “Go get her” to him aggressively.
His heart dropped when he realized Tessa had seen Veronica trying embarrassingly hard to get him to talk to her. He pushed past her aggressively, causing her to stumble, and walked straight to where Tessa had disappeared into the crowd. Veronica followed him, slurring his name, but Tristan turned around abruptly, causing her to crash into his broad chest.
“Fuck off. I have a girlfriend. Leave me alone.”
She stood in stunned silence, watching as he walked away from her and disappeared into the crowd. Her dark eyes met with Katie’s across the room, and she rolled her eyes and scoffedwhen she saw Katie give her the finger before returning to her card game.
It took Tristan a few minutes to find Tessa, but he eventually found her out on the back patio leaning against the railing.
“Hey,” he said gently as he approached her, “What are you doing out here? It’s freezing.”
She turned towards him and gave him a weak smile.
“Needed some fresh air.”
“That’s not what it looked like,” he said sternly. “She cornered me and I was trying not to make a scene, but I told her to fuck off. I told her I have a girlfriend.”
Tessa’s eyes looked up into his and searched for something she didn’t have words for.
“Girlfriend?”
“Yes,” he said gently, “You.”
She stood silently, taking in his words and the heat of his body that was so close to her. He reached out tentatively before pulling her body against his and kissed the top of her head. She tried to resist at first but was unable to stop herself from melting into his safe embrace.
“Is that what this is then?” She whispered against his chest. She had been too nervous to ask him, feeling shy and somewhat stupid for being confused about their status and wanting him to label it. But as the air between them grew charged with energy, she realized how badly she needed this.
“Yes,” he said into her hair, “That’s what this is. You’re mine, and I’m yours. Is that a deal?”
She smiled and buried her face into his shirt, trying to hide the giddiness on her face and blush that was creeping up her neck.She was unable to get wordsout,so she simply nodded against him.
His large hands cupped her face, and he forced hergazeup to his. His green eyes were so intense and full of longing and emotions. It made her head spin that a guy so big and brawny could convey such vulnerable emotions through his eyes alone. He gave her a small smile before he brought his lips tohersandshewhimpered against hisopen mouth.
Their kiss was gentle but urgent – tongues swirling together in an intoxicating dance that made the space between her legs grow warm and tight with desire. Her hands gripped his shirt desperately, wanting to throw herself at him but also not wantingto make a scene in front of a bar full of college students.
He pulled away from her breathlessly, suddenly aware of the amount of people around them, and not wanting anyone to see her like this except for him.
“Can we go to my truck?” He asked against her lips, and she nodded eagerly.
He led her out of the back of the building and dragged her through the parking lot, dodging through cars dramatically, making her laugh out loud at his antics. He finally got them to his truck and opened the back door before throwing her inside, which caused her to erupt in a fit of giggles. He slid in beside her and closed the door, leaving them alone in the silence and darkness of his truck. And she was immediately all over him.
She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and pulled his body against hers, to which he eagerly reciprocated. He shrugged off hisjacketand she did the same with hers. It was cold outside since it was the beginning of November, but the heat between them was already fogging up the windows and warming the air around them.
