AFTER DEPOSITING TESSA in the master bathroom so she could get ready for our date, I hauled ass to one of the guest bathroom showers to take matters into my own hands. Literally. I’d never needed to come more than I did after spending part of the day tonguing Tessa’s perfect pussy and bringing her to orgasm. My own orgasm was quick and fiery, not surprising considering I’d been on the edge all day.
We met up again in the living room almost an hour after we’d parted. I’d been sitting on the couch waiting for her for about fifteen minutes, eager to be with her again. I didn’t have experience with missing women, but already I understood there was no way I’d be able to wait weeks to see her once she went back to Philly. It just wasn’t going to happen.
She looked downright edible in her jean shorts, white tee and a pair of white Converse. Her hair was styled into two hotter than hell braids that made her look fresh and crazy fuck-able. I was in deep and getting deeper by the minute with her.
Crossing the room, I pulled her into my arms for a hug and a thorough kiss. Her lip-gloss tasted like strawberry and it was intoxicating. As I went to embrace her, I noticed the only make-up she had on was a hint of mascara and the lip-gloss I was busy removing with my own mouth. Make-up free, she was still hotter than any woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
Once we were able to pull back from each other, we left for our destination. After making a quick pit stop to grab the supplies I’d ordered, it didn’t take us long to get where we were going. When I talked to my dad, I realized it would mean something to Tessa if I took her somewhere she would be able to enjoy beautiful scenery and take pictures. I’d chosen a lookout point high up in the Malibu Canyon to give us the perfect vantage point to eat dinner and watch the sunset. I had been there before a few years ago on a photo shoot with the band, and when it came time to think about where to take Tessa on our first date, it immediately popped into my mind.
The look of pure joy on her face made me feel like I was taking a victory lap after kicking Mike Tyson’s ass in a one round total knockout. It turns out when it mattered, I did know how to be romantic.
“Oh, Flynn! It’s beautiful up here. The smell of the sage and the breeze from the ocean is unbelievable.”
Damn, I was pretty fucking pleased with myself. I wanted it to be a date she was going to remember, and for all the right reasons.
We spread out the blanket I’d brought to lay our picnic dinner on, and then I ran back to the car and collected all of the pillows I’d brought for comfort. I laughed out loud when I imagined the look of horror my decorator would have if she saw the comforter and pillows from one of my guestrooms were now thrown on top of the grass. Oddly enough, they looked more inviting on the grass than they ever had in my house. Go figure.
We unpacked the rest together. I’d gotten roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, salad, broccoli with cheese, a variety of mini cakes for dessert and a bottle of chardonnay.
“Holy hell, Flynn—how many people are you trying to feed here?”
I had to chuckle because she was right. What she didn’t yet realize was, when I was hungry, I was ravenous. Right then I was starved for her, and I was substituting the need to fuck her with food, which meant I was hungrier than ever. “Just you and me babe. Just you and me.”
With a laugh, she gestured to the feast spread before us. “Methinks you’ve got a love of carbohydrates, Mr. Rand.”
“I am very guilty of being a Carb Addict. Cheapest and easiest foods are all carbs. Before our first CD came out, we lived on potatoes, Ramen Noodles and bagels. You’d think we wouldn’t like all that stuff now, but it’s like it got into our blood.”
Nodding her head at me, she smiled. “I understand completely. Those were my college apartment staples. Oh, and Easy Mac. Can’t forget Easy Mac. I’m pretty sure God made it on the seventh day and kept it a secret until the people at Kraft figured it out. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, quite like the taste of that magical powdered cheese.”
It made me laugh because it was true, Easy Mac was the shit. Carbs were my default food choice, but for years I had one girl after another bitching at me about how I needed to “refine” my palette. I’m pretty sure if the other guys and I sat down and tried to track how many women had offered to “home cook” for us, the tally would be in the thousands. Chicks always like to pretend to care about our health and well-being. What they’re really interested in is the fame and our bank accounts.
“I agree. I’m not saying there aren’t other amazing foods out there, but if we got nuked tomorrow, I’d survive in a bunker on Ramen Noodles and Easy Mac with a smile on my face.”
Nodding her head in agreement Tess added, “Throw in a lifetime supply of Wild Cherry Pepsi and you’ve got yourself a bunker buddy.”
My biggest addiction was Wild Cherry Pepsi, but it was a closely guarded secret because the band did commercials for a competing brand. They had sponsored our tours for years—including the upcoming farewell tour. All the other guys were hooked on the brand, but I’d stayed true to my cult-like love for Wild Cherry Pepsi. As part of our contract with the brand we did commercials for, I couldn’t drink anything but their stuff in public. This meant for the last five years, my assistants had been stocking my garage with cases of soda on the sly since I’m not even allowed to buy it myself.
“Babe, Wild Cherry Pepsi is my true love. Fucking nobody knows so keep it on the down low. I’d be in breach of contract if it got out. I’ve got the rest of this tour to get through before I’m allowed to drink what I like.”
Smiling at me, Tess put her hand over her heart. “I promise to keep your secret safe.”
We dug into our dinner with gusto, and I was happy to see how, just like the night before, Tess wasn’t weird about eating in front of me. One of my pet peeves about girls was the constant and silly need to put on the, “I don’t eat much,” bullshit routine. If I wanted to date a rabbit, I would. When I’m breaking bread with someone, I want to see they’re enjoying the meal.
As we ate, Tess asked me questions about my family and Cole’s. Normally I edit a lot of what I say to people, purely because I don’t like people digging into my life for their own ludicrous reasons. I knew Tessa wasn’t asking me questions so she could sell my life story to a tabloid, so I answered every question honestly and in detail. I wanted to tell her everything anyway. To my way of thinking, it was how real relationships were supposed to evolve. I noticed she got teary eyed when I talked about my mom, which touched me.
“My mom was amazing. She was beautiful, smart, and so goddamn funny. She used to read me books, but she’d change the words to really funny stuff. She and I lived to make each other laugh. My dad called us Laurel and Hardy. Once a month we’d have pajama day in the house. We’d all stay in our pajamas, watch movies and eat junk. Those days were the best. She tried to keep it going until the very end, even when she was too tired to stay awake for an entire movie, and she couldn’t force down any food. To the bitter end she was the best mom a kid could have asked for.”
It had been so long since I’d talked to anyone who wasn’t already ‘in the know’ about my mom, and it felt good to share it all with Tess. I lay down on the blanket and settled my head on her thigh as I talked. The feeling of her running her fingers through my hair was both comforting and relaxing. It anchored me to her, and it felt so damn good.
“She sounds amazing, Flynn, untraditional and fun, which is totally in keeping with what your dad and your grandparents were like at dinner last night. Your father is pretty awesome. Do you think he’ll ever remarry?”
Blowing out a frustrated breath, I shook my head against her leg. “You have no idea how badly I wish he would, but I don’t see it happening. He adored my mother, and his position on relationships is that if he doesn’t feel as passionately for someone as he did for her, there’s no point in bothering. He was solidly single for the first few years after her death, but over time, he started to date again. I’ve met a few, my grandparents have as well, but no one has ever gotten him to want to take it to the next step. It’s a shame, because my dad really is the type of man who should have had more kids. He’s amazing, and I’m not just saying so because he’s my dad. It drives me crazy that he’s fifty-one and has given up on finding love again. I hate thinking of him being alone for the rest of his life.”
Tessa’s fingers traced my cheek as she sighed. “I think it’s beautiful you love your dad so much you wish he’d find someone to love. He’s not old by any stretch of the imagination, and you never know… he could still find someone. Don’t give up hope.”
Lying there with Tessa, I got why my dad knew so quickly whether a relationship had the possibility of going anywhere or not. I used to think he made the decision too quickly, but because of Tessa, I understood. When it was there, it was really there. My feelings toward Tessa were coming on fast, and I knew we were going somewhere huge, a place I’d never been. How funny that I’d thought it would take months to feel this way with someone. The truth was light years away from what my expectation had been.
Looking out at the view, I realized the sun was getting ready to set. Sitting up, I grabbed Tessa’s hand in mine. “Look, sweetness. This is why I brought you here. Grab your camera and snap away. I know you’re going to love this.”
The quick kiss she dropped on my lips before she got her purse told me all I needed to know. I chose well when I’d chosen the location. I watched with a smile as she started taking photos. I could tell she was completely absorbed in what she was seeing, and I was happy to capture a glimpse. The setting sun left her in silhouette in front of me, a vision of perfection. Reaching into my pocket for my iPhone, I snapped a dozen photos of her taking pictures of the sun as it faded. As I snapped my last shot, she turned to me and smiled. Her timing was spot on, and I captured the joy on her face.
“It’s perfection, Flynn! I love it!”
She was right.. The photo I’d gotten of her was perfect, and I set it as the photo for her in my contact list. As I finished, she called me to the edge to watch the end of the sunset. She had one of those cameras with a flip screen so you could see yourself for self-portraits, so with our backs to the sunset, she put her face near mine and she snapped a few photos. Catching her off-guard, I cupped her cheek with my hand and kissed her. She managed to take a few more pictures as we kissed, something that made me want to try to take pictures of other even more intimate moments with her. We broke apart breathing heavily as we smiled at each other like idiots. Turning back to the view, we watched the rest of the sunset together in silence, the only sound the hum of her camera as she finished taking photos.
We packed up our gear together and laughed because I had to use the flashlight app on my phone in order for us to see. It took two trips to get everything into my car, and once we were packed up we headed back to my house.
When we got home we both decided to shower since we’d spent hours outside. Although we’d been sitting on a blanket, we both felt like we wanted to freshen up. I was seriously in love with my shower, so I opted to let Tessa go first so I could shower after her. My guest room showers were nowhere near as amazing as the shower in my bathroom, so it was worth the wait.
It was wildly erotic to be in a space she’d recently been naked and wet in. The air was scented with her shampoo and shower gel, the smells I’d come to associate with her. It was intimate to be showering where she had just been, and I liked it a hell of a lot.
We’d decided once we were finished showering, we’d cuddle in bed and watch a movie or two. My breath caught when I walked into my bedroom and found Tessa curled up on top of the comforter in a Guns ‘n’ Roses tee shirt and a pair of white sleep shorts watching Hoarders. I’m obsessed with the damn show, and as soon as I saw it was on, I sprinted across the room and threw myself on the bed.
“Babe, you like Hoarders?”
She chuckled as she nodded her agreement. “I more than like it, and it’s kind of embarrassing because I can’t stop watching! This show and How Clean is Your House? on the BBC are my TV crack.
That got a loud laugh out of me. “This is fucking hilarious. I love those two British ladies! The filth they find in people’s houses blows my mind. My dad and I have seen every episode. I was pissed when it got cancelled. I still watch the reruns like a total addict. Have you seen the one where the lady lets her birds have free reign of the house and they shit everywhere?”
Giving a fake gag she said, “Oh my God, that one was epic. It was so nasty! I can’t believe you like the show, too. No one I know has ever even heard of it. Things like Hoarders and How Clean is Your House are my type of reality TV. I have no interest in scripted dating shows or watching toddlers win plastic tiaras, but give me a pint of ice cream and a Storage Wars marathon and I’m a happy girl.”
With an exaggerated growl, I got up and straddled her on the bed, pulling her hands over her head and holding them trapped in mine. “Keep talking baby, cause you’re turning me on big time.”
Her beautiful flush and the quickening of her breath had my dick twitching in my cotton pajama pants. Fuck the TV; watching her was my favorite past time, hands down.