More Than Friends

Part 13 (Hardin)

I arrive back at the apartment first because Tessa decided she wants to stay here the entire weekend and she had to go to her dorm to get some of her things. I decide to go into Zed's old room and change the sheets and get the bed ready for Tessa to sleep in. When I enter the room, I notice Zed's belongings are gone. He must have stopped by to get his shit while I was out looking for Tessa. Good riddance. I finish getting everything ready just as Tessa gets back.

"Hey! I'm here!" Tessa yells through the apartment.

"Let me help you!" I say as I reach for her bags. "How long are you moving in for?" I joke as I grab two giant bags from her.

"As long as I want," she says as she sticks her tongue out at me. "This is the only place I know Zed won't come to find me."

"Yeah, he knows I'll beat the shit out of him," I say angrily.

"Speaking of that, let me clean up your hands for you."

"I'm fine, Tess."

"Your knuckles are all bloody. Come to the bathroom with me," she demands.

"Fine," I groan as I follow her into the bathroom.

She grabs a cloth and runs it under warm water before she gently starts washing away the dried blood from my hands. "I can't believe you basically mangled his face, for me," she lightly chuckles.

"I'd do anything for you, Tess."

She stops rubbing my skin and looks me in the eyes. I really wish I didn't just say that.

"I know. You have no idea how much that means to me." She smiles. She continues to clean my hands.

"Thanks for being my nurse," I joke.

"Well, don't make this a habit. I don't want you fighting anymore, not even with Zed."

"But he's such an ass. And what are you talking about? I'm not the one who threw a glass paper weight at his head. You could have given him a concussion," I point out.

"Yeah, I wasn't thinking," she laughs.

"Don't get me wrong, he would have deserved it."

"Maybe I should invite Molly over and see if I have better aim when it's her head I'm hurling it at," she laughs loudly and I join her.

"Wow, Tess, you have quite the violent side," I say playfully.

"Yeah, you better remember that." She smiles. "Okay, I'm almost done."

"Okay."

I don't care if she's only cleaning dried blood from my knuckles. These last few minutes have been Heaven. Her touch is so gentle, yet every part of me comes to life as her fingertips glide across my skin.

"Okay, all done." She smiles.

"Thank you. What do you feel like doing now? Are you tired? Do you want to nap? I hope it won't be awkward, but I got the bed in Zed's old room ready for you."

"Thank you, but I think I feel like watching TV for a bit. I need to just forget what's going on right now."

"Alright. Let me guess... Friends?"

"Yeah!" she exclaims. I love to see her get so excited.

We leave the bathroom and when we reach the living room, she starts to get comfy on the couch as I sit on the chair.

"Hardin, you aren't sitting on the couch with me?" She sounds so disappointed. That makes me smile.

"If you want me to, I will."

"Yeah, I do," she says as she pulls me down to sit beside her. She curls her legs underneath her, leans against me and hooks her arm through mine. I bet she wouldn't do this if she knew how badly I wanted her.

"Are you cold?"

"A little."

"Here," I say as I grab a blanket that was hanging over the back of the couch. I cover us up and I swear I feel myself getting hard at the thought of being with Tessa under a blanket, with her snuggling up against me.

We spend the next few hours watching a Friends marathon. I notice Tessa has fallen asleep against my shoulder. I don't want to wake her, so I carry her to Zed's old room and tuck her in. I kiss the top of her head and wish that I could crawl in beside her. I quietly shut the door behind me and decide to go to bed, too.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I wake up to a weird noise I don't recognize. I try to listen closely and realize it's Tessa and she's crying. The noise gets louder and suddenly I hear a knock at my door.

"Come in," I yell.

"Sorry to bother you, Hardin, but I can't sleep," she says, wiping her eyes.

"Oh, Tess, come here," I say as I pat the bed beside me. She sits down next to me and I wrap my arms around her as she leans against my shoulder.

"I can't stop crying."

"That's okay. You should let it all out."

"But I woke you up," she sniffles.

"I don't care about that. You need me and I'm here for you. Always."

"Do you... think I could... maybe sleep in here... with you?" she says between sniffing her nose. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

"Of course." She sounds so sad, how could I resist her? I just hope I can control myself. The last thing I need is to embarrass myself, or her, by getting hard in front of her.

"Thank you," she says with a small, grateful smile and crawls into my bed.

Her crying seems to stop as she curls up beside me and wraps her arm across my stomach. I wrap mine behind her back and pull her into me. She must be comforted by me because she falls asleep quickly. I'm comforted by her, too. I've never felt this at peace before.

I lie awake in bed, just watching her sleep. Her chest rises and falls and it's the most peaceful thing in the world to watch. I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear before quietly telling her I love her. I drift off to sleep hoping one day I can tell her while she is awake.