More Than Friends

Part 17 (Tessa)

On the drive over to see Steph, I keep going over what just happened back at Hardin's apartment. That almost kiss. I really wish Steph wouldn't have interrupted us, but I remind myself it's not her fault. It Zed's.

I make my way to our dorm room, well, I guess my old dorm room now that I'll be staying with Hardin for awhile. I make sure to knock first, even though it feels weird since I used to live here, but that was before my life imploded.

"It's unlocked!" Steph shouts.

"Hey, Steph," I say as I slowly enter and close the door behind me. I realize how embarrassed I feel over Zed's actions and I dread having to explain everything to her.

"So, tell me what the hell is going on!"

"That could take awhile. " I roll my eyes.

"Tessa... Why did Zed show up drunk, ranting and raving?"

"I broke up with him."

"What? When? Why? Tell me everything!"

"Okay," I sigh. "The night of what was supposed to be our six month anniversary date, he cancelled on me."

"That's terrible, but no reason to break up with him," Steph scolds.

"Steph, let me talk! This is difficult enough."

"Sorry," she says quietly.

"Anyway, instead of being with me, Hardin caught him with Molly at his apartment."

"No!" she gasps.

"Yup. They were the ones celebrating. Hardin tried to tell me, but I didn't believe him, until I answered Zed's phone and Molly accidentally let it out because she thought I was Zed. Zed denied it at first, but he knew he was caught. We had a terrible fight, I ran away until Hardin found me and brought me back to his place to stay the weekend," I say, out of breath.

"That's why you disappeared and had shattered that glass. Wait, Zed is his roommate."

"Hardin made him move out after they got into a fight."

"That's why Zed's face looks like shit," she almost laughs.

"Hardin was defending me. Apparently Zed was talking shit about me."

"Yeah, about that..."

"What..?" I ask, worried about the answer.

"When he showed up here drunk he was looking for you. I told him that you weren't here and he started freaking out. It didn't make sense at the time, but I get it now."

"Freaking out? How?"

"He kept saying that you had better not be with Hardin."

"Is that all?" I ask timidly.

"No," she shakes her head and sighs. "He was going on about giving you one more chance to come to your senses and come back to him, or else he'll make you regret it."

"Yeah, I've heard that before," I say angrily.

"Tessa, I'm so sorry. I thought he was better than this." She looks at me with pity. "But Hardin, he's good to you, right?" She smiles.

"Why do you say it like that?"

"Because I can tell he loves you."

"Gosh! Was it that obvious to everyone but me?!"

"Whoa, calm down," Steph giggles. "I only meant that when you were missing after your fight with Zed, I could tell how worried Hardin was about you, but not just in a friendly way. It was like a part of him was lost." My heart leaps at her words.

"Yeah, he was amazing throughout this whole mess, even when I didn't believe him." My mind travels back to our almost kiss.

"Is that love I see in your eyes?" Steph smirks at me.

"What? No!" I blush.

"If you say so," she laughs and throws her hands up in front of her.

"Well... we did almost kiss." I blush again.

"What?!"

"And that was after we both saw each other half naked." I look away from her as I continue to blush.

"Spill!" she demands.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," I laugh. "He accidentally saw me in a towel after my shower and he was parading around the apartment in a towel after his shower, out of habit."

"Sounds hot." She winks.

"It was." My face must have turned a hundred different shades of red by now.

"Where's the kiss fit in?"

"After breakfast we had a moment while doing the dishes." I smile remembering it.

"Wow, you guys make chores sound sexy," she chuckles. "Why didn't you actually kiss, though?"

"Um, you called to tell me about Zed right when we were about to." I look at the floor.

"Shit! I'm sorry, Tessa!"

"It's not your fault." I smile.

"Let me make it up to you. I'll help you pick out an outfit that will ensure Hardin won't be able to keep his eyes, or hands off of you." She winks. I roll my eyes.

Steph forces me to take one of her dresses that isn't my style and I finish packing my stuff before I leave to go stay with Hardin for the foreseeable future. I thank Steph for the talk and hug her before I leave to go back to Hardin.