February Night

Chapter 32

"I'm so excited to finally meet your brother again! It's been ages!", Tessa exclaimed while she took one last look in the mirror to check on her appearance.

Lucy chuckled. "If you don't hurry, the boys will have to wait", she remembered her friend and then watched Tessa passing her quickly and going to the corridor to put her shoes on.

"I hope Spencer will like me. I'm your best friend, it'd be terrible if he'd think I'm annoying or stupid", Tessa continued jabbering. Lucy was amused by her and couldn't totally ignore that sad feeling that had crept into her chest this morning. Tessa would have to leave tonight after they'd have lunch with Spencer and Luke. And Lucy already missed her only thinking about it. Although she loved her new life here in D.C., Tessa was the one thing she missed the most while she was here. And her parents, of course. Lucy held back a sigh while she put on her shoes and grabbed her coat to leave after Tessa.

When the two women arrived at the restaurant they had agreed to meet at, Spencer and Luke were already there, waiting for them. "Hey, you're late!", Luke exclaimed as he stood up to hug his sister's best friend. "Nice to finally see you again, Tessa", he said.

"Yeah, it's been way too long", she chuckled. In the meantime, Lucy had stepped to Spencer and let him wrap his arms around her. He gently kissed her.

"I missed you", he whispered into her ear.

"I missed you too, this case seemed to take forever", she replied as she pressed herself against him. Spencer quietly laughed at her words. Lucy then pulled away again and turned to Tessa. She grabbed her friend's hand. "Tessa, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is Tessa, my best friend who lives in New York." She smiled as she introduced them to each other and watched them shaking hands.

"Nice to meet you, Tessa", Spencer said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, too", she replied, smiling as well. "So, you're the guy Lucy fell in love with", she said, looking at Spencer. "I must say...he's ridiculously good-looking", Tessa continued, turning to Lucy now and Lucy couldn't help but laugh. Spencer's cheeks turned a bright red at the compliment and he cleared his throat, trying to hide his nervousness. Without any success, of course.

"Let's...let's have a seat and...uhm...lunch", he murmured then and sat down on his chair again. Chuckling, the others joined him. During their lunch, the four of them had a good chat and Lucy was glad, Tessa got along well with Spencer. They laughed when Tessa told Spencer embarrassing stories from her and Lucy's childhoods and Lucy told her more than once to stop talking about that. But she had to laugh at all the memories as well.

"Alright, I think I'll have to go now. My flight departs in three hours. I don't want to be too late and then have to run my ass off to the gate", Tessa eventually said as she leaned back in her chair, looking at Lucy sadly. "I don't want to leave. It's really nice here. And I don't miss you", she sighed but they all knew that Tessa didn't have a choice. So, they got up after they'd paid for their lunch.

"It was nice seeing you again", Luke smiled as he gave his sister's best friend a hug.

"Yeah, you're still the same annoying guy", she chuckled and boxed against his shoulder.

"Hey!", he exclaimed, but Tessa didn't say anything to that, she just grinned. Then she turned to Spencer.

"You...I think you're the right guy for Lucy. She deserves someone as caring and loving as you are. I know, we have seen each other only for a couple hours now and that's a pity. But from what I've seen you truly love her. Take good care of her!" Tessa held up a finger as if she'd threat him. But she smiled. And Spencer smiled back before he reached out a hand to shake hers. Something he usually never did with people he didn't or barely knew. Lucy smiled at that gesture as she had done earlier today when Spencer and Tessa had met for the first time.

"I promise. And I'm sure we'll see each other soon again", he replied with a smirk. For a moment, all of them were just standing there on the parking lot, not knowing what to say or what to do. It was obvious that Lucy was sad about Tessa having to leave. She leaned against Spencer, who pressed a kiss on the top of her head. "You okay?", he asked.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. I'll just miss her so much", she murmured and then looked up to him. "I'll bring her to the airport."

"Alright. We see each other later." One last kiss, then Lucy joined Tessa and they made their way to the airport. Tessa had brought her luggage with her already so they wouldn't have to drive back to the apartment first.

The drive to the airport was a quiet one. The two best friends have had some great days together and it was hard for them both to be separated again so soon. Lucy accompanied Tessa into the airport and through the check-in. When they were eventually standing in front of the security checks, they had to say goodbye for good. Lucy sighed as she threw her arms around her friend. "You know, I'll miss you a lot", she quietly said and felt Tessa nod.

"I will miss you too. You need to come back to New York soon for a visit! If that's alright with you, of course", she added. She didn't know if the memories were holding Lucy back from the city she grew up in.

But Lucy nodded. "Of course, I will come back. I mean, my parents are still in Manhattan, I can't just abandon them and this city forever!" A chuckle came from her lips, what made Tessa grin as well. She wrapped her arms tighter around Lucy and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"Spencer seems to be a good one. The best you had yet. I'm happy for you that you finally found someone who treats you right and loves you so much", Tessa said smiling and Lucy felt tears filling her eyes. Hastily, she wiped them away.

"I'm glad you like him. This was important to me, you know? Please come back soon, Tessa." Now it was Lucy who kissed Tessa's cheek.

"I will. And you, tell me whenever you plan to come to Manhattan", Tessa replied.

When suddenly Tessa looked at the departure schedule, she saw the gate for her flight showing up. "I guess I should go now or I'll be late in the end", she chuckled. One last embrace, and then Tessa took her place in line for the security check. Lucy remained standing there watching her best friend until she couldn't see her anymore. Then, she turned away and slowly left the airport again.

Watching her best friend leave was harder than she had thought. But Lucy knew, it wasn't forever. They didn't live that far away from each other. The opportunity to meet soon was there. Lucy decided to drive straight to Spencer's apartment. She didn't want to be alone right now. She wanted to cuddle with the man she loved and tell him about the days she had spent with her best friend.