Page 11 of Tempting Tessa

“It’s not a problem. I’m sorry to hear that he did. Do you mind me asking the details?”

“Not at all. Matt was a firefighter and died from his injuries sustained when the roof of a building collapsed in on him and one other firefighter. Matt was trapped for over an hour. The other firefighter was also trapped for about an hour, but he wasn’t pinned like Matt was and he survived. Matt saved 5 people’s lives that day with the donation of his organs.”

“Wow, I’m so sorry to hear all that, but it’s amazing that he saved so many lives. I know firsthand the importance of organ donation as I had to have a kidney transplant as part of my recovery after my accident in the military.”

“Do you mind if I ask about your injuries?” she asks as she looks over at me making eye contact.

“Not at all. I lost the lower part of my right leg below the knee. As you can see, I have been fitted with a pretty kick ass prosthetic. I have different ones that I use depending on what I’m doing. I also had lots of shrapnel wounds. Some of the shrapnel went deep enough to damage my kidneys. I lost one completely and the other was damaged enough to put me on the transplant list. I went through dialysis for a year until I was moved to the top of the list and a match was found. Once I received the new kidney, I was able to come off dialysis and have been building my strength back to live as normal a life as I possibly can.”

“Wow, you have such a positive attitude about life for having gone through so much,” she says as she looks at her watch and yawns. “I can’t believe it’s already 9:30. I need to get to bed or I’m going to be a zombie tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the beer and conversation. I can tell you’re exhausted and I should get out of here so you can get to bed.”

“Thanks for the adult conversation. I don’t usually get any after Ty goes to bed,” Tessa says as she walks me to the door. I’ve had such a great time with her tonight. I would love to kiss her goodnight, but I don’t want to push her too fast. Now that I know her husband died and it doesn’t appear she’s dated much since he died, I know I need to take things slow.

As we reach the door and say our goodbyes I lean in and kiss her cheek. “Good night, Tessa, sleep well.” I force myself to walk out the door. That kiss got my cock to spring to life, so it looks like a cold shower is in my future tonight.

Tessa

Jake just left and cue my hormones. That kiss he gave me on the cheek has me floating in the clouds. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to keep my hands off him. I can already tell that the next time he makes a move I won’t have the willpower to turn him down. Maybe I have overcome the grief from losing Matt. I know he would want me to move on and be happy, but I just feel so guilty thinking of another man in a romantic way. I head to my room and continue to think about my growing feelings and attraction to Jake as I get ready for bed. I have another long day ahead of me tomorrow, and if I don’t get to sleep soon I will be dragging ass.

3 Weeks Later

The past few weeks have flown by. Tomorrow I turn 30, yay me! I let Caroline take control of planning my birthday celebration. I know she wouldn’t just let me celebrate it with a bottle of wine while sitting in my sweats on the couch watching re-runs, so I figured I would just let her plan it. I must admit I’m excited to see what she has planned. I’ve been told to be ready by noon for an afternoon of pampering and then a fun-filled night. My parents offered to keep Ty for me overnight so I don’t have to worry about getting a babysitter for him or worry how late we will be out. During the day, Luke is going to have him over to play with Jack and Oliver while we are out getting pampered.

I wake up bright and early to Ty crawling into my bed. He climbs in and immediately wraps his arms around me. “Happy Birthday, Momma!” he says happily to me.

“Thanks, buddy, how about we go make some pancakes for breakfast?” I ask Ty as I cuddle him closer to me.

“Can we have sprinkles on them for your birthday?”

“Sure, why not!”

We cuddle for a few more minutes and then head down to the kitchen. Ty loves to help me cook, so I let him stir the batter and add in the sprinkles. We finish our breakfast and I send him up to get dressed for the day while I clean up. I’m not sure what Caroline has scheduled for our day of pampering, so I need to text her and find out so I know what I need to do to get ready.

Tessa: Hey, what’s on the pamper agenda today? Should I shower now or will I have time after we go to the spa?

Caroline: Happy Birthday bitch!

Tessa: Thanks!

Caroline: You will be able to shower at the spa after our massages, and before hair and makeup. Dress comfortably. I have your party outfit ready and will bring it with me for you to change into once you are done!

Tessa: What are you dressing me in tonight?

Caroline: It’s a surprise!

Tessa: Am I going to live to regret allowing you to take full control of tonight’s festivities? LOL

Caroline: Never! You know I’m only doing this all out of love. You need to relax and let loose every once and awhile. You deserve it.

I knew she was going to say something that would make me cry. She’s anamazingbest friend and even though we give each other a ton of crap, I don’t know what I would do without her in my life.

Tessa: Thanks, C. I’ll see you soon. I need to finish getting Ty ready and pack his overnight bag. We’ll be over soon.

I head upstairs to check on Ty and find him mostly dressed. After he’s finished getting dressed we pack his overnight bag for my parents’ tonight. He’s super excited to stay the night, as well as to spend the day with Jack and Oliver. Once I’m done getting him packed, I get myself changed and ready to go celebrate turning 30 in style. I’ve decided I’m going to embrace whatever Caroline brings my way. After all, a girl only turns 30 once!

We arrive at Caroline and Luke’s house and Ty runs off to find Jack and Oliver. As he runs off for the playroom I call after him, “Hey, Ty, I’ll be leaving soon with Caroline. You be good for Luke and then for Grams and Gramps tonight. Come give me a hug and kiss goodbye. I don’t think I will see you until tomorrow sometime.” After saying goodbye to me, he runs off to go play with his friends.

---