Page 58 of Homebody
This was too much like playing house. He was a little too comfortable here with her. And all that added up to a whole lotta pain coming his way.
Dean slipped quietly out Tessa’s door, making sure to lock it behind him. The stars twinkled above as the cool night air brushed his face. If he got right to sleep the moment he hit the mattress he’d be able to log at least a few hours of sleep before sunrise.
Standing next to the car, he reached into his front pocket for the key and then slid his cell phone out of the back pocket. That was when he noticed the texts. More than one. Juniper wondering if he’d be stopping at the bar last night.
He shook his head. No, he hadn’t been at the bar last night. He’d been in Tessa’s apartment, happily making use of that sofa. And then the bed.
Juniper was relentless. In spite of the fact he and Tessa had been seen around town too often for her to ignore, she still hadn’t given up. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t give up. And that what began as her just reaching out could turn nasty fast.
Memories hit him hard and fast. And not the good kind. Juniper. Him. Trying the long-distance thing after he’d enlisted.
He’d missed her calls and texts during basic training when they hadn’t been allowed phones. She’d made him pay for that with hours of hysterics when he finally did get to call her.
The first night he’d gone out with the guys, even though he hadn’t even talked to a woman, she’d accused him of lying and cheating on her.
He couldn’t make it home for her birthday that first year he was in Virginia. He’d sent her flowers with a card and a gift to make up for it. It didn’t matter. She threw it in his face that he hadn’t been there for that day every time they had a fight, which was often. He hadn’t sent a woman flowers since.
At least, not until Tessa.
Shit.He was in trouble.
Being apart while trying to be together didn’t work, he knew that, no matter how much he wanted it to work with Tessa. And boy did he want it to, but he cared enough about her to not put her through that hell of being a couple long distance. Or even trying to be friends after having been a couple.
A clean break would be the smart course of action… if he could only bring himself to do it. It would suck being back on base if he had nothing to look forward to. No texts. No calls. No video chats with Tessa.
They could try. They could also fail. In the end, whether he cut it off or they tried and failed, the result would be the same. Him alone.
One more day. That was all he was guaranteed with Tessa. Then he’d be gone.
Until then, he just wouldn’t let himself think about the future. And he definitely wasn’t going to talk about the future, or the lack of it, with her.
He and Tessa would just enjoy what little time they had left together. He’d worry about the rest—his impending misery—once he was on that plane and then back in Virginia.
Chapter Thirty
“I’m sorry we didn’t do something exciting on our last day,” Dean said.
“This is exactly what I want to be doing,” Tessa, head resting on his arm rather than the pillow, answered. She pretended his words,our last day, didn’t gut her as she asked, “What time are you leaving for the airport tomorrow?”
She’d tried to sound upbeat. Casual. She might have even succeeded.Yay, her.
The truth was, she felt anything but upbeat or casual. Her heart clenched. Her stomach twisted. And her brain couldn’t help but keep continuously calculating the hours they had remaining together before Dean flew away from her.
Tessa hadn’t been able to bear the thought of sharing him with the outside world today, their last day. Hence the reason they’d spent the whole day alone in various stages of undress in her apartment. They’d even ordered food delivered so they didn’t have to go pick up take-out.
Greedy for every moment she could have with Dean, she’d requested a day off from the salon. Ruby, still Susan’schief accomplice in this sham—scam, scheme, whatever—had immediately agreed.
“Zero-dark thirty,” Dean answered.
“Oh. Okay,” she said, as if she understood when exactly zero-dark thirty was.
His lips twitched. “I have to check-in with command Monday so I booked the first flight out of Albany Sunday morning. We’re leaving at four a.m. for my seven o’clock flight.”
Her brows rose. “That is early.”
“Well, to be fair, I didn’t know I’d have a reason to sleep in Sunday morning when I booked that flight.”
Looking down at her, he ran the back of his knuckles against her cheek. Then he let out a sigh.
