I don’t want to ask anything that might shift the dynamic. But I am curious about her life. I know nothing besides the fact that she works at the casino.
“Do you live nearby?”
“Near old town.” She states the fact as vaguely and as simply as possible.
“How long have you lived in Vegas?” I pour more coffee into my cup and top hers off as well.
“About a year.”
When she doesn’t add any more details, I don’t press.
“So,” I begin again, trying a different topic. “Think things will be awkward with everyone?”
“With like Emmy and Claire and the guys?”
“Yeah, I mean, do you think they will think...”
She smiles, looking away as if she is bashful. Already I miss the Tess I got to know in the bedroom, the Tess who told me what she wanted, who gave more and more of herself until she was undone.
It seems like the girl evaporated the moment she put her clothes on and washed her face.
“Well, my friends knew about my crush. And they’re going to be asking questions. Lots.”
“And what will you tell them?”
She shrugs. “Nothing.”
I swallow, wondering why her answer rubs me the wrong way.
“You don’t want them to know about last night?”
“Do you?” she asks. “Honestly, you don’t need drama right now. I’ve read the news and you don’t need anyone talking.”
“Our friends won’t sell me out.”
“I know, but people overhear, or well-intentioned people accidentally slip up. All the time. The last thing you need is the press to get wind of a fling.”
“I didn’t really read much of the news on the break-up.”
“Well, that’s probably a good thing. It was rough.” She bites her lip, as if holding back.
“What?”
“I just don’t think we should mention last night to anyone.”
I don’t know why her insistence on this staying on the down-low bothers me. Especially since Ashley told the media everything about us, whether it was true or not. But for some reason, the fact that Tess doesn’t want anyone to know she slept with me bugs me.
To be honest, I want the world to know we fucked and that it literally blew my mind.
“Are you embarrassed about having been with me?” I ask her.
He eyes bug out of her head. “No.”
“Well, then why ... never mind.” I shake my head, feeling like my alphaness is going out the window with each moment I dwell on this. So what? She doesn’t want to sleep and tell. That’s a good thing, especially after the relationship I just ended.
But Tess seems to gather what I’m implying, without me needing to say it.
“Look,” she says. “I had an amazing time last night. And this morning. Like, you aren’t some asshole, you are a complete gentleman. You could have told me to leave last night after we fucked, but you woke up, made me come, and then made me coffee. You’re a good guy, Jack. It’s just, this is a one-time thing, right?”
I nod, knowing that it should be a one-time thing. Tess is a sort-of friend, and nothing more. I barely know the girl.
“So us telling people about it just creates drama. I don’t want the attention, Jack. Even if it is just from our friends. I don’t want to be in the limelight—with them, or the press, or anyone.”
“That’s cool,” I tell her. “Honestly. I just have an ego. Don’t want a girl to walk away unsatisfied.”
She sets her empty coffee cup in the sink, then grabs her purse from the kitchen counter.
“No worries there, I’m completely satisfied.” She leans over and gives me a soft kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Jack. Last night you made me feel incredible. It’s been a while since I felt that good about myself.”
“I sent for a car. It should be waiting for you. But let me walk you out.”
She smiles. “Thanks.”
We take the elevator down to the lobby. We stand side by side, and it isn’t an awkward silence that fills the air, more of a why is this ending so soon silence.
I know Tess is the last thing I need right now. A yearlong cluster-fuck of a relationship should turn me off of women for a while. But Tess isn’t just some woman.
And, hell, I don’t know what she is exactly ... but it’s worth finding out.
As the elevator stops on the ground floor, I reach for her hands before the doors slide open.
“Can I take you out again?”
The doors open, and before she can answer, the paparazzi overwhelm us. Photos are taken, one after another, as we press through the crowd.
The limo is waiting, and I see fear in her eyes. Pure pain. She wasn’t fucking around about not wanting drama.