New Amsterdam: Tess by Ashley Pullo Read Free Book Online Page B

ecological statement about the condition of our oceans and the decrease in mythical creatures. Three-hundred years ago, the East River was crawling with mermaids and killer squids.”
    Smiling, Thessaly adds, “I kinda dig those leggings with the emerald sequins.”
    “C’mon,” he urges, pulling her from the window. “What time is Meg coming in? Maybe she can bring me lunch later – I mean, I’ll be sweating under a tent selling jam to tourists who want directions to the Brooklyn Bridge, it’s the least she can do.”
    “Meg, huh?” Thessaly grins as she opens the door to the Beanery. “Why don’t you want me to bring you lunch?” She winks.
    Seth sits at a small table, stretches out his legs, folds his arms behind his head and raises his eyebrows. “Don’t start with me, Tess.”
    “Iced coffee?”
    “Milk and two sugars,” he adds.
    Thessaly orders and pays for their drinks at the cashier, and then waits at the end of the counter while checking her phone for Facebook notifications. Her shoulders drop and her face saddens as she slides her phone back inside her pocket. Forming a polite smile, she takes the drinks from the barista and heads back to the table.
    “It’s packed in here, huh?” Thessaly jokes.
    Seth pulls out the chair next to him and pats the seat. “Talk to me. No jokes, no shop-talk, no Game of Thrones book discussions – just us.”
    Swirling the caramel around in her drink and biting the inside of her lip, Thessaly sits next to Seth. With a wily smile, she whispers, “Tyrion is a Targaryean.”
    “Zip it!”
    Thessaly takes a sip of her iced latte and crosses her leg. Placing the orange cup back on the table, she probes, “Have you ever been in love?”
    “Love? Honestly, I’m not sure. I think I know what it would feel like to love someone, but I’ve never experienced that feeling. What about you?” Seth counters.
    “Yeah, definitely. But I guess it’s not really love love if I’m the only one that feels that way.”
    “That college boyfriend that works in finance?”
    Thessaly nods as she stares out the window. “We have dinner occasionally, and sometimes there are moments when he cares deeply about me, and sometimes there’s more,” she says, twirling her straw. “But I think about him all the time – like when I see a penny on the ground, or a squirrel eating pizza crust. I see Mason everywhere.”
    Without Thessaly noticing, Seth furrows his brows and snorts. But realizing that she’s serious, he offers, “Maybe it’s time to move on.”
    “Maybe,” Thessaly mutters. “But we were good together – we were comfortable.” She chokes back a few tears and stutters, “We were uncomplicated. I don’t know what love is if it’s not easy.”
    Seth sighs and leans forward to rest his arms on the table. “Can I ask what happened?”
    “Nothing major. We were and then we weren’t.” Circling her finger over the lid of the coffee, she adds, “Mason decided one day that we needed to pursue lives in New York without being a couple. That we would always fall back together when the time was right. Can I tell you a secret?”
    “Kinky sex?”
    “Never! I obsess over his Instagram account – he’s so happy without me.”
    Seth groans and lowers his voice. “No, Tess.”
    Blushing, she admits, “I know. I’m pathetic. I’m pretty much a stalker.” Thessaly slurps her coffee and then slams the cup on the table. “There was a Duke Business Alumni dinner at the Bowery Hotel in March and I didn’t think he would show – totally an event beneath him. And it’s not like we discussed it or anything. But guess who shows up late to the dinner? Mason and his gorgeous date wearing a tiny cocktail dress. I was wearing a Hillary Clinton pant suit.”
    “Damn, that sucks, Tess.” Seth bangs the table like bongo drums. “Okay, I guess this is the part where I make you feel better by offering sage advice.”
    “I know what you’re going to say – I need to move on.