Tessa Ever After by Brighton Walsh Read Free Book Online Page B

heard the saying ‘ladies first’?”
    “Yeah, well, at least you’re having sex. I’d just be happy to be getting any .”
    “And, see? That right there is exactly why my ass is going to be at the bar again this weekend, searching for the elusive Mr. Right Now. I get grumpy without sex.”
    “I don’t even remember sex.”
    “Who was the last guy?”
    “David.”
    “ David? Jesus, Tess, that was over a year ago. You got any cobwebs up there?” she asks, twirling her spoon in my direction.
    I snort. “Oh, you’re hilarious.”
    She shrugs and gives me a self-satisfied smirk. “I think so. But seriously, we need to work on that.”
    “What do you think I’m doing? I have date number two with someone on Friday. He didn’t do anything for me the first time, but maybe . . .” I shrug.
    “And who is this someone?”
    “He’s the one I went out with a couple weeks ago. Greg, the orthodontist.”
    She scrunches up her nose. “Oh, honey. An orthodontist is never going to fuck all those cobwebs out of you.”
    Laughing, I turn away and put my spoon in the sink. “You keep going to the bars and finding your losers and leave me and my nice guys out of it.”
    “Whatever you say. Let me know when you’re ready for someone a little more dangerous.”
    Without my permission, my mind immediately conjures up an image of Jason. From his carelessly mussed dark hair to his mischievous eyes to his ever-present smirk, he’s got the looks andthe charisma, not to mention the reputation . . . He’s exactly the kind of dangerous she’s talking about.
    And that’s exactly the reason I’ll never go for a guy like him. I’ve done the dangerous thing before. Tried the whole taming-a-bad-boy thing—and it got me pregnant and alone at seventeen.
    Regardless of how boring these nice guys are, it doesn’t matter. Because I’ve already been down the road of heartbreak and loneliness, and I have absolutely no interest in traveling it again.

SIX
    tessa
    After spending a shit-ton of money on an after-hours call to the plumber, plus the repairs needed, my budget this month is shot. The last thing I need to do is shell out money on a completely unnecessary slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. But that’s exactly why I’m going to do, because it’s been one thing after another for too long, and now to top it all off, I had a giant block of cancellations at the salon this morning. I totally deserve this plate of deliciousness and all the calories that go with it, and I’m not going to feel guilty about it. I’m also not going to feel guilty about eating it before I even delve into the salad currently sitting off to the side.
    Despite being midday, the café isn’t as busy as I would’ve thought it’d be. There are a handful of students inside, every one of them with a laptop open in front of them. I generally hate getting lunch by myself, though it’s rare I ever actually have the option to do so. I hardly ever get a minute to myself to just breathe ,either too busy with work or Haley or life, and I want to bask in the feeling of having absolutely nothing to do.
    Although I might do better if I weren’t sitting idle, because whenever I do, I automatically think about everything that’s happened in the last couple weeks—in the last several months—and then I’m right back at square one, feeling overwhelmed.
    Even after my talk with Cade earlier this week, after his reassurances that everything is fine, that I’m doing fine, I still don’t feel it. I feel lost and in over my head, and I don’t know what to do to make it change. I wish I had a pause button for life—that I could just freeze everything for a little bit to try and get caught up. To try and feel like I actually have my shit together.
    The bell on the front door jingles as I take another giant bite of my cheesecake, staring out the window at the people walking around campus. I hardly ever get over here anymore, not since Cade graduated,