Tangled (7 page)

“Don't
worry. It'll be my treat. Consider a belated birthday gift.”

“My
birthday is in four months.”

“Ok,
an early birthday present courtesy of dear old dad.” Jade grinned deviously as
she brandished a credit card.

“Didn't
he tell you that was for emergencies only?”

She
had the gall to look affronted. “This is an emergency. We're trying to get you
laid in the name of love.”

The
chipper receptionist returned before Tess could further argue her case. “Right
this way, ladies.”

Having
never been to a spa, Tess was pleasantly surprised by the treatment. Everything
was subdued, from the Far East fusion of music to the deliberately soft
intonations used by her caretakers.

Hot
rocks and firm hands purged years' worth of knots from her stressed flesh. It
felt strange to allow people to pamper her. Unaccustomed to the role of
attendee, she tried hard not to feel like a total poser.

By
the end of their three-hour session, Tess felt like a new woman. Hair trimmed
and blown to bone straightness, plucked and waxed within an inch of her life,
and imbued
with a limberness that
granted levity, she ignored Jade's smug, I-told-you-so expression.

“You
did not tell me a Brazilian was included in the package,” she grumbled.

“Tell
Cam he can thank me tomorrow. Now text him and see what he's doing later.”

Tess
typed the message. A minute later her phone vibrated with a response.

Prob
hanging out around the house.

“Good.
So he doesn’t intend on going anywhere.”

“Why?
Am I planning on drugging and kidnapping him?”

Jade
paused, as if to legitimately consider the idea. “We'll use that as a last
resort.” She grabbed her phone and replied to his text.
K. I’ll drop by later.
 

“And
the stage has been set.”

“For
what?”

“You'll
see,” Jade alluded vaguely.

After
the cabbie dropped Jade back at campus, Tess instructed him to drive her to the
restaurant. If she needed any more reassurance about her new look, her
coworkers' stunned expressions did away with the rest of her doubts.

Her
bulldog of a supervisor was the first to overcome shock. “Hot date tonight?”

“Hopefully.”

“Hopefully
my ass. You're a good girl, Tess, and any man worth his salt will know.”

Tess
palmed her chest. “Diane, I'm touched. It’s almost as if you care.”

She
grunted. “Clock in and get your bony ass back out here. We've got work to do.”

Tess
didn't know if it was her new look or if fate decided to grant her a reprieve,
but her shift passed without incident. Even stranger, her customers were not
completely intolerable and for once tipped her more than the obligatory
percentage.

After
punching out and trudging back to campus, she discovered Jade had artfully
arranged an outfit and lingerie on her bed.

“Please
tell me that’s new.”

She
smirked. “Haven’t even tried it on. First, order something he likes from that
Italian place up the street from his house. Then go shower. And for the love of
all that’s holy, do not get your hair wet.”

“Yes
ma’am.” Tess saluted and carried out her orders. Within less than an hour, she
was geared and slipped into battle dress. Beneath an inconspicuous blouse and
skirt ensemble, she wore a sheer, black halter
babydoll
and matching v-string. Both were possibly the most uncomfortable articles of
not quite-there clothing she ever had the misfortune of donning.

“My
vagina feels cold.”

“Stop
whining.” Jade pushed her toward the door. “I put a bottle of merlot in your
bag. And remember what I told you.”

“Pick
up the food. Get him drunk. Wait until his guard is lowered, complain about it
being too hot, and begin stripping.” Tess paused by the door. “Is this corny
shit really going to fly? Because I feel like you’re setting me up for
failure.”

“No
more than you’ve done to yourself for the past three years.” Jade hustled her
out. “You’re not allowed back into this room until you have sex.”

“You’re
such a good friend,” she said, and then lost the sarcasm. “But seriously, J.
Thanks. I owe you big time.”

“
Psh
, what're friends for? Now go make mama proud.” The door
closed in her face with a jarring thud.

Bracing
herself amid the rough swells of trepidation, Tess set off for the Italian
restaurant. She tried not to wince at the total. The meal for two would have
probably lasted her a week. Tess sucked it up and paid.

This
was it. This would be the defining point in their relationship, if not the most
embarrassing scheme ever hatched. Thank God it was too chilly out for her to
start sweating.

Opening
the front door they never locked, she frowned at the loud music and raucous
laughter coming from upstairs.

“It’s
the other roommate.” She started as Riley swiped his jacket from the living
room couch. He whistled low. “I’m
guessin
’ you’ve
decided to take matters into your own hands?”

Her
face flamed at the double entendre. “You guess right. Where’s Cam?”

“He
met up with his lab partner about an hour ago. He should be back soon.” He kissed
her cheek. “You look beautiful, lass.”

“Thanks
Ri
.”

“Be
safe,” he said with fatherly severity. “And remember condoms prevent lives.” He
ducked out the front door before she could hit him.

After
depositing her purse in his room, she set up camp in the kitchen. Tess raided
their cabinets for silverware and plates. In true bachelor fashion, she found
nothing but Styrofoam and plastic. They’d have to do. Tess removed the food
from the containers onto plates and checked the time again.

Fifteen
minutes had elapsed.

Needing
something to take the edge off, she uncorked the wine and poured herself a
glass. One glass became two. Then two became three. Eventually three became the
entire bottle of merlot.

Tess
blearily checked her phone for the hundredth time.

What
the hell was taking him so long?

She
received her answer in the form of the Audi’s kittenish purr outside. Nerves
sent her pulse flying into overdrive. It was now or never. The world slid
sideways as she hopped up.

She
waited for her vision’s reorientation before striding to the den’s bay window.
Kneeling on the sofa, she peeked out of the gauzy drapes.

If
not for the couch supporting her weight, Tess’s legs would’ve given out. An
unfamiliar girl flitted out of the passenger side and attached herself to his
arm. He laughed, his smooth baritone muffled by glass. Giggling at his words,
she tried to pull him toward his house. With a laugh, he shook his head and
nudged her down the sidewalk.

With
a huffy exclamation, she allowed him to escort her away.

Tess
lurched to her feet, her sight blurred by tears. Wine-fogged, she teetered to
the kitchen and switched on the cold tap. She splashed her face until she
couldn’t distinguish if the liquid streaming down her face was water or tears.

It
cut deeper than anything she’d felt in a long time. This was what happened when
she opened herself to this possibility. Did he plan this? Did he want her
standing by so she could witness that she would never be anything more than a
friend?

Faintly,
she heard people stumbling down the rickety staircase, doors slamming, and then
silence. Tess turned off the water and fumbled for a napkin dangling from the
dispenser. Mechanically, she wiped her face and tossed the crumpled napkin in
the nearby trashcan.

She
didn’t think she could take too much more.

Was
being his friend really worth it?

Tess
glanced at the cold, Italian spread laid out with meticulous care. Anger
swallowed pain, sucking it into the black hole left by his un-betrayal since
they meant nothing to each other. Sequestering the trashcan, she swept wilting
salad, hardened bruschetta, and congealed lasagna off the table.

“So you’ve finally caught on.”

Tess whirled around to the lone
silhouette backlit by the hallway’s anemic fixtures.

 
“I’m not in the mood, Adonis.” Ignoring
him, she shoved the trash back into its designated corner and set her empty
wine glass in the sink.

With
a deep-throated chuckle, he strode to the fridge. “Not in the mood, eh?” He
retrieved a bottle of water. “I suppose I wouldn’t be either after getting shot
down for, what is it now, the umpteenth time?”

Her
fingertips bit into the countertop as rage bolstered by alcohol rode hard
through her. “Better than being locked up in a hospital and having my stomach
pumped. Tell me, did pissing out of a tube hurt much?”

Oxygen
fled her lungs as his arms swung up on either side of her. The cabinets rattled
behind her head. Despite the darkness shrouding the kitchen, there was no
mistaking the fury outlining his features.

And
for a second, Tess feared she’d pushed him too far. But the dulcet tone of his
voice undercut
the act of aggression
.
“I live life with no regrets. Everything
I want, I get. But you wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“No,
but then I’m not an attention-seeking asshole. Don’t make excuses for being a
junkie.”

“We
are all addicts, just with different brands of poison. And we both know what
yours happens to be.” Her nipples pebbled to furious points as his gaze
scorched down her body. “Acceptance. You desperately cling to someone who will
never want you. You’re a masochist, Tess. You enjoy playing the part of the
helpless victim, waiting for your knight-in-shining armor to come to your
rescue.”

Emotion
sealed off her air supply. “Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh,
I know more than you think,
Tessandra
.” His lips peeled into a fiendish grin. “Why don’t
you leave and save yourself what’s left of your dignity before he returns?”

He
sickened her. His voice, his noxious presence, the fact that he was right…

She’d
spent years barricading her weaknesses, but he always blew past them.
Everything was a joke to him. His grades, his future, his life…

Seething,
Tess watched as he unscrewed the cap to his water bottle and pulled mouthfuls
of water with deliberate languor. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down behind
the thin partition of skin. He even made drinking water seem dirty.

She
hated his cruel perfection. No matter how badly he sullied himself and his
name, he always seemed untouchable.
An indomitable force of
nature.
Nothing ever got to him. He was too far removed from the plights
of ordinary people.

She
vacantly wondered what it would be like to see his beauty blemished and hauteur
broken.

Tess
caught herself too late and when her gaze returned to his face, she knew he
hadn’t missed her scrutiny. Only this time, there was no disdain, no blatant
repulsion, not even a trace of that arrogant smirk.