Part five
Tessa opened her eyes and stared at the television. It had been turned off and she was momentarily confused in the dimly lit room. A look towards the light coming through the curtains told her that it was morning. She felt the weight of someone’s arm around her and took in the masculine scent of the body she was snuggled against, and she panicked.
She sat up quite suddenly, taking in her surroundings, seeing Conner against the sofa as she desperately tried to bring back the memories of the night before. His heavy eyes were open, and he sat up a bit, giving her room to get away from him. He noticed her discomfort and gently reached for her hand, his small attempt to assure her that everything was all right.
When Tessa had fallen asleep on him before the movie ended, Conner had been surprised. For a long time he had debated if he should wake her or carry her to her bed. He had not wanted to frighten her by doing either, and the idea of snuggling with her all night felt too good, so he had decided to close his eyes and rest with her. His neck and back regretted it of course, but waking up with her was well worth a little discomfort. Now Tessa was looking confused, so he did his best to explain.
“You fell asleep.” He said gently, “I didn’t want to wake you, are you alright?”
Tessa took a moment, realizing that she had been with him all night and he had made no move to hurt her. She felt herself smile as she gave him a nod, looking at his hand holding hers.
“Sorry.” She replied.
“I didn’t mind.” He smiled.
Tessa suddenly withdrew her hand and stood up.
“I’m going to make some coffee.” She explained.
Conner watched her leave, she obviously needed her space and he was going to give it to her. He waited for a few minutes and slowly tried to remove the kink from his neck, noticing that his skin felt extra-soft where Tessa had cuddled up to him.
It was difficult to pry himself from the sofa, he was sore, and he was definitely not a morning person. But he made his way downstairs anyways, where Tessa poured him a cup of coffee and disappeared again. When she returned she had cleaned up from sleeping and she had changed into jeans and a t-shirt. He knew that he should get home and clean up too. He needed to get to work.
“I’m really sorry I fell asleep on you.” she finally said, it had been silent until now, Conner had been waiting for her to feel comfortable again. “I guess I didn’t realize how tired I was.”
Conner smiled, he wanted to tell her how much he truly didn’t mind, but she continued to speak, and this time he didn’t interrupt her. What she was saying had his heart jumping.
“Conner, I had a nice time last night.” She explained, biting at her bottom lip. “I was wondering, if you’re not busy, do you want to come over again? Tonight maybe?”
Conner did his best to hide his excitement. He managed to give her a nod.
“Definitely.” He smiled.
He must have looked more enthusiastic than he had meant to, because Tessa blushed and then averted her eyes shyly. Conner loved when she looked like that, and he loved it more that she had managed to make the next move. Of course, if she hadn't he most definitely would have.
Conner was back that night, and the next. Eating upstairs had seemed to become some sort of routine. He never really paid any attention to the movies they played, and the third night they didn’t even watch what was playing. He spent his nights kissing and holding her, and days were spent missing her.
Conner had discovered that despite Tessa’s uncertainty most of the time, she was very affectionate, and he loved every second of it. She had stopped flinching every time he touched her, so he had used less caution. Although, she had managed to bite him three more times, every time she heard a sound outside or within her house, but he always assured her that it was alright, and he was more than willing to comfort her fears after she was finished with her apologizing.
He had also managed to get her to talk to him more. She had nervously explained that the night of the storm she had heard something outside while she was in the kitchen. She was running up the stairs when the branch had come through the window and the shock had caused her to fall. Her arm had caught the railing and that was how she had injured herself.
“When I get like that I don’t really think clearly,” she had explained, “When you showed up, I knew it was you, but at the same time I wasn’t sure… I guess it’s hard to explain. I’m sorry if I was difficult.”
Conner had assured her that it was no trouble at all. She wouldn’t explain her reaction to Misty, and Conner didn’t push her to. He assumed that Tessa figured Misty had explained things to him, but Tessa never brought it up, and he decided not to ask about the past until she was ready. That was one thing that she would have to bring up on her own, in the meantime, he just wanted to get to know her.
…………
Friday night Conner had managed to finish work early. He called Tessa in the middle of the day and told her so, and he ended up at her house well before dinnertime. They had a late lunch together and he learned more about her life.
Other than the tragedy she had been forced to live through she seemed to have had a relatively happy childhood. She was young enough when her mother had died that it never really had an effect on her. Dr. Formike loved her like his own daughter, and Katrina was her half sister, only a few years younger than Tessa.
Tessa seemed to like talking about her sister. They didn’t see each other very often lately, but it was clear that they were close, and Conner had ultimately decided that if Katrina was important to Tessa, he would do his best to like her.
Tessa seemed equally interested in Conner’s life. He explained that his family only lived a few blocks from him, but he only saw them once a month. His brothers were busy with their families, Conner had two nephews and one niece, and he loved them all, even if he hardly ever saw them. He also loved his parents, but part of the reason that he hadn't seen them recently was because they had never been entirely fond of his ex-wife, and even after the divorce he had never actually reestablished a bond with them.
Talking about his divorce was one subject that was difficult for Conner. He would admit to being divorced, and he would even give small details, but he never actually talked about it. It took him off guard when Tessa asked for more information, he was tempted to change the subject, but he decided that if he ever expected her to open up to him, he would have to make an equal effort.
“Does she still live in town?” Tessa had asked, as they made themselves comfortable in her office, which served as more of a living room lately.
“No, she moved away last year.” Conner explained, “I’m not sure where she is now. I think she left because we both got tired of running into each other. If she hadn't left first I probably would have.”
Tessa was watching him as he spoke, trying to understand. She had only been in love once, but she was certain that if she had ever had the chance to marry David, and if something had happened between them, she would have never wanted to fully get away from him.
She had been thinking about David a lot lately. She found it strange that she wasn’t comparing Conner to David. In the months of her recovery after the first time she was abducted; she had found herself comparing every man she met to David. She tried not to think about it too much. Remembering David, depressed and frightened her, and she knew that if she put too much thought into it, she would probably end up pushing Conner away.
“What happened?” Tessa asked, “I mean, it sounds like you were happy.” She bit her lip, realizing his expression had suddenly darkened, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
Conner forced himself to smile. This was not the time to shut down, he wanted her to trust him, and for that to happen, she had to know that he trusted her.
“It’s alright.” He insisted, “I was happy. I loved her since high school. I guess we never actually wanted the same things. I wanted a family, and she didn’t. She had never really been into kids, too much of a commitment for her I guess. I had eventually decided that she could be enough, I didn’t need the rest of it… and then I came home one day and she told me she was pregnant.”
“I thought you said that you didn’t have children.” Tessa replied softly.
Conner winced for a moment and then looked at her again.
“I don’t.” he frowned, “It wasn’t mine. She had been sleeping with one of my best friends. I wanted to think that maybe it could have been mine, but I had been working a lot, and the timing just didn’t add up. I won’t lie to you, it was hard Tessa, and I did some stupid things. When my friend tried to apologize to me I accepted his apology by sending him to the emergency room.”
Tessa looked surprised, but she just nodded, obviously this information didn’t frighten her the way Conner had thought it might, but that didn’t keep him from being concerned. The last thing he needed was for Tessa to think he was some kind of monster. He shook his head, shaking away the memory.
“He never pressed charges,” Conner explained, “and after that, my wife moved out. She never did have the baby; I’m not sure exactly what happened and she left town before I worked up the nerve to ask. I will admit, knowing that I’m not going to run into her makes it easier to go to work every morning, but I guess I still wonder sometimes. There’s always that question in the back of my head, what if we were wrong? What if the baby was mine?”
“I’m sorry.” Tessa said.
Conner looked in her direction again and smiled, trying to ease some of the tension suddenly filling the room as he noticed that Tessa seemed uncomfortable.
“I didn’t mean to drop that on you.” Conner shook his head, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.” She insisted, “I guess I’m just surprised.”
“Look Tessa, I don’t get in fights.” Conner suddenly felt like he needed to defend himself, “My friend had just decided to apologize to me at a bad time. I’m not violent, I swear, that’s the first and last time that I ever hit anyone other than my brothers, but even then we were just playing around.”
“Not that.” Tessa replied, “I’m not surprised that you reacted the way you did; you were betrayed by your best friend. I was talking about your wife. I mean, I know people cheat, but with your best friend? No offense, but I don’t think I would have liked your wife very much.”
Conner stared at her for a moment and when she looked at him again she blushed.
“You’re right.” He smiled, “You wouldn’t have liked her. I guess I should be happy that I don’t have to worry about introducing you.”
