"Thanks again for helping me out there, no one else has any interest in that old greenhouse. Just imagine what we can do to it in the summer, if you're still here." Karen smiles.

She made a pot of tea for us after we came inside and I am finishing the last of it as she speaks.

"Thanks again for the tea." I tell her before heading upstairs.

I'm surprised to find that it's already nine o'clock. I still have some homework to do before I go to bed so I lay my notes out on the bed and try my best to get some work done. I feel like I'm constantly busy with school, work, Hardin, Zed, Landon, my mother.. I haven't talked to my mother in almost two weeks.

I lean over and grab my phone from the nightstand to call my mother.

She answers on the second ring.

"Hello?" Loud noises fill the background.

"Hey.. how are you?" I ask her.

"I'm good, I'm actually having dinner with the Porter's. Tessa says hello everyone!" She says loudly.

"Oh.." I miss the Porter's. They were always so sweet to me.

"They say hello dear. They just got back from Mammoth this morning so we are grabbing a late dinner." My mother tells me.

She has always been obsessed with the Porter's. Their enormous house and their country club memberships make her practically foam at the mouth.

"How are you feeling? Is everything healed? You'll need to make an appointment with your doctor just to check up on everything. Don't forget to do that, I know how you forget things." She talks down to me.

I never forget things, actually.

"I already have made an appointment for next week." I lie.

"Oh, well that's nice. I've got to run Noah's lovely girlfriend is telling us all about her plans for college next year."

"His girlfriend's there?" I don't know why I'm asking, I'm just curious really.

I know I shouldn't have asked about her because that's exactly what my mother wanted.

"Yeah she's a lovely girl. You would like her, Becca you'll have to meet my daughter one day." She says.

"Uhm... yeah." I mumble and pray my mother doesn't put the girl on the line.

I hope she treats Noah the way he should be treated, he is so kind.

"I'm going to get off the phone, I don't want to be rude." She says in her fakest tone ever.

I still wonder why she was being so nice the day of my accident but it's good to know she is back to her normal self again.

I try to get as much work done as I possibly can but I end up falling asleep on top of my notes.

Hardin's POV.

"Has she been driving herself to Vance?" I ask Landon and I follow him out of my father's office.

"Yeah, she missed a few days when she was.. well you already know."

"Hmm.." I lower my voice as we walk past the room that is Tessa's for now.

I don't want to think of how I hurt her, not right now.

"Do you think she's in there?" I ask quietly.

"I don't know, probably." He shrugs.

"I should just.." I turn the door knob and it opens with a small creak.

Landon shoots me a glare but I ignore him as I peer inside.

She is laying on the bed with papers and textbooks scattered all around her. Her jeans are still on along with a sweatshirt, she must have been really exhausted to have fallen asleep while she was studying.

"Are you done being a creep now?" Landon hisses in my ear.

I flip the light switch off and step out of the doorway, pulling the door closed behind me.

"I'm not being a creep. I love her okay?" I defend myself.

"I know but you clearly don't understand the concept of giving her some space."

"I can't help it. I'm so used to being with her and I have been through hell the last nearly two weeks without her. It's hard for me to stay away from her."

We walk down the stairs in silence and I hope I didn't sound too much desperate. Then again, it's only Landon so I don't really give a fuck anyway.

"I'm trying, okay?" I remind him.

"Remember what I said and try not to mess it up." Landon disappears into the kitchen and I leave the house for the night.

I hate going to the apartment now that Tessa isn't there. For a second I consider calling Logan and going by the frat house but deep down I know that's a bad idea. I don't want any problems to occur and they always do, I just really don't want to go back to that empty apartment.

I do anyway. I am so damn tired, I haven't slept properly in ages it seems.

As I lay down in our bed I try to envision her arms around my waist and her head on my chest.

Tessa's POV.

I wake up earlier than normal so I enjoy taking my time to get ready. Hardin hasn't spoken to me since he left me laughing in the athletic building. I wonder if he still wants to go?

Has he changed his mind already? I miss him and I miss getting ready in my own bathroom at my own place. Ugh, this is always so complicated and stressful.

I'm sick of moving out, moving in, leaving, moving back in, moving out.. it's annoying and exhausting.

When I get to Vance Publishing Kimberly is perched on her desk with her arm stretched out in front of her to showcase her diamond ring. She admires it with a smile, shifting her hand back and forth under the light.

"Tessa!" She squeals when she notices me grabbing my usual breakfast.

"Good morning." I smile.

"How was the party? I mean was it okay having Hardin there?" She asks.

"Yeah.. it was okay." I blow on my coffee, focusing on the ripples created in the nearly black liquid.

"So.." She is so nosey but it amuses me.

She is your typical secretary, beautiful, witty, and full of gossip. She just also happens to be engaged to the boss.

"I have no idea." I answer honestly.

"Do you need some womanly advice?" She raises her perfectly waxed brow.

"Uhmm.."

"Oh come on! I'm good at advice. Not as good as you are but I can try." She smiles and tilts her head.

"Fine." I groan.

"But if I don't get any work done you have to be sure to tell your fiancé that it was your fault." I tell her and she jumps down from her desk to follow me to my office.

"I just love the sound of that..fiancé.. fiancé.." She repeats the entire way.

......

"A date? Well that's really cute." She is rearranging the books on my shelf and it's driving me insane to stay put and not walk over and snatch them from her hand.

"Yeah but I just went through the break-up cycle you know? I was finally ready to try to move on."

"Were you really going to be able to though?"

Was I?

"No, but I could have tried harder. People get over break-ups all the time." I try to convince her and myself.

"Not like yours. You and Hardin are.. I don't even know how to explain you two."

"Your advice is so helpful." I tease.

"Okay.. so you know like water and oil? When you put water and oil together, they separate and they don't mix together at all."

"Okay?" I have no idea where she is going with this and by the way she delays her response I suspect that she doesn't either.

"So you are the water and he's the oil. You're good together but you don't mix."

"That makes no sense at all." I laugh.

"It doesn't, does it?" She joins me and it feels nice to be laughing with someone.

Even with her terrible advice, she is very sweet and I really like her a lot. I will miss her when she moves to Seattle.

Seattle.

"Hey, do you think Christian would let me transfer to the new office too?" I ask her.

"What do you mean like now?"

"Yeah, well in a month or so that way I can save up enough money. I really just want to get away from here I think and Landon is moving soon so I don't have anyone at all." The thought of Landon moving pains me.

"I know he would love to have you there in Seattle. He's brought it up before but then after what Hardin told him he figured he wouldn't even bother to offer you a position there." She is still messing with the books.

"What do you mean what Hardin said?"

When did Hardin talk to Christian?

"About you not wanting to go to Seattle."

"What?"

"I don't know.. I thought you told him to talk to Christian? Maybe you should ask Hardin.." She is getting nervous I can tell.

"No, tell me." I beg her.

"Hardin told Christian that you were afraid that Christian was going to offer you a job in Seattle but you really didn't want to take it. He said you felt bad turning it down so Hardin asked him not to offer you the job... he was lying wasn't he?" She seems to catch onto my horrified expression.

"Yes he was. When was this?"

"About three weeks ago or so.. it was a day or two after you guys watched Smith." She tells me.

How could Hardin do that? How could he try to sabotage my career before it even started?

It doesn't surprise me as much as it should and that bothers me.

"Can I talk to Christian about it now? I want to go to Seattle."

"He's in Seattle until Thursday but you'll be here Thursday anyway. You can talk to him then." Kimberly tells me.

I stare out the window and a minute of silence passes between us before she speaks.

"Are you still going to go on the date with him?" She asks.

"I don't know.." I sigh.

I am fuming mad but I don't want to take it out on Kimberly. She's only the messenger.

"It was before all of this though.."

"You aren't seriously sticking up for him." I harshly remark.

"I'm only pointing out that he has went through a lot since then, you know the whole break-up cycle as you called it, and he's obviously trying to be different this time. He asked you on a date."

"Why does everyone always push me to forgive him no matter what he does?"

"I'm not pushing you to do anything, I'm only reminding you of the facts here."

"I know..I'm sorry for snapping at you. This is just so infuriating. Why would he do that? He always thinks he can just do stuff like this and it's okay. He would have never told me about talking to Christian. How long am I supposed to put up with this kind of stuff?" I lay my head on my hands.

"You don't have to at all but if I were you I would at least see what he has planned for the date. If he acts like a jerk then be done with it, with him. It's up to you but he did this before he went through all that."

I shouldn't have told Kimberly about Hardin being as heartbroken as I was because now she feels sorry for him and is taking his side.

I am so pissed at him right now, who does he think he is?

"Well?" She asks.

"I guess you're right but if he acts like an asshole I'm done. And I will be asking him why he did this." I tell her and she laughs.

"Have fun." She jokes and leaves my office.

The day breezes by and before I know it it's time to leave. I have no idea what to wear on this date with Hardin. I don't know where we are going, and actually I don't know if he intends to even take me anymore. He still hasn't called or text me all day. If he doesn't within an hour I am not going anywhere with him.

I am still angry that he told Mr. Vance not to offer me the job in Seattle. I knew he didn't want to move to Seattle but going behind my back and telling my boss I didn't want the job when he knows I did is low, even for Hardin. This is exactly why I left him in the first place, he can't just make decisions for me.

As I begin to plot his murder my phone vibrates on the center console and it's him.

"Hello." I bark.

"Uhm...hey?" He seems be thrown off by my rude tone.

"Yes?"

"Did you still want to go tonight?" Hardin asks.

"Yeah." I breathe. I am trying to remember what Kimberly said about him doing this before I agreed to think about giving me another chance. His fiftieth "another chance".

"Okay.. well uhm, I was going to pick you up at seven? Is that okay?"

"Sure."

"You don't have to.." He begins.

"No, it's fine. I just had a long day." I tell him.

I'm going to ask him about what he did but not right now, not on the phone.

"What happened?" He questions.

"I'll tell you later." I say.

"Tell me now."

Just as I am about to curse him out he speaks.

"Sorry, I meant okay that's fine." He corrects himself.

"Okay.. well I will see you at seven." I hang up the phone.

By the time I take a shower and dry my hair it's already six. After I apply my makeup I knock on Landon's bedroom door but there's no answer. I don't see his car in the driveway but he has been parking in the garage lately so he may still be here.

I have no idea what to wear because I don't know where we are going.

I decide to wear a dress anyway because this is a date with Hardin and I want to look as nice as possible. I can't decide between the four dresses I own, I need to buy more soon. I wear them all too much. I decide to go with the white dress, it's my favorite and Hardin's. I wear my black heels and shove a pair of toms in my purse before checking my makeup again.

My emotions switch back and forth between anxious and incredibly pissed off as I watch out the window for his car to pull in. Once it does I go downstairs to meet him at the door, I still haven't seen Landon and luckily Ken and Karen aren't in sight when I leave the house.

Most of my anger is dissolved when Hardin steps out of the car in the black button up shirt he wore to the dinner party. Is he wearing dress pants? Oh my god he is. And dress shoes, shiny black dress shoes. Wow.

He really is going all out for this. He looks so handsome and he even styled his hair. It's pushed back and I can tell he used something to keep it that way because it doesn't fall down onto his forehead as he walks the way it usually does.

"Erm.. hi?" He flushes.

"Hi." I can't stop staring at him.

Wait..

"Where are your piercings?" The metal rings are gone from his eyebrow and lip.

"I took them out." He shrugs.

"Why?"

"I don't know.. you don't think I look better this way?" He looks into my eyes.

"No! I loved the way you looked before.. and now too but you should put them back."

"I don't want them back in." He walks to the passenger side of his car to open the door for me.

"Hardin.. I hope you didn't take them out because you thought I would like you better this way because that's not true. I love you either way, please put them back in." His eyes light up at my words and I look away before climbing into the car.

No matter how mad at him I am I never want him to feel like he has to change for me. I love the way he looks, I love his lip and eyebrow ring. They are part of him and I love him.

"It's not really like that honestly. I've been thinking about taking them out for a while anyway. I have had them forever and they are sort of annoying. Besides who the hell will hire me at a real job with that shit in my face?" He buckles his seat belt and looks over to me.

"People would hire you, it's two thousand thirteen. If you like them.."

"It's not that big of a deal. I sort of like the way I look without them, like I'm not hiding anymore, you know?" I stare at him again and take in his new look.

He looks exquisite, he always does but it is sort of nice to not have any distractions on his perfect face.

"Well I think you look perfect either way Hardin, just don't think that I want you to look a certain way because I don't." I tell him and mean it.

When he looks at me he gives me such a shy smile that I forget what I wanted to yell at him about.

"Where are you taking me anyway?" I ask him.

"To dinner. It's a really nice place." His voice is shaky.

Nervous Hardin is my new favorite Hardin.

"Have I heard of it?"

"I don't know.. maybe?"

The rest of the car ride is quiet, I hum along to The Fray cd that Hardin has obviously taken a strong liking to and Hardin stares out the windshield. He keeps rubbing his hand over his thigh as he drives, a nervous action I can tell.

When we arrive at the restaurant it looks fancy and very expensive. All of the cars in the parking lot cost more than my mother's house I'm sure.

"I meant to open the door for you." He tells me when I open the door to get out.

"I can shut it back and you can re-open it?" I offer.

"That doesn't count Theresa." He smiles his smug smile and I can't help the butterflies in my stomach that appear when he calls me by my full name.

It used to drive me crazy but I secretly loved every time he would say it to annoy me. I love it almost as much as I love the way he says "Tess".

"We are back to Theresa I see?" I smile back at him.

"Yes, yes we are."

Hardin's POV.

A man in a crisp black suit is standing by the door at a podium taking names for reservations. He has the nerve to give us an odd look before asking our names.

"The reservation is under Hardin Scott." I tell him.

"Hmm.. give me one second." The bald man says.

I look over to Tessa and she is staring at a large painting on the wall. She had to wear that damn white dress to taunt me I'm sure.

"I don't have anything here under that name." He tells me.

"Yes you do. I called and made the reservation." I try to keep my voice as calm as possible.

"I don't have anything under that name sir, you may have gotten it confused?" He is doing this just to be a dick I know he is.

I saw the way he looked at us when we walked in. I know he can't see my tattoos and I took those damn piercings out but still. I should grab him by the back of his neck and slam his face into the podium.

"I didn't get it fucking.." I begin to tell him off but I stop myself when I glance over at Tessa again.

I can't ruin this date, it means everything to me.

"Fine." I growl and walk over to her.

"They don't have the reservation." I tell her.

"That's okay, we can go somewhere else. This place seems too snooty anyway." She assures me.

This is one of the million reasons that I love this girl. She doesn't care about fancy dinners or luxury cars. I don't know why I listened to Landon and brought her here in the first place.

"Snooty?" I tease.

"Yep. Snooty." She smiles and all is right in the world.

I don't give a shit about that bald fuck who tried to ruin my night. All I care about is trying to show her that I can treat her the way she deserves to be treated.