A/N: Hi everyone! Before we get to the latest post to Jake and Tessa's love story, here's something fun for you if you're a big TMMM fan.

Characters Magazine is doing something different and quirky where they interview your favorite book characters for you. You just have to send in your questions and view the whole compilation (with answers) through the app. I think it's pretty cool. I've always wanted to have them interviewed (which is why I wrote that magazine article for the holidays).

To go to the Google form where you can input your questions, copy the link you see below on your browser. Send them in by end of day Wednesday Mountain Daylight Savings Time (MDST). I'll let you know once we've compiled and answered them so you can see the whole thing. It'll be fun! It's a Q&A with Charlotte and Brandon—of course, it'll be fun.

Here's the link (I'll put this in my profile page too so you can click it directly): http://goo.gl/forms/dLuT6UI7XEECIxao2

Enjoy!

***

Jake

A rational man would take one look at this and call it all kinds of stupid.

So despite years of assuming myself to be one, I'm obviously not a rational man.

Because for all its problems and consequences, this is pretty damn perfect.

I tried to wipe the smile off my face as I gazed down at Tessa. In the soft light of the breaking dawn, her sleeping face was young and peaceful, hinting at the sweet, quiet child she'd been. But there was nothing childlike about her anymore and I had a suspicion it had been that way for a while now.

Except that you haven't noticed.

That wasn't exactly true.

I've noticed. I just quickly made myself forget my observation.

Last night, there was no forgetting the all grown-up Tessa who also owned up to a boldness she'd never really displayed before.

Except that one time she poured her heart out to you in a love letter.

I cringed at the memory. I was twenty-one then and I had a vague memory of teasing her with a question of marrying me one day once she was all grown up. She was only twelve and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. In hindsight though, the good intentions behind my response didn't seem so wise now. She should've known then and there that I had no interest in her like that.

But now it's eight years later, and she's all grown up, and you're very interested.

What a spectacular mess.

There were a lot of reasons for it.

First, Tessa was definitely correct about my behavior last night. It was over-the-top protective and I had no real good reason except that it ate at me to sit and watch while every red-blooded male in the party panted after her. I would have to just bluntly admit it and cross my fingers that she'd understand.

Second, Tessa was nowhere in the list of the five women I'd invested my time and commitment to in the last several weeks in hopes of finding something a little more meaningful with one of them. My idea did seem pretty idiotic to me now which would make it really difficult for me to explain to all five women why my experiment had completely backfired. Worse, I would have to convince Tessa to conveniently chalk it up to a serious lapse of judgement that would never happen again.

Lastly, Brandon might kill me before I'm able to do any of these things because she's his baby sister. It's high on the list of things you just never screw around with—literally. And code or not, my not-so-undeserved reputation wouldn't earn me any brotherly vote. I wouldn't vote for myself if this was my sister we were talking about—at least not for the Jake from before last night before he was altered by the petite, seemingly harmless beauty sleeping next to him.

I had no illusions about being altered after last night.

Things have changed—big time.

Yet despite the alarms going off in the back of my head, the plans I knew I would have to make, I felt perfectly unhurried and content.

With a light hand, I brushed a lock of hair that had fallen over Tessa's brow before my fingertips smoothed over the soft curve of her cheek. I leaned down and traced the same path with my lips, smiling as she squirmed a little in her sleep. She uncurled from her fetal position and threw an arm over her head, opening herself to me with innocent invitation. Shifting over her, I slowly pressed light kisses from the corner of her mouth and down to her jawline before moving on to the slope of her neck and shoulders. My hand closed over one small, perky breast and unable to resist, I gave it a light squeeze. A light whimper escaped her lips, shooting a hot rush of blood straight to my shaft that was already fast rising.

Easy, Jake. Don't lose control. Don't scare her.

Lifting my hips, I nestled myself between her legs and pressed my length against her soft, warm entrance. I wanted to sink deep into her heat, to feel her clench hard all around me, but I wanted her eyes wide open and locked with mine as I took her.

Sometimes, you really have to be careful what you wish for.

Because at my low moan, Tessa's eyes fluttered open. It took a few seconds for her to focus and the moment she zeroed in on my smiling face, reality hit and it was a freaking freight train.

No, she didn't scream her head off or kick me off me the bed.

Just like old, calm, self-possessed Tessa, she blinked.

And blinked.

And finally sighed.

"I think you should get off me, Jake," she said as if commenting on the weather. "We don't have the night or the heat of the moment to blame if we do this again."

I pressed my lips tight for a moment. "I wasn't looking for either. I want you wide awake when we do this again, Tess, because I don't want you to mistaking it for anything else."

Before she could answer, I took her mouth in a rough kiss, my arms caging her tightly under me, my hips shifting forward so her legs would instinctively wrap around me. One thrust and she would be mine again but not before she let go of all doubt as to what it was we were doing.

When I lifted my head up so we could catch our breaths, she nodded and closed her eyes. "Fine. Let's do it one more time and then we're done. I like even numbers."

Frustration rocked through me and I wrenched myself away from her. "Dammit, Tessa. If you want to be angry, be angry. Don't tell me you like even numbers."

I grabbed my boxers from the floor and put them on because clearly, all my sexy morning plans were out the window.

"What do you want me to tell you, Jake?" she said, still all reasonably, as she sat up and clutched the sheets to her chest. "That sex with you last night was amazing? Sure, it was. You're everything your reputation promised, a hundred percent."

I winced and glanced at her over my shoulder. "That was not what I wanted you tell me."

She shrugged. "Fine. You probably already knew that."

While I was hoping it was for her, I didn't exactly know that. But yes, the sex was amazing and I had a lot of experience to compare it to. There was nothing technical about why—it just was.

"But there isn't really much else to say about it, Jake, other than it was a mistake—a glorious one—and I share equal blame with you—but it's not a mistake we should ever repeat."

I ground my teeth as I studied her in all her regal composure despite her mussed hair and slightly swollen lips. If I didn't know that this conversation had to be done now, no matter how nasty, I would just settle back in bed with her, push her down and kiss her senseless. But this wasn't a quick tumble that I could hasten away from later. This was Tessa and last night, we crossed a line we could never back away from. The question was whether we remained together on one side or let it stand between us.

"I'm not calling it a mistake because it isn't one," I told her, running a hand down my face. "If you want to sit here and talk and figure it out, we'll do it. I know it's a bit of a shock, and a bit out of the blue, but we can sort this out. We didn't exactly go into this blind last night."

"We were a little drunk," she ventured half-heartedly.

I scowled. "I had one bottle of beer and you were too articulate in lecturing me last night to be drunk so let's not even attempt with that excuse."

"Boo. But you're right." Tessa rolled her eyes, wrapped the sheet around her and walked to the kitchen, yawning loudly.

I grabbed my clothes and followed her, hating it when she was so unnervingly calm like this in a situation that warranted her to lose a little bit of her temper.

"What's actually the problem, Tess?" I asked as she puttered around the kitchen trying to make coffee. "You weren't really attracted to me and now it's awkward for you?"

She gave me an arch look over her shoulder. "Are you seriously fishing for compliments?"

"No, I'm looking for answers," I shot back, putting my jeans on because being practically naked while she was wrapped in nothing but a sheet was destroying my concentration. "You obviously have a problem with this situation."

She set down her mug and planted a hand on her hip. "And you don't? It was a one-night-stand, Jake. Just add it to your running tally. You're not required to stay here and have a heart-to-heart with me about it. It's just sex, for God's sakes. It's practically a muscle twitch for you."

Ouch.

But I couldn't really blame her, could I?

Because she was right about several things—I had a running tally of one-night-stands. They made up majority of my sexual experience. And sex was never something serious for me. I definitely didn't linger in the morning to try to talk to the woman. I didn't want to make any further commitment when I was happy to leave it there.

So how was I to convince her that while all those things held true in the past, they no longer did? What reassurance could I give her when I didn't know the real answer myself to my sudden change of heart other than the fact that it's Tessa and it's just different?

"You're being too perfectly rational about this," I said grimly.

"Must be a contrast to the usual reaction," she mused with a small smug smile.

I raised a brow and slowly approached her. "It is but it's more telling than you think because unlike all the other women, Tess, I know you. I know you really well and when you're cold and detached like this, it's because you've put yourself behind a wall. And only people who are afraid do that. And you're afraid. You're afraid of what this could mean. You're afraid that this is not as simple as a one-night-stand. You're afraid that I'd want more because you want more too. You just can't admit it."

I felt a small rush of satisfaction at the flicker of emotion in her eyes as she swallowed hard before breaking her gaze away. Most of what I'd said was true, the last part being mostly a bluff, or a secret hope, however you wanted to look at it.

And I would leave her to stew with it for a while because another thing I knew about Tessa—she was her greatest enemy. She would be the first person to talk herself out of something that was too good to be true.

"I'll leave you to your coffee, Tess," I said as I backed away a step. "But this conversation isn't over."

I pressed a quick kiss squarely on her mouth before moving away and pulling my shirt on.

It surprised me how hard it was to walk out of her apartment that morning but really, it was just one more surprise when it came to Tessa that I didn't see coming.

***

Tessa

Two years ago, I told myself I would have no more regrets when it came to Jake. My defenses were in place and my heart was long sealed up.

What I hadn't counted on was for Jake to try to beat down the door. He never had before but since that night at the party, something got rewired in him somehow and suddenly, I was the center of his world.

And no, I didn't trust one bit of it.

Oh, a big part of me wanted to because this was like my old dream come true.

But that's the problem, isn't it? It's a dream—one I was rudely awakened from two years ago.

Jake was just overreacting about this because it was me—his best friend's baby sister, the Tessa he'd seen grow up over the years. Obviously, he couldn't be as callous with me as he probably was with other women because Brandon would merrily cut up him into pieces. But he didn't have to worry about that because I had no plans of telling Brandon. He was right when he said we didn't go into this blind. For all the drinks I had that night, I was perfectly sober when I decided to have sex with him. I knew the risks and I was prepared for the consequences except the consequences I was expecting were of Jake desperately wishing we could both pretend nothing happened and go back to our normal lives. I didn't account for him blowing it out of proportion and insisting on figuring it out. Which made me distrust it more. People acting out of character usually did so because of some pressing circumstances—like I did in the past.

Despite all that though, I wasn't going to hold it against him. In fact, I was eager to let him off the hook—if only he would get off the goddamned hook.

First, I was running out of space in my voicemail because he wouldn't stop calling me.

"Tessa, let's talk. You can't avoid this forever..."

"Did you get the flowers I sent you? I thought tulips would remind you of that night..."

"You're not going to believe me but I'll say it anyway—I miss you. Call me back, please."

"Tess, I'm down here. Let me in. I'm not going to leave until I see you."

Second, we couldn't be in the same room without him watching me all the time or trying to discreetly corner me to talk even at the risk of rousing suspicion. When we had a big family dinner later that evening after our disastrous morning-after talk, he wouldn't stop looking at me. I would catch him gazing at me all the time which infuriated me more because it meant that I was also looking at him about just as much. I tried to avoid his calls and running into him by throwing myself into school, which had just resumed, and into  the Fashion Week Teaser that Charlotte and the Lady Championettes organized to raise funds. I normally wouldn't have agreed to Charlotte's insane idea of walking the catwalk in front of hundreds of fashion industry people even if it was alongside her, my sister and Charlotte's assistant/friend, Felicity. All those eyes, all that attention on everything physical about me—it was my worst nightmare. But somehow, the other girls made it all about having fun—and it was a lot of fun—and I mostly forgot the spectators and just thought of it like playing dress up with your sisters and friends. I didn't realize how much I needed something like that until I had it.

Other than the confidence boost, it also kept me busy enough to stop worrying about Jake who'd sent an assortment of deliveries—flowers, chocolates, fruit arrangements, French macarons, balloons, a bonsai plant—each one tucked with a note asking me to talk over coffee, watch a movie, go out to dinner, ride a hot-air balloon and visit the carnival. It almost seemed as if Jake bought a courtship manual off the shelf and checked off every item suggested.

Should I be impressed?

Some other girl looking at this might be because Jake was lazy when it came to women. He only went after those who were interested and didn't require a lot of groundwork. Oh, he wasn't stingy with them. He'd take them to fancy restaurants, buy them expensive trinkets or escort them to glitzy events. But all those were things his charm and wallet could easily manage. Jake never actually had to try when it came to women.

And because I saw this from the perspective of someone he'd unknowingly burned once, who also happened to be the baby sister of his best friend in the whole wide world therefore requiring delicate handling, I wasn't impressed. Jake was feeling an awful amount of guilt and he was pulling all the stops to try to do this right. He wouldn't want to drop me like a hot potato. He would probably try to give us a semblance of giving it a chance because it was the decent thing to do after you sleep with your best friend's sister, and when things don't work out, we could both walk away from it without me feeling like I'd just been bedded and shredded. Good intentions, sure, if I stretched my imagination far enough, but I wasn't interested in playing along. I liked swift, clean cuts that healed nicely shortly after. I tried to reassure him that he had no obligation but every conversation we could manage always ended up the same—us arguing about it and saying things we would probably regret even worse later on.

We were nearing breaking point about two weeks later when a different kind of calamity hit and probably saved us from doing each other irreparable damage.

"Thanks to everyone for coming," Anna said as we all took our seats around her small dining table. There were notepads and pens scattered around along with appetizers plates and glasses of wine. "Tessa and I thought of doing this all by ourselves but we figured we should ask if anyone else was interested. I think if she knows that more people are behind this, the better she'll feel about the situation and know that we're all over it."

"Can we not tell her that whole over-it part now?" Brandon asked, leaning back in his chair to look at everyone. "It's killing me to see her so defeated when she thinks I'm not looking."

"I'm sure it is but we're going to use her self-imposed isolation just a slight bit to our advantage," I told my brother with a smile that I hoped was apologetic. "We can get a lot more done if she keeps her distance for a little while."

Brandon sighed. "Fine. I get it. It'll buy me some time as well while I'm closing the deal on the townhouse. Thanks for your help on that, Jake."

I tried not to look at him even though he was sitting across the table from me.

"No problem," he said easily.

"Good thing that realty manager has fond memories of you," Brandon teased, jabbing Jake on the arm with an elbow. "She tracked down that seller like she worked for the CIA."

"You're a big, important client and that's why she worked her magic," Jake said, sounding less enthusiastic than he'd been ten seconds ago. "It has nothing to do with me or our very brief and insignificant history together."

I almost snorted and said that Jake had brief and insignificant history with every single woman he'd been involved with. Which was why he should just save us both the trouble and sweep our one night together under that category. It was his pattern and patterns didn't change out of the blue.

"Felicity has a list of all the logistics," I said, regretting the curt sound of my voice. "Marlow's can provide a lot of them but we'll have to split up the rest. Let's try to involve as few other people as we can so no one blurts it out to her. Can we trust everyone to do it?"

"You can trust me."

My gaze darted to Jake before I could stop myself because the way he said that statement, knowing what I knew, sounded a lot more than just his promise to shut up about the surprise party.

"The only reason I'm doing this right now with you is for Charlotte," I told him an hour later as the rest of us were getting ready to leave. Anna, Felicity and Brandon were working out the final details of the midnight picnic surprise when I picked up a couple of empty platters, gave Jake a look and headed to the kitchen. He showed up half a minute later, eagerly crowding me against a corner.

"Let's not make this about us,"I put a hand on his chest to shove him away but he just quickly captured it and kept it there. "Stop trying to inject what you want to say to me in random conversations."

"I have to because it's the only way I can talk to you these days," he said, the crease between his brows deepening as he frowned. "We have to talk, Tess. We can't go on like this forever."

His voice has softened at that last statement, making my pulse jump as it reminded me of more intimate moments when he'd murmured my name against my throat as his body worked mine into a frenzy.

I swallowed hard. "It'll stop the moment you get over this insanity."

Jake's eyes fluttered close for a moment, the tension from him easing away. Then he slowly straightened away from me, a faint smile curving on his mouth. "You know what? You're right. Let's not make this about us for now. There's time later to sort out my insanity. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, Tess, since you couldn't be there to talk through it with me. If you can't trust a lot of what I say, trust this one thing—it's not insanity."

He turned and left the kitchen before I could respond. When Brandon poked his head a couple minutes later, I didn't hear him call my name right away because blood was still rushing to my ears.

"You ready to go?" he said, walking over to me. "Jake will drop off Felicity since her place is on the way to his. You can hitch with me again."

"I hope he knows that she's not fair game," I said a little too tartly. It had been all too easy to imagine Jake's golden looks and dazzling smile working like a charm on Felicity and her sunny, all-American beauty.

Brandon laughed. "Hey, that's for both of them to decide. To be honest, if the girl who leg-shackles Jake is anything like Felicity, I'll be happy for him. She's a great, lovely girl who's also very smart and sweet. She's prime goods for him."

You know those times when you just want to punch your older brother in the nose? Yeah, I was having one of those and if my doing it wouldn't give away our clandestine meeting to Charlotte when she sees Brandon come home with a broken nose, I would've done it.

"Hey, relax," Brandon said with a crooked grin, putting his arm around my shoulders and steering me out of the kitchen. "You should be happy if Felicity steals Jake's heart. You've been nagging him about cleaning up his act and settling down for years."

I was nagging him about cleaning up his act, yes, but I never said anything about settling down, least of all with a woman I consider a good friend.

But I didn't say any of that.

Instead, I asked him, "Do you think Jake actually can?"

"Can what? Steal Felicity's heart?"

I really couldn't murder Brandon before Charlotte's birthday. And Dad might not be happy with me if I did. "No. I was asking if you think Jake can actually clean up his act. And maybe settle down."

Brandon rubbed his jaw. "I think that if the right woman comes along, none of Jake's history is going to matter much. We've known each other our whole lives. I know that when he finds something he's really passionate about, he's going to dive all in. He's an all or nothing kind of guy. Just because we've seen him give nothing of real value to the women he's been with all these years, doesn't mean he's not capable of giving all to the one woman who's right for him."

Hearing it from Brandon with his signature seriousness, knowing that he was probably the only person who'd seen Jake in his best and worst, the weight of his words hit me hard. I wasn't sure anymore what exactly I was looking for when I asked—the actual truth or just the version of it that would reaffirm my decision.

You want to see things you insist are there and none of the things that actually are.

I took a deep breath and smiled at my brother, bumping him teasingly on the arm. "I don't know if you've been like this all along or if this is Charlotte's influence but romantic looks good on you, Brand."

"I'd like to think I had a little of it in me already," Brandon said, grinning as we came out to the front hallway where Jake was holding the door open for Felicity who was just giving Anna a goodbye hug.

I caught his eye and despite the pang of jealousy that hit me when Felicity turned to Jake and flashed him a grateful smile before stepping through the door, I managed not to tear my gaze from him.

"Goodnight, Jake," I said softly, giving him a small smile. "You and Felicity have a safe drive home."

His eyes were inscrutable as he gave a curt nod to me and waved goodbye to my siblings. We had tacitly agreed to some sort of truce tonight.

The reckoning was still coming and suddenly, I didn't quite know where I stood.

***

So, what do you guys think? 

I did enjoy the slight reversal of typical roles in morning-afters. I thought Tessa was pretty timid when I was writing her as a supporting character in TMMM but I do envy her ability to remain so incredibly composed no matter what. But maybe that's not always a good thing.

Don't forget to vote and comment!

By the way, what do you think of casting this real-life couple Luke and Rebecca as our hero and heroine? I think they look perfect for the role.

♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: Earthquake Weather by Matt Nathanson ♪♪♪

I'd kill anyone who'd treat you as bad as I do

I'd love to believe it all works out

July 4th parade wrapped in beach towels

Under a fireworks display

I close my eyes and

Dream about you, dream about you

Sun so bright

You're just a shadow fading out, and

It feels like summer

(Feels like summer)

But it's earthquake

(Earthquake)

It's earthquake weather

It feels like summer

(Feels like summer)

But it's earthquake

(Earthquake)

It's earthquake weather