Tessa

I don't know what made me say it, but at that moment I felt like I could tell him anything. Not necessarily because I trusted him a lot, but because I wanted to tell someone and I needed to know that someone cared. I didn't think about the consequences.

He stayed quiet, but I could see how shocked he was. I appreciated the fact that he didn't say anything. What was there to say? I wouldn't know what to say either if someone told me that.

"This is why I can't stay away from trouble as many times as you warn me. I am already in trouble. I saw something I wasn't supposed to see and now I can't escape it" I said covering my face with my palms.

"Hey" He said softly taking my hands away from my face, "Whatever it is, I'm here with you and we'll get through it together"

"You have nothing to do with it. You don't have to do anything"

"Well, now I have something to do with it and I will help you escape it"

He was so sure of what he was saying. He even had a smirk on his face, but I couldn't believe him as much as I wanted to.

"Leo, you don't understand-"

"I do" He said taking my hands in his, "I understand better than you think. Trust me"

Why does he seem so happy to help and why is he so sure that he understands? Does he know something?

"Okay" I mumbled.

"Thank you for telling me, Tess. You don't know how much this means to me" He said, his face leaning closer as he looked into my eyes.

As much as I wanted to be suspicious of him and stay cautious, the bright smile on his face was distracting and I couldn't help but trust him. So I smiled at him.

"Thank you for being here for me" I said, "No one knows about this. Only my father and it kills him that could have gotten hurt too"

"Do you mind if I ask how come you didn't get hurt?" He asked.

I tried to recall the day it happened. I had buried all the memories in order to cope with it so I'd almost forgotten.

"There was this boy" I said squinting my eyes and trying to remember, "I don't remember a lot but he helped me and I ran off. I don't remember what happened after, but I somehow ended up in the police station with my dad. I guess I called him after I ran off. Yes, I called him. The police never caught the  people who did it"

When I looked at his face I couldn't tell the emotion in his eyes. His lips were slightly parted and he was frowning.

I let out a deep breath. It was hard for me to talk about this and I'd already said much more than I thought I was able to.

"I'm sorry. I am a little overwhelmed. Normally I don't even think about it because it hurts too much" I said.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You were able to talk about it and handled it so well. I'm proud of you and glad to be the one you shared it with" He said softly stroking my back.

This was a side of him I rarely got to see. The sweet side of him which I'd grown to like a lot.

I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around his torso and we sat there for a while, in silence. I felt comfortable like that and I never wanted to leave, but I would have to at some point.

"We should probably get going. Your dad will worry about you" He said.

"He's not home. He's working" I mumbled, my voice muffled by his chest.

"What about your sisters?" He asked.

I lifted my head to look at him, "At my aunt's"

"I get to have you all to myself then?" He asked with a smirk.

Normally I would make fun of him for that, but I felt my face heat up and froze.

"No sassy comeback?" He asked.

I cleared my throat, "Don't get used to it"

"There it is"

"I'm hungry"

He stood up and gave me his hand to help me stand up. I took it, even though I obviously needed no help, and he pulled me into him.

Why is all this closeness making me nervous?

"Let's go, I'll get you something to eat" He said taking a step away from me.

"I can get something to eat myself"

"But I want to feed you"

"I don't want to take advantage of you to get food"

He thought for a minute and then an idea came to his mind as he widened his eyes and smiled, "What if we go to my place and cook together?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Neither of us knows how to cook well, stupid" 

"Well we can try"

________

"Be careful with that knife!" He yelled at me and took hold of my hand.

"Stop touching me! I know what I'm doing"

"You could hurt yourself, stupid girl"

"Hey! Don't call me that" I said turning around with the knife in my hands.

He smiled and took the knife carefully setting it down on the counter, "How about we just order something?" He asked pushing some curls out of my face.

Once again, I couldn't stop looking at him. I was focused on his black eyes, thinking about how dark, mysterious and magnetic they were. I could look at his face forever. He was one of the most gorgeous men I'd ever seen, if not the most gorgeous one.

"Tessa?" I heard him call as he shook his hand in front of my face.

I probably zoned out.

I hummed in reply and dropped my gaze to the floor in embarrassment. What was odd was that he was also looking at me the way I was probably looking at him before.

"I want to kiss you right now" 

Did I hear that right?

My eyes widened and I but my lip to hold back my gasp. His gaze dropped to my lips and he sighed.

"You're not helping, Tess" 

"What did you say?" I asked quietly. I was at a loss for words. I'd never been so nervous around a boy before.

"I said, I want to kiss you right now" He said slowly so that I could understand, "So bad" He added quietly.

I gulped not knowing what to say. I could only stare at him in shock. The most gorgeous man I'd ever seen wanted to kiss me and I couldn't even act right. I couldn't help but ask myself; Do I really like him or is he just handsome? But I soon realized I was fooling myself. How could I not like him after how close we'd gotten and how sweet he'd been to me. It wasn't just his looks, it was the way he treated me.

We were chest to chest and I could feel his warmth. I felt trapped in him but I didn't mind. However, I could not utter a word. I was hoping he would break the silence and say something, do something.

"Tess" He whispered as he leaned closer, "Tell me you'll let me"

He expects me to be able to talk or even breathe in this situation we're in?

I couldn't talk. I couldn't find my voice. I wanted to say yes, but instead I just nodded.

He reached out and cupped my cheek with one of his hands, "No Tess, I need you to tell me"

The way he was talking was almost compelling. The tone of his voice was deep and I could almost hear the want.

"Kiss me"

He didn't waste a second before crushing his lips on mine.

I'd kissed boys before but this felt like it was my first time. It felt so intimate, so passionate. I could tell he really wanted this, just like I did.

He leaned closer so that I was in between him and the counter and put his other hand on my hip, rubbing circles on it with his thumb.

I pulled back panting, trying to control my breathing since apparently, he'd made me forget that. That didn't stop him. He kept going, pecking my lips and the sides of them, until he eventually stopped and his lips settled next to my ear.

"Tess" He whispered my name before pulling back a little to look at me. His gaze dropped down to my lips and his thumbs were stroking my cheeks, "Feels so soft" He mumbled quietly his lips brushing slightly against mine with each word.

I didn't know what to say.  I wanted to say something, but I couldn't find the words. Before I knew it he was kissing me again. Slower, deeper this time and his hands traveled down to my waist as he gently pushed me against the side of the counter. My hands stayed on each side of me, holding the counter, but not for long as he took them and put them on his shoulders.

I felt lost for a moment. As if I could just stay like this forever, keep kissing him and stay close to him forever.

Do I really like it that much?

Yes, I liked it that much.

I pulled away to control my breathing as I was getting a little too lost in the moment. He stopped and stared at me so intensely I had to look away.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm really not" He said.

My gaze was on his chest where my hands were. That's when I realized I've been gripping his shirt very tightly.

His hands came up to hold mine as he leaned closer and left a kiss on my forehead, "Let's go order something, okay?" He said and walked away to the living room.

Let's go order something? That's all he has to say?

I was a little disappointed, but I decided to let it go for now. Maybe it just wasn't the right moment to talk about it. Maybe we didn't have to talk about it and it would come naturally. I didn't know what to think or what to do, so I let it go and followed him to the living room.

__________

"It's getting late, I should probably go now" I said getting off the couch.

"I'll drive you"

"You don't have to, it's not that late" I said putting my shoes on.

"But I want to" He mumbled.

He ended up driving me. The ride was silent, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He had the radio on but the volume was really low, you could barely hear it. In the short time that we'd spend together all these days, I'd noticed that he doesn't like loud noises.

I wonder why.

When we got near my house, he stopped so that my dad wouldn't see us.

"Thank you for the ride" I said giving him a smile while getting out of the car.

But before I could get out, he gripped my wrist and put me back inside.

"What is it?" I asked.

He leaned in a left a soft kiss on my cheek. By the way he was staring at my lips, I could see that's where he wanted to kiss me instead of my cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow"

I felt relieved that he wanted to see me tomorrow. It was kind of reassuring. 

I nodded and got out of the car, still feeling his eyes on me.

When I got home, no one was there. I fell back on the couch and let out a sigh.

Leo kissed me.

I couldn't even believe it.

________

"So you're like, boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

"No Ren, a kiss doesn't mean-"

"Yes, it does. Why else would he want to kiss you, dummy?" Jane asked.

I didn't even want to tell these two that Leo and I had kissed but they somehow got me to say it.

"We'll see" I mumbled wanting to change the subject, "So how was class?"

They knew I didn't want to talk about Leo so they dropped the subject too and we started talking about random things mostly related to school.

I was distracted during every class. I kept thinking of him and I hated it. I hated that a guy had so much of my attention and was affecting me even when he wasn't even there. I kept thinking of the previous day. How sweet and understanding he was when I talked to him about my mother.

I was sure I would regret that the next day, but I hadn't.

But what couldn't leave my mind was the kiss. His expression, the way he looked at me, so focused on me, the way he wasn't afraid to say what he wanted and ask for it.

I'll see you tomorrow, he said, but for some reason I knew he wouldn't be there.