Who We Could Be - Chelsea M. Cameron Page 0,17
the other girl.
We made it back to my place in the early afternoon and I was ready to go to sleep again, but Tessa had gotten some coffee brandy, and I figured that had to have some caffeine in it. I sat down at my little kitchen table and watched as Tessa pulled out some glasses.
“Okay, I think we’re supposed to mix it with milk, or Moxie soda, but that’s not happening.” Tessa looked up from her phone and made a gagging noise. Moxie was supposed to be the Coke or Pepsi of Maine, but neither of us was a big fan.
“Milk’s fine.” Tessa assembled drinks and I sucked one back and slammed the glass down.
“Give me a second to catch up,” Tessa said, trying to chug the glass and then choking. She got the glass down but made a face. “Ugh, too much milk in that one. Do you have any chocolate syrup or anything?” I happened to have some in the fridge, so she pulled that out, and then went to the freezer for some ice cream.
“Oh shit, let’s do this.”
A few minutes later she handed me a boozy frappe. That was much harder to down than when she’d just mixed it with milk, but maybe that was a good thing.
“Oh, this is good. I’m going to get wasted.” Tessa sang the last word as she sucked the frappe through a straw.
“Not if I get wasted first,” I said. Tessa was adorable when she had too much to drink. She got flirty and handsy and loved literally everyone. If she had too much, she would start crying about random things, like thinking about butterflies being hit by cars.
In contrast, I was all over the place, and could get, as Tessa put it “broody.” Honestly, I was kind of hoping to drink until I forgot about TJ for a little while. I’d never been truly drunk before, I liked control for too much, so why not go for it now?
Both of us finished our frappes, and then Tessa made more.
“Come on, let’s go sit on the couch. I just want to snuggle with a blanket.” There she was. It did not take much for Tessa to start being silly.
“Sure,” I said, and we took our third rounds to the living room. I sat on the couch and Tessa draped herself across my lap, covering us with a crocheted blanket one of her aunts had made.
“Play with my hairrrrr,” she whined. I held my drink with one hand and ran my fingers through her hair with the other as she hummed softly. My body was warm and my thoughts rolled softly, like gentle waves.
“This is nice,” I said, closing my eyes and resting my head on the back of the couch. I went slower with my third drink, and by the time the glass was empty, I was feeling pleasantly tipsy.
Tessa sighed happily and snuggled closer to me. Her weight was warm and cozy, even though I had started to sweat.
“I’m glad you’re not getting married,” she said, and I thought that I’d misheard her.
“You’re glad that my fuck of a fiancé cheated on me?”
She turned so she was on her back looking up at me.
“No. I’m not glad about that at all. But I’m glad you found out now and not after you tied yourself to him and moved in and everything.” That was a good point I hadn’t thought of.
“I wonder why I wasn’t enough,” I said, voicing one of the thoughts that kept spinning over and over in my head.
“Hey, don’t you dare think that this has anything to do with you. TJ is lower than the mold on a rotting dildo covered in shit.” The more she drank, the more colorful her language got, and I couldn’t help but laugh at that one.
Tessa touched my face and stared into my eyes.
“You’re enough, Ford. You’re everything.” I looked down at her and I felt even warmer and something fluttered in my chest. TJ may not have loved me, but Tessa did. At least I had that. I had her, and she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thanks. I don’t feel like that right now,” I said.
“I know. But you will. You’ll get through this because you’re strong and you’re amazing and I know you’re going to find someone who’s worthy of you.” I snorted.
“You don’t think any guy is worthy of me.”
There was chocolate on her mouth, and I thought about wiping it away, but I didn’t. “Well, that’s because