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CHAPTER 7
John waited in the kitchen nervously for Tessa to come down. He had already called the restaurant last week to reserve their table, and now he had nothing to pour over other than straightening his shirt and jacket for the eighteenth time. When he finally heard footsteps coming down the staircase, he caught himself almost running to meet her, and his breath choked in his throat.
Tessa was slowly making her way down the staircase, careful to not stumble. She had chosen a very dark emerald green satin dress; strapless and short. Her hair was draped artfully down across her shoulders and back, curls flipping the ends and the light reflecting off her caramel strands. Her green eyes were smoky and stood out against her sun-kissed skin. Her heels were gold and made her calves and rear look like she had been molded as a Barbie doll. Tessa's delicate fingers traced down the banister as she took each step. John waited, mouth slightly agape, and enjoyed the scenery as it was before him.
"Wow, Tessa." Her glossed lips parted and her dazzling smile almost delivered the knockout punch to John. The only thought he had was how silly he had been for letting this girl slip through his grasp for so long. His subconscious made the promise that from this moment forward, he was hers and hers alone. No more lonely nights; no more problems facing this big empty house by himself. Tessa had won and didn't even know she was playing the game. John offered his hand to Tessa as she stepped off the final stair.
"You clean up pretty well yourself for spending so much time with other guys." She smiled before letting her smirk betray the smartass held underneath the surface.
"Said the softball player. You know what they say about softball players." John's eyebrow perked above his eye as Tessa's narrowed at him.
"Just what do they say, Mr. Cena?" Tessa tucked her clutch under her arm as she walked through the front door in front of him.
"Well, they have big…bats." John laughed at his own joke for a minute before realizing that he was the only person who found it particularly funny. "Oh, come on. Comedy gold, I tell you!" His displeasure with not having found an audience tickled Tessa.
"Whoa, John. This is what we're taking?" He was leading her to a vintage, totally restored Mustang. She traced her fingers lightly along the car's curves as John opened her door and motioned her in.
"Yes it is, and your carriage awaits." Tessa slid into the passenger seat, taking care to sit properly and keep all of her bits covered. John shut the door softly and then hopped into the driver's seat. "Hope you're ready – I think you're really going to like this."
John had planned dinner flawlessly. He treated Tessa to his favorite upscale restaurant, and had arranged for them to have the chef's table accommodations. There was eating, drinks, and being merry. Tessa laughed and flirted consistently, and John ate every bit of it up. After dinner, he drove her around to see the city and bay. As they drove up the driveway to the house, John remembered his final surprise. As Tessa waited near the car, he popped the trunk and pulled a bundle of tulips. Tessa covered her mouth as she gasped, tears welling up in her eyes.
"This is more than you had to do; it's way more than you should have done. Everything has been beautiful, John." She examined the flowers carefully as John walked her back into the house.
"Nonsense. Tessa, I meant what I said on that porch – there are a lot of things that should have been different, and I'm going to make sure it happens if I can help it." His eyes burned bright, searching for that flicker in Tessa's. Once it sparked, John whisked her up in his arms, not even bothering to turn on a light, but only lock the door behind them. The only sounds of the house were Tessa's laughs as John bounded them both up the staircase, two steps at a time, and the pronounced slam of a door.
The remaining few days of Tessa's visit seemed to race by. There were fresh tulips in the kitchen for her every day, despite her claims that he would spoil her and spend entirely too much money. Tessa spent time by the pool every chance she had, and was even able to convince him to accompany her on a shopping trip. On her last night in town, John helped Tessa cook dinner, and each enjoyed the other's company as much as they could absorb. It wasn't until right before they laid down for the night that he brought up the inevitable.
"I don't know what I'm going to do in this big house all by myself. It's been pretty nice keeping busy around here." John patted Tessa's knee resting on top of his legs.
"Yeah, but you will be back on the road and so busy, you'll never notice." Tessa took a small sip of her beer. "You will be joking with the guys, loving the adoration of your fans; too busy to ever look back."
"Not a chance, Tessa. You remember who is waiting for you at home, and who is caring about how you feel after the show is over. When you basically live like you don't have a home, anything that can keep your heart and make you feel warm…it's important." John shifted uneasily on the couch. Tessa smirked at his visible worry – poor thing was really speaking from his heart, and she felt like her resolve might be compromised. A big, masculine specimen sat before her, sparkles dancing in his eyes; eyes that looked like they were trying to cut deep into her core.
"John, you have family and friends everywhere. Plenty of people to keep you with a good feeling of home." John opened his mouth to argue, but Tessa started back. "I think you're being unsuccessful in trying to give me some kind of piteous feeling for you." Tessa's nose crinkled as the corners of her mouth twisted into a smile.
"Well, I, uh…that's not true, Tessa." John hadn't even seen the move Tessa made until after he was cornered. He sat, dumbfounded, and his mouth continued to hang open slightly. Tessa lifted her legs off his lap, hopped up from the couch, and walked into the kitchen. John silently got up from his seat and followed behind her. Tessa had the fridge door ajar, leaning in to look for a drink refill. John leaned, arms folded, on the top of the door. "I just got lawyered, didn't I?" Tessa popped up and studied his face. He looked a little uneasy and slightly dejected.
"Afraid so. It's my job to cut through the bullshit, so don't feel bad. I have to know when people are trying to get inside my head." John's face read more severe hurt immediately, and she knew she had said something harsh. Tessa reached her hand out and laid it on his arm lightly. "John, I didn't mean that what you were saying was anything bad. I'm sorry if it felt that way." He looked down; defeated. Her grip on his arm tightened. "I'm serious. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I'm sorry, really."
John's gaze returned to Tessa's face, and her eyes had softened. He sniffed softly and nodded at her. Tessa studied his face and it was obvious that she had allowed her intensity to take over again. This was John; this was her throw-caution-to-the-wind adventure, and she was allowing her work side to control her life yet again. John turned to walk away, looking for a place to go and lick his wounds.
"Tell you what; why don't you go grab us a couple beers from the garage fridge. This one is empty. I am going to go change." Tessa flashed an encouraging smile to John, who still looked a bit let down. He quietly left to head out and fulfill Tessa's request, while she took off upstairs immediately.
When John returned with a bottle in his hand, Tessa was no where to be seen. Where the hell had she gone? He walked the route through the rest of the kitchen, the living room, his dining room and the media room without luck. When flipping the lights back off in his hallway by the staircase, he noticed that he heard water running. Why had she chosen to use the upstairs bathroom when there was one there by the stairs? He started up the stairs slowly, now more curious than upset.
Once John had left to grab her beer, Tessa had bounded up the stairs, two at a time, and hustled into the master suite as if her life had depended on it. Despite the fact that John was overwhelmingly male, he had the good sense to hire a decorator who loved candles and baths apparently. She turned the water on in the tub full blast, and hunted through the cabinets until she found what she was looking for, setting it on the tub's ledge as she turned back to the bedroom. Tessa threw open his closets, thumbing through the random hangers with no luck. She opened up what seemed to be a thousand drawers, finally finding the ancient, thin shirt buried at the back. Despite the inner monologue that was playing out a good versus evil discussion in her mind, Tessa decided to let go for a moment and see where it went. It's done me well so far, she thought, why not press my luck?
John followed the sounds of water filling a tub and the quiet footsteps coming from the master suite. He thought that it was odd for her to have asked him for a beer, then run up to take a bath. John pushed the door open tentatively, finding Tessa walking out of the bathroom, hands full of her hair, piling it on her head.
"Where did you find that?" John motioned to Tessa's ensemble with the hand holding her beer.
"Well, I took a small liberty to look for it. I hope that it's okay." Tessa took the beer from John's hand as her cheeks flushed deep red. "Thank you."
"No, I guess it's fine." She stood before him wearing his old football camp t-shirt, and from what he could tell, nothing else. Her hair was a mess, and her legs crept up for days until they were swallowed by the tail of the shirt. It hung off her frame, obviously too large for her. He kept resolute about being a little upset with her, despite how inviting this image was. She had cut him a little closer than he would have liked when she accused him of trying to pull something over on her.
"Look, it's my last night before I have to go back to reality. Let me do something nice for you." John kept stoic, and his hand twitched as Tessa's fingers tried to lace in with his. "Please, John, accept my apology. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I know you didn't mean anything like what it may have sounded like I accused you of. I mean it." She tried again to take his hand, and he opened his hand willingly.
"I'll give you this one mulligan." His mouth corners started to curl up slightly. "This better be good, though." John followed behind Tessa into the master bath, admiring the view of the woman leading him.
"Get in, get comfy, and relax a little. You've done a lot for me, and I figure I should repay the favor. Please?" Tessa stood, arms clasped behind her back on her tip-toes in front of John. She had led him into a dimly lit bathroom, where she had filled the massive tub with some kind of concoction that made the water bubble over and look slick.
"You ran me a bath?" Touching, but possibly not what John had been thinking she was alluding to.
"Not just any bath. You get to unwind, and I'm going to give you a little shoulder rub." Tessa pointed to a small gathering of towels that were artfully arranged at one end of the oval, on top of the ledge. Tessa climbed up and positioned herself on top of the makeshift throne, and waited for John.
"Cover your eyes…I'm shy." John held his hands on the bottom hem of his t-shirt, and flashed a megawatt smile at Tessa.
"You run around shirtless on national television. Every woman in America knows what goes on under those jean shorts you wear, too. Don't give me that shy argument." Tessa returned his grin.
"But that's the John Cena they all see. You don't think I let them know more than that, do you?" John slowly pulled his shirt over his head, discarding it beside the tub's ledge. Tessa rested both elbows on her crossed legs, and lost herself in the sea of imagination. He stood before her, the muted lights flickering from the candles on his defined upper body.
"And what, I get a special John Cena?" His head bowed as he chuckled softly. Every time a noise emitted from his mouth, his abs contracted. Tessa caught her breath in pure guttural response to the image before her.
"You get the full effect John; you know him - former football jock, car lover, and weight-lifting enthusiast. But you still haven't covered your eyes."
"Is this a bad time to remind you what I've seen before?" Tessa had decided she was going to hold her ground. She was enjoying the sight entirely too much.
"Right, but that's different."
"John…"
"Yes, Ms. Finch?"
"Strip. Climb into this tub. Now."
"Tessa, can we run some new water? It's getting cold." John leaned up and reached the handle for the hot water, turning it on full blast. As the water swirled in the tub, temperature gradually raising, John returned to his position against the rear of the tub, nestled between Tessa's legs, which were dangling down into his water and bubbles. He felt her hands return to his expansive shoulders, trying their best to rub away the knots they held. She had a firm, tight hold on his muscles, and he shut his eyes to immerse himself in the situation that he was in currently.
"John, can you reach the faucet?" John fumbled his foot up and, after some time and several failed attempts, the water trickled to stop. "Thank you."
"Can you just open a massage parlor? Private of course, very exclusive clientele list." John felt himself melting back into the tub under her touch. Tessa smiled brightly, knowing her hands had done their work.
"I don't know if I could give up my attorney gig…that would mean I would want to argue with my clients all the time. Plus, I would be relying on the kindness of others to make my way in the world, and I wouldn't be able to deal with that."
"Independent as always." In the back of his mind, John wondered if there would ever be a chance to get Tessa to relinquish a modicum of control. Probably not.
"I could get used to the uniform, though." Tessa glanced down at the faded shirt, a reminder of a training camp John attended quite a few years ago. It was almost threadbare, and the college football logo was almost illegible. But Tessa felt comfortable in the reminder of their different worlds after senior year.
"Oh, I'm sure I could too. Maybe you should move a bit though, hasn't you butt fallen asleep yet?" John sloshed forward in the tub, turning to face Tessa. Her form in his old shirt was causing a growing distraction. "You cold?"
"No, I'm-" Before she could finish her answer, John lunged forward, wrapping his massive limbs around her body. She screeched and giggled in spite of herself. John drug her into the tub with him, shirt and all.
"Let's warm you up." The glint in his eye could lead to nothing but an enjoyable last night.