"Will!" Tessa exclaimed. She knelt down beside Will. On him, there was the unmistakable stench of alcohol. She cannot help feeling a pang of guilt, for Will had used to claim that he drank, but he never truly did so. Now all that is left was a friendlier, but lifeless Will.
"Come on, let's get you to bed. You're embarrassing me," Cecily said gently.
Together, Tessa and Cecily dragged Will back to the West Tower. It was then that Tessa remembered that Will lived in the West Tower. Thank goodness Will had been drunk, or the conversation would have ended quite awkwardly.
With a grunt, they both threw Will on his bed. Looking down, Will's face has angles that surely were not there before. However, by carrying him, Tessa can tell that he was still quite muscular for a boy his age. Suddenly, Will's eyelid snapped open, and he snatched Tessa's hand.
"Please. Don't go," he muttered.
Embarrassed, Tessa looked for Cecily, who had slipped out of the bedroom for a while.
"I'll stay, until you're asleep," Tessa said, trying to sound reassuring.
Will's feverish blue eyes looked hurt, "This is a dream, isn't it? You would never want to be so close to me if this was real."
Tessa swallowed hard, not knowing what to answer. Touching his hand, it felt like touching a furnace, and with her hand in his, Tessa already felt like melting. She wanted to be closer, much closer to Will. She tried to suppress this thought, but Will, as if responding to her thought, rose slowly, and pulled Tessa onto the bed.
Tessa, instead, became very conscious of her surrounding. The room was characteristically messy, but she can see some letters hidden in the mess, like Will was trying to hide them, but did not want to lose them. She could not help but wonder, were those her letters?
"Tessa," Tessa relished the sensation of her name being spoken by Will. "Tessa, I don't know much about Chinese culture as much as Jem do. But as Jem's best man, I do know a saying, 'A friend's wife is not fool around with.'" With a sigh he continued, "Do you know how hard I try, just to stay away from you? I can't stop myself from kissing you, let alone treating you with the respect of a friend's wife. Soon, I should stop even dreaming about you."
The proximity between them was so minimal that Tessa could feel the breath of Will brushing over her face. He reeked of alcohol, but also smelled of something distinctly male, something innate and feral. Tessa tried to remember a reason to struggle against his hold, but her mind was blank.
Will looked intently at Tessa's eyes, half sober, but half painstakingly conscious. Suddenly, he pulled Tessa to him, and kissing her with violent desperation. Tessa wanted to struggle, but how, how by the Angels that she can find the mental strength to do so? She was tired, and how could she have resisted such sensual pleasure of kissing Will? Will's calloused hands caressed Tessa's neck, sending shivers down her spine. Then, he started pulling away. For air? Or for remembering Tessa's new identity? Tessa did not know, but her body was acting instinctively, and before she knew it, she was kissing Will back with the same force.
Their kiss lessened in tension, like an alcoholic slowing down on his drink just to memorize the flavor of the last bottle of wine on earth in his mouth. Then tears wetted their cheeks. Tessa can feel them rolling down, and prayed that the tear wasn't hers. The kiss slowed down, and Will slowly slid down on his bed, dreaming a restless dream.
As she travelled back to her room, a terrible realization occurred to her. What had she done? She wanted to smack herself wide-awake just for betraying Jem. Why did she not even fight against the urge to kiss Will? What has she done? Oh the frustration, the agony. Why, Tessa, do you behave as if you have no control over yourself, like a silly lovesick teenage girl?
"Tessa? Is that you?"
Jem's soft velvet voice shattered her thoughts. Turning around from her door, she saw Jem's lean figure across the corridor. She prayed, for the second time tonight, please don't let the guilt show.