She's Got a Boyfriend Anyway

-July 19, 2008; Grand Rapids, Michigan-

"You didn't have to do this."

Tessa leaned into the body that had appeared behind her, resting the back of her head on the shoulder of her boyfriend. He wrapped his around her waist, holding her to him. They watched over the kitchen counter, their friends filling the house she shared with her older brother.

"I wanted to." She smiled as he tightened his arms; she moved hers so they covered his and giggled when he started to sway them from side to side.

Tessa had decided months in advance that she was going to throw her boyfriend a birthday party. Rami Sebei didn't seem too fussed that he was turning 24 but Tessa Scobille had never passed up an opportunity to throw a party.

"I love you," he said into her ear, kissing the top of it lightly.

"I love you," she repeated warmly, her heart beating quicker. It had been two and a half years since they first met – a year and a half since they started dating – and he still made her feel exactly the same way.

He pulled away slowly, his hands lingering on her waist as Chuck Taylor walked towards them. Rami shook his hand and Tessa leaned up to kiss his cheek in greeting. Rami followed him to the porch, leaving Tessa inside.

Nearly every room in the house had people in it, a testament to just how many friends Rami had made on the independent circuit. Even people who he had never been on a show with had come along to celebrate.

It might also have been a testament to Tessa's hosting abilities – her parties had become something of legend.

"Looks like you've really outdone yourself." Tessa was brought back to reality by the voice of Colby Lopez. There was no way to stop the huge smile that formed on her face or the way she instantly went to wrap her arms around his neck. "Tessa..."

"It's just a hug," she protested though she knew she was lingering to long and his hands were hanging just a little low. She pulled back with the same smile and couldn't help but gesture to her dress, silently asking for his opinion.

"You always look great," he told her quietly, taking in her outfit. The pattern on her maxi dress hurt his eyes but the way it fit her was impossible to notice. "No heels today?"

Tessa kicked her foot out from underneath the dress and wiggled her toes, "barefoot!"

"Careful, then," he warned, looking around slowly.

"He's outside," Tessa sighed. "We're not doing anything wrong." Colby sent her a pointed looked and she frowned at him. "What?"

"I'm going to pretend you're right." He walked away before he'd even finished speaking and Tessa rolled her eyes at his back.

Finally leaving the kitchen, Tessa walked through to the lounge and took a seat on the arm of the couch beside Lacey who was in the middle of a conversation with Austin Aries and Roderick Strong.

"I'm officially hiring you for my next party," Lacey looked up at Tessa and grinned. "This is pretty insane."

"I hardly did anything," Tessa said modestly. Lacey slapped her leg. "I just bought some food and put together a playlist."

"And the food's great and the playlist is kick ass. You did well, hon."

Austin and Roderick agreed wholeheartedly causing Tessa to blush, lower her head and push a strand of hair out of her face in embarrassment.

The trio continued their previous conversation with Tessa half listening. Whenever a new person walked into her house – there was a seemingly permanent open door policy – she greeted them with a smile and a wave as they passed her.

On occasion she could see Rami through the large window and he was pulling faces at her in the middle of his conversations. She smiled at him and laughed lightly at his stupidity. She blew him a quick kiss and grinned when he pretended to catch it.

"You two are nauseating," Roderick pretended to gag which prompted Lacey to thump him over the back of the head.

"Get a girlfriend and then you can talk." Roderick mimed punching Lacey's nose only to have her swat his hands away. "Where's your brother, anyway?"

"God knows where," Tessa looked to the door to see if it was her brother who was walking through the door. "I don't know who that is," she turned back to face Lacey quickly, after being caught staring at the newcomer.

"Moxley," Austin told her. The four of them turned to see Jon Moxley greet Rhett Titus.

"That's what he looks like?" Tessa asked, genuinely surprised. "Not how I pictured him."

"Where were you when he had his ROH matches?" Tessa shrugged. "Anyway, that's Moxley and he clearly heard about the party."

The brunette nodded her head, knowing that he wasn't the only person in her house she had never met.

She ventured outside not much later in search of her boyfriend. Exiting through the sliding glass door she realised that there was different music playing outside, someone had put their own playlist own because she did not listen to Lil Wayne. She had to move quickly because the hot stone was burning her bare feet, leading her to be running through her backyard.

A squeal left her mouth automatically when she felt a pair of arms around her waist just before she was thrown over someone's shoulder. Tessa gripped onto the person's hips, holding on for dear life.

"Let me down!" She cried out. She knew better than to struggle, too many times had she dropped to the ground and landed in dangerous positions. "Rami!" She knew his jeans, and his ass, too well.

He walked them over to a shaded area, setting her back on her feet with a cheeky smile. Tessa huffed childishly at him and squealed again when he pulled her closer to him, his hands lingering on her hips.

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, Tessa could feel his warm breath. "We need more ice."

Tessa pulled back and rolled her eyes. "Do we now?" He nodded with a completely serious expression on his face. "Then I better go get some."

"Who's going to drive you?" Rami asked, lightly taking hold of Tessa's hand when she went to turn away. She smiled at him sweetly and leaned forward to kiss him.

"I'll try find someone who's sober." She looked around quickly and then back to Rami, pulling an unsure face. Evidently, everyone had been drinking.

"I saw Colby about 5 minutes ago, he was pretty sober."

Tessa nodded her head but remained silent, looking back over her shoulder to see if Colby was anywhere in sight. It was far too easy for her to keep a straight face as she looked for him; she was far too good a liar.

"I'll go find him." She turned back to her boyfriend and smiled up at him, winking playfully. "Do you need anything else?"

"More beer."

"More?" Tessa asked incredulously, knowing that she bought more than enough earlier in the day.

"More people showed than you thought."

"Yeah, Jon Moxley's here," Tessa told him with a confused, furrowed brow.

"I told him he should come," Rami revealed and Tessa looked at him surprised. "We're friends."

"I didn't know that," Tessa said, somewhat amused. "But okay, I'll get more beer."

"Don't be gone too long," Rami said as he leant down to kiss her lightly. She turned around to walk away; he held her hand until she was out of reach.

The search to find Colby didn't take too long at all. He was hiding out in the rumpus room, watching the billiards game being played out in the centre of the room. Tessa walked straight over to him, nudging Chris Hero with her hip, causing him to miss the would-be-perfect, winning shot.

"Tessa!" Hero shouted in frustration, slamming his fist onto the side of the pool table. "I had it, too!"

Tessa didn't respond to him verbally, but she did offer an innocent smile slight shrug. She slid up casually beside Colby, taking the beer from his hands and taking a sip of it. As always, she grimaced at the taste.

"Every time." Colby took back his beer, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "Want something?"

"Yeah, are you okay to drive?"

"This is my first."

"Good! Can you take me to get ice?" she asked him, watching as Claudio Castagnoli pocketed the eight ball to win. His celebration was stopped prematurely when Hero tackled him from behind.

"Ice?"

"Yeah, apparently it all melted," she responded, acting totally bewildered.

"The sun'll do that," Colby muttered, quickly drinking the rest of his beer. "We can go now?"

Tessa nodded and began walking towards the staircase that led her up to her kitchen, Colby only a few steps behind her.

The music changed again – the guys' heavy rock being replaced for Tessa's pop – and disappeared all together by the time they reached Colby's car.

Tessa had never learnt to drive. She was not quite 22 and she'd never so much as started an engine. Getting her licence had never been a priority when both her older brothers were around to drive here anywhere she wanted to go. A general fear of getting into a car accident also stopped her.

As Colby drove to the store, Tessa watched him with a small, dreamy smile. She reached out and touched the hair that was hanging by his shoulder.

"It's longer than mine," she told him, causing him to look at her briefly. He had the same smile on his face as she did on hers. He took his right hand off the wheel and touched the hair hanging by her chin.

"That's because you chopped it off." Tessa moved her hand back to her own head, pulling her hair in front of her face.

"It looks terrible doesn't it?" she asked dejectedly. "I was sick of black and I just wanted it gone. I shouldn't have done it."

"What are you talking about?" Colby asked, taking hold of her hand and letting it rest on her knee. "It looks great, Tessy. I like it better than the black."

She had dyed her hair black at the beginning of Age of the Fall, leading into a darker character who was essentially the antithesis of her real-life self. The decision to cut it all off into a choppy bob and dye it back to her natural colour came after a offhand comment from a friend at college telling her that she didn't suit Goth.

Inside the store, Tessa began to regret not wearing shoes because her feet stuck to the ground every other step. There was a moment where she contemplated forcing Colby to give her a piggy back ride – but people there knew she was with Rami. She couldn't risk being caught.

She happily let Colby choose what beer to get, knowing all too well that she would mess it up and buy the worst tasting imaginable just because it was on sale. She just as happily watched him carry a slab on each shoulder as though they weighed as much as two bathroom towels. Tessa carried two bags of ice out just as easily though Colby looked much more impressive.

Halfway back to the house, Tessa turned to Colby and turned down the radio.

"Can you pull over for a second?" She asked casually, prompting Colby to look at her worriedly.

"You alright? You're not going to be sick are you?"

"No!" She couldn't help but laugh at his reaction. "Just pull over!"

He put the car into park and killed the engine, only to have Tessa unbuckle her seatbelt, lean over and kiss him the instant his hands were off the gear shift. No time was wasted in reciprocating the kiss; Colby's hands came to rest in her hair, his thumbs brushing her cheeks softly. Tessa smiled into the kiss, lifting off the seat so she could lean closer. Her hand gripped Colby's collar, keeping her close.

She didn't care that he still tasted of beer or that he was holding her head a little too tightly. He didn't care that her lips were dry or that his seatbelt was digging into his stomach. They continued to kiss each other until they needed a breath, only to pull apart for half a second and kissing again.

Tessa was the one to end the kiss, pulling back with her eyes closed and bottom lip between her teeth. Her hands still gripped his collar.

"I missed you," Colby whispered quietly, using his hands to fix up her hair. Tessa opened her eyes and smiled at him softly.

"I missed you." She relaxed her hands and smoothed out his shirt. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing was far from normal, but she knew how to put on an impenetrable facade. "We should get back."

Colby sighed and started the car, his hand dropping to rest on her thigh as soon as they were back on the road.

Tessa sang along quietly to the radio on their way back and her hand was lightly holding onto Colby's.

"How long is this-?"

"You can end this, too."

Tessa had exited the car before it was even in park and she had taken the ice from the trunk before Colby could even open his door. She walked past a group of people – some she knew, others she didn't – and she had no plan to stop until she saw her brother sitting on the front steps.

"Need help?" he asked, standing up to take the ice from her. She let him have the bags without protest – they were beginning to hurt her fingers.

"Where were you?" She questioned, walking behind him closely. "People started showing up two hours ago."

"I was with mum and dad, you know that."

"You left three hours ago!" Tessa said incredulously. "You had to return a Tupperware container!"

"She made food, I couldn't say no."

"Jimmy!" Tessa implored, still following him through the house and back outside. The hot stone felt like fire on her feet, but she chased him through the backyard nonetheless. "A call maybe? A text? Maybe let your girlfriend know?"

"Jesus Christ, you make it sound like I've been gone for a year." Jimmy dropped the ice beside the two large buckets and placed his hands on Tessa's shoulders, looking her in the eye. With a laugh he said, "June, calm the fuck down. Everything's fine."

Tessa shrugged his hands off and used a hand in the centre of his chest to push him away, "Don't swear at me."

She huffed at his laughter and then again when she was picked up and moved out of Colby's way. Everyone outside cheered when Colby began to fill up the beers, a few even stepping forward to slap him on the back.

Tessa took the opportunity to run through the shade towards her boyfriend, tucking herself under his arm when she reached him.

"Thanks, T," Rami said, kissing the top of her head. She smiled up at him, kissing his chest lightly, before looking back at the unwarranted celebration. Her cheeks flushed red and her breath hitched in her throat when she caught Colby looking over at her from across the yard.

a/n and that's not even everything ;)

Hugs, kisses and chocolate for deanambooty, Livin on the EDGE, Tootertoad85, UntilNeverDawns, nmoxracha, alibob687, CarolReigns and Imagineer1392 for their reviews :)