New Beginnings: A Hessa Story (2)

Chapter 96: Hardin

The sun nearly blinds me as I open my eyes. I wish these windows had blinds on them instead of curtains that cause sunlight to peak through the small cracks. It's 9 AM, which is early for me but late for Tessa. I'm surprised she's still sleeping next to me. I notice she's wearing a small smile as she slowly breathes in and out. I know Tessa hates sleeping in late, so I should try to wake her up. As carefully as I can, I glide my thumb across her cheekbone. I can never help but touch her perfect features, many of them on her face. Her defined cheekbones are at the top of my list behind the curve of her hip and.. well, other curvaceous parts of her body.

She sucks in a harsh breath before slowly opening her eyes. Her arms and legs stretch out, rubbing against me. Her hair is like a bird's nest on her head, and her makeup is smeared underneath her eyes.

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

She rubs her eyes, smearing her eye makeup even more. "What time is it?"

"Nearly 9:30."

"Why are you up so early?" She wiggles out of my embrace to sit up.

"Because I'm excited to start our day together. Just you and me." I lean down and press my lips delicately against hers, giving her a quick peck. She beams immediately, her smile lighting up the already bright room.

"What do you want to do today?" She asks me.

"Whatever you want. This is our day, but more importantly this is your day to do whatever you want with me."

"Whatever I want?" Oh no. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. She would have me do some crazy shit with her like go skydiving or zip lining, but thankfully she's pregnant so her wild choices are limited.

"Well, for starters, I'm hungry. Wanna order in room service?"

Memories of the pasta swarming with bugs creeps into my mind. "Let's not eat here. Let's go out and eat, it's such a nice day." I get up from the warm comfort of the bed to open the blinds. The snow on the ground is causing the sunlight to reflect right off it into the window, so I close them again.

"Okay, but what am I gonna wear? I have no clothes, and neither do you."

I move to the closet and open the door to reveal two suitcases full of things. Tessa's mouth widens in shock.

"What? How did you...? When?"

"I had Nora go into our house last night and pack you some clothes and our toiletries. She dropped them off last night along with our car." I pick up her suitcase and drop it onto the bed.

"She faked the back pain, didn't she? That's why she wanted to go to the house." Tessa smacks her forehead. "Genius."

"It was a very intricate plan." I gloat.

"I applaud your efforts, Hardin Scott." She claps slowly. "I'm very impressed."

The feeling of pulling together this whole surprise without Tessa even having the slightest clue fills me with so much pride and joy. It's so rare that I can do something without Tessa knowing, so the fact I was able to do it with only a few hours deserves some praise.

"I live to impress you, Theresa Young... Scott." I mention my last name that she so graciously added onto her maiden name. I should start calling her this more often. I lean over the bed to kiss her once more.

She opens up her suitcase to look at the outfit Nora picked out for her. Thankfully, Nora didn't need to go through my shit because I still keep a bunch of clothes in the trunk of the car. Obviously not for the same reasons that I used to, but you never know when you're going to need a change of clothes. This is the perfect example.