New Beginnings: A Hessa Story (2)

Chapter 58: Nora (BONUS)

"That was a fun night, wasn't it?" I ask Landon as we drive home from the bar. I had a few drinks, so I'm a little tipsy. Landon only had one beer, so he gets the pleasure of dealing with tipsy me for the next hour.

"I had fun, but do you think they noticed?" He asks, and my mood drops again. We've been waiting to tell Hardin and Tessa the news, but I don't know how they are gonna take it.

"No, we weren't acting different, were we?"

"I don't think so, but you know me... I'm not the best actor."

He's not wrong. Landon is absolutely terrible at hiding his emotions, and people that have known him for a long time like Hardin and Tessa usually pick up on when he's acting different, but I don't think they noticed.

"You did great, babe, but we have to tell them soon... I feel like the longer we wait, the harder it will be."

"I know, I know. I just feel terrible, and I don't want to ruin their newlywed bliss with this."

"When the time feels right, we need to do it." I tell him, and he nods in agreement. "I feel like they'll be happy for us, you know?"

"I think Tessa will be thrilled, and I don't think Hardin will care as much." Landon frowns. His relationship with Hardin has strengtened greatly over the years, but I think Landon is secretly scared that Hardin won't care.

"Oh please. Hardin will care. Do you remember when we told Tessa that we were getting married? I feel like they'll give off the same emotion as that."

Landon proposed to me the day Tessa came back from her friend's wedding out in Illinois. It was an amazing day for us as a couple, and a day that I'll honestly remember for the rest of my life. Landon took me to this really nice restaurant in Midtown. We ate on a rooftop that had an amazing view of the Empire State Building. It was absolutely beautiful, and I was surprised because I had so much more knowledge of New York City compared to Landon, but I didn't even know this place existed.

The night Tessa came back, we told her the good news, and she was ecstatic.

-

"This wine is delicious babe, where did you get it?" I asked my now fiancé.

"Ken gave it to me as a birthday present. This probably cost more than this apartment."

"You have an apartment in Manhattan, this bottle of wine costs probably not even a eighth of what this apartment costs."

Landon laughed. "You're right." He lifted his glass of wine to meet mine. "To you saying yes."

"To you asking." We clinked our glasses, and I drank another sip of the deliciously crisp white wine.

I placed my wineglass back on the table, and pulled Landon's shirt towards me. Our lips connected, and we kissed passionately. For someone who was so innocent and clean looking, Landon was definitely not the man that I thought he would ever be. He was so calm, yet intense at the same time.

I heard the door open, and in stepped Tessa with her large suitcase. The girl always overpacked.

"Hi guys!" She struggled to get her suitcase through the door, so Landon went over to help her.

"Welcome back." He hugged her tightly.

"That was the longest flight of my life! I had a window seat, but the person next to me smelled like spoiled milk, so I was gagging the entire flight."

"Oh my god." Landon wiped the sweat accumulating on his forehead.

"Yeah, I'm starving. Hey, Nora." She walked over, and hugged me.