Chapter 28: Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rich I sat down and stared at my cell screen. I was the Sunday guy, the one that would make Tess feel better by having some kind of conversation that would be so outside of the box, that it would explode her mind every time. 

I was the nice guy that every girl wanted as a friend, the type that would never get the girl, and part of me felt right about being that guy. The one that they could turn to, but then there becomes a point when I wanted more than that. 

I didn’t know if I wanted to get married, have kids, and the usual type of crap that everyone in my family recited when they got to this age. But I was a Senior in college, and soon I would leave, and the only thing anyone would ever say about me was, Rich was a nice guy. He helped me that time in this situation or that…

With Tessa, I could be who I wanted to be, but I wondered if I could take it to the next step. I’d analyzed and divulged myself in each and every one of her articles. I knew who she was talking about when it came to the Sunday guy. It was pretty clear that it was me. The others seemed to set her body and mind on fire. Me I didn’t know what I was doing when I started talking to her, sure the texts were sexy, but they weren’t hot. They were kind of lame to begin with because I wasn’t me. I never talked about something that I had no idea about, and when it came to sex, I was as clueless as any virgin.

I heard my cell chime, and I knew that it was Tessa. She probably wanted to talk, but I craved something more. My sexual desire had died because I never thought of myself as anything else than a friend. And the only other option was to pay for it. Something that my dad did regularly, he paid for everything in his life, including my love. He felt that he could ignore me for most of the year, buy me a hot ride, boat, or even one time a jet, and that would make up for the rest of his crap. His women, hurting my mom and everything else, no money could make up for that. 

“Hey. How you doing?” I asked as I realized that Tessa wasn’t texting but calling. 

“I’m good. No, I’m not. Then again…”

“Tessa, what’s up? You don’t sound good.”

She didn’t reply or say anything, so I decided to make her feel better and probably me at the same time. 

“You wanna come over?”

“What?” she blurted out without any hesitation. 

“You wanna come over?” I repeated, and my heart was pounding out of control. I was wondering if she was thinking that about it being a good idea of not, or if whatever was bothering her had left her feeling out of control. I knew that feeling too well. 

“I just thought if you were free, then you could come over. I cook a mean spaghetti carbonara,” I said as I got up and hoped that she would say something more. 

“Sorry, Rich. I didn’t mean to be rude. It was just that both Kim and Cheryl were talking to me at the same time. They’re on their way out. They have hot dates today. You know what, that sounds good to me, send me your address, and I’ll come over.”

I was so fucking excited. “You sure?”

“Text it to me, before I change my mind.”

She didn’t need to tell me twice as I hung up the phone, I sent her my address and then I regretted telling her what was on the menu as I headed into the kitchen. I didn’t even have spaghetti let alone all the other ingredients to make up what was on the menu. 

I had to run to the store before Tessa came. I had a hot lunch date, and I didn’t want to let her down. 

***

I smiled as I finished cooking, and Tessa texted me to tell me that she was only twenty minutes away. 

I didn’t know if I should change too, but I decided that I would have a shower and make myself presentable. I felt like a kid going on their first date as I scrolled through my closet after having a shower. Officially, it may have been my first date because the other ones that I had were girls who thought that we were just hanging out. 

This was different, and as I went for my black polo and matching jeans, I decided that I needed to make myself presentable. Tessa and I weren’t friends; we were love interests. 

Fuck, that made me sound old. 

“Rich, your guest's here,” Marta said from reception downstairs. I took a deep breath as I thanked her and told her to allow Tessa to come up. I already paged Marta before to let her know that Tessa was coming over, and she should let her come up to the penthouse. She was probably double-checking that it was still ok. It was, and my heart was beating even more out of control as I heard the elevator and knew that Tessa was coming up.

I closed my eyes as I’d done in my yoga sessions to calm my nerves. I'd suffered from anxiety ever since I was a little kid. Something that no amount of therapy sessions, pills could get rid of, but yoga helped. It helped me find my focus and calm my nerves down. 

As the elevator doors swung open, Tessa was in front of me and all the nerves that I had before her arrival slowly disappeared. 

“Rich. Penthouse. Damn!” Tessa was having trouble getting the words out.

I had money, but that didn’t mean that I had happiness, not until I started talking to her then I began to feel better for the first time in a long time.

“Yeah. This is me,” I said as she hugged me. I realized that I wasn’t the only one who was nervous about our lunch date; she seemed to be too.

“Ah, so you cooked?” she asked as she ran into the living area as quickly as she could, which was limited because she had on at least a couple of inch heels and had on a tight black number. She looked hot and sexy, so much so, that while she was looking out of the glass staring at the view, I couldn’t help but do the same with her hot body that felt as if it was screaming my name.

“I did,” I said, putting my hand on my chest.

She laughed as I did that.

“I even clean the penthouse and drive myself to college, but my dad hates it. He frowns at me being one of the common people, but hey, this is me. I like doing it, so I don’t see why I should do anything else.”

She nodded. “I think I get what you’re saying even though I can’t understand it. No one in my family has a penthouse, and I’m sure none of them has as much money as your family does.”

I quickly changed the subject, another issue, sometimes girls only wanted to be close to me for my money. When they realized that I wasn’t interested, then they walked away. The only girls that I’d ever been involved with were just as rich, and they only wanted to be friends. 

“Rich?” she asked as I walked over to her. 

“Why did you invite me here today? To show me how rich you are?”

I shook my head because that wasn’t the reason. Not at all. She didn’t wait for me to reply as she asked, “Do you have parties here every weekend? Or is it a myth? I remember seeing online these rich dudes in college that spent every weekend partying in their penthouses.”

I laughed at the idea of it. 

“Tessa apart from my dad, of whom I speak to every two months or so. My dead mom who I still miss like crazy and keep her line active so I can still send her messages. I know weird. And my professors, there’s no one else that I speak to. Not on a regular.”

She put her hand up to my chest. “Why? Why do you live that way?”

I felt embarrassed facing her and telling her the truth. 

“Before college, when I was in high school, the only guys I would hang out with were the nerds. When they found out how much money I had, somehow, that didn’t make me a nerd anymore. I know, go figure. Then in college, I don’t know. It’s like I don’t fit in anywhere, and the crazy part is that it’s nearly time for me to leave.”

She turned my face to face her. “You know we’re more alike than I ever thought we were.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rich, before this texting and the article and everything, do you think that anyone knew I existed? Everyone thought that I was this geeky girl who was only into the paper and nothing else.”

I smiled as my finger traced her face. “I thought that was exactly what you were…”

“Very funny! My point being is that life is what you make it. If you want to be that rich guy who has parties and doesn’t study, then that is your choice. If you want to be the rich guy that cleans his apartment and doesn't spend time with anyone. Then again, that’s your choice…”

“And if I want to be that rich guy who kisses you. Then what?”

She purred as she drew closer to me like a magnet. “Then, you're welcome.”

I didn’t need another invitation; there was something hot about having her near to me, cooking for her, and wanting to know every part of her body better that made my lips touch hers, ever so gently. She started to moan as I drew near to her. I pressed my lips against hers and as I smelled her vanilla scented perfume, I knew that I had to have more.

I was getting hard, and no more did I think about eating lunch. I felt like having Tessa. My animal instinct took over as I wrapped my arms around her tight waist.

“I want you, Tessa,” I growled as I swept her in my arms.

“Rich, be gentle.”

I growled, “I wouldn’t want you any other way.”

She smiled as I pressed my lips against hers and managed to carry her at the same time, this time I parted her lips with my tongue and slowly she opened her mouth as if it was an open invitation.

As soon as we hit the bedroom my kiss became fierce as it pressed hungrily toward her lips. No more was I being gentle, and she wasn’t either as she started to tug at my belt wanting to take my pants off. I didn’t stop her, as my tongue plundered deeper into her mouth, taking control.

I pulled away and for a split second admired her sexy body as she stood in lacy underwear.

“Damn, you’re so fucking hot!”

She purred, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

She pulled off my polo and I bent down as I stood half-naked in front of her. All of a sudden I’d lost my appetite for the food that was waiting for us in the kitchen. Both of us had other agendas. Hers was to get naked; down and dirty, and mine was to taste her sweet body.

“Do you really want to do this?”

She nodded her head as she stepped closer to me. I didn’t want to take advantage of her, sure I knew that she was with the other guys, but it was never my intention of being her sex partner. Or who was I kidding? I was too shy to be anything else at the time.

Tessa had somewhere along the line made me into the man that I was in front of her and I wanted her, and the fact that she wanted me just as much made me want her even more.