Chapter four : A kiss

Tessa's POV

We got inside the hall, and Daven chose a spot by the window for us to sit at the moment.

After a few minutes of sitting and taking small sips from our glasses, the MC called everybody to arrange their chairs into a circle, insisting it would help us bond and catch up properly.

"Tessa, I'll go wait for you at the end of the hall. Call on me if anything goes wrong, okay?" Daven leaned in and said it low enough that only I could hear.

"Okay, Daven." I nodded and watched him rise, cross the room, and settle into a seat at the far end. The moment I stood up to join the circle, Monalisa and her crew burst out laughing.

"Do you do older men now?" one of them called out, covering her mouth like it was the funniest thing she'd heard all week.

"Did you ever even love Blake? You moved on so fast," another added, rolling her eyes at me.

"You look pale, Tessa. Is it because you have no mum?" a third one threw in, and the whole group cackled again.

Their voices filled the hall, bouncing off the walls until Blake finally peeled himself off Monalisa's lap and walked over to where I stood.

"Don't mind them," he said, dropping his voice like that would somehow soften things.

"Really, Blake? Like you're any better than them." I brushed past him, smoothed down my dress, and took the empty seat Jake had saved in the circle.

Jake kept throwing glances my way all through the icebreakers, and I let myself return a few, since seeing him was the whole reason I'd fought so hard to come tonight. We ate small chops off shared plates and danced when the music picked up, laughing more than I had in weeks. But that wasn't all the night had planned for us.

"It's time for truth and dare, guys. It's about to get freaky," the MC announced, grinning as he pulled out a small bowl of folded paper balls.

From across the hall, I caught Daven watching me, his eyes asking a silent question. I lifted my hand and gestured for a few more minutes, and he settled back into his seat without protest. The bowl went around, and Monalisa reached in first. She unfolded her paper, smirked, and turned straight to Blake.

"Who's your girlfriend, Blake?" she asked, twirling a strand of hair around her finger like she already knew the answer she wanted.

Blake's eyes found mine across the circle. He smiled slowly, almost proud of himself, and said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Tessa."

Monalisa's smile dropped instantly. She turned to me, waiting.

"I'm not your girlfriend, Blake. I'm your ex," I said, holding his gaze until he looked away first.

Monalisa's smile crept back as she folded the paper and dropped it back into the bowl. This time Jake reached in and unfolded his own slip.

"I dare Tessa to kiss me," he read aloud, then looked up at me gently, like he was giving me an out even as he said it.

"I'm... I'm so sorry, I can't," I said, glancing around the circle, heat rising in my neck.

"You don't have an option, girl. It's the game," one of my classmates chimed in from across the circle, and a chorus of voices backed her up. Only Blake stayed silent, jaw tight, eyes fixed on his hands.

I turned to Jake beside me, leaned close, and kept my voice down to a whisper only he could catch.

"Please, Jake. I'll kiss you outside. Not here."

He reached over and rubbed the back of my hand, his thumb moving slow and reassuring across my knuckles.

"Promise?"

"Promise," I said, and I meant it.

The game rolled on after my whispered promise to Jake, and somehow I made it through two more rounds without my name being called again.

Monalisa kept throwing dares my way with a smirk, but the MC seemed to have other plans and moved the bowl along without landing on me twice. I sat there, my leg bouncing under the table, counting down the minutes until this circle would finally break.

When it did, Jake leaned close and touched my elbow lightly.

"You still remember your promise?" he asked, a small grin tugging at his mouth.

"Of course, let's go," I said, standing and adjusting my dress a bit before glancing toward the window where Daven sat. He looked at me and gave a small nod, like he understood I just needed a moment.

Jake and I slipped out through the side door into the cool night air. The music from inside turned soft and distant the further we walked, until it was just the two of us standing under a dim security light at the back of the building.

"So," Jake said, rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly shy in a way he never was in class.

"So," I repeated, laughing a little to break the tension building between us.

He stepped closer, cupped my face gently, and leaned in. Our lips locked softly. For a moment, everything with Blake, with Monalisa, with the whole humiliating night faded into the background, and it was just Jake and me.

Then a voice cut through it like a blade.

"Wow. Just wow."

We pulled apart fast, and there stood Blake, with folded hands. Looking at us with burning eyes.

"Blake, what are you doing here?" I asked, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

"I followed you two out because something told me you were up to no good. And look at this." He gestured between me and Jake like he'd just caught us committing a crime.

"We broke up, Blake. I don't owe you an explanation," I said, stepping in front of Jake before this could turn into something worse.

"I don't accept that breakup, Tessa. You're just doing this to make me jealous, aren't you? Using this small boy to get back at me," Blake spat, taking a step closer.

"Small boy?" Jake muttered under his breath, but I put a hand out to keep him from stepping forward.

"Make you jealous? Blake, you were the one who had another woman answer your phone. You cheated on me again. This has nothing to do with you," I said, my voice shaking with anger now instead of fear.

Blake made a horrifying face, and without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed back inside. I should have known better than to think that was the end of it.