CHAPTER 3

Tessa

I woke up with a pounding headache and the distinct sound of someone yelling in the other room. Correction; two someones. One of them being my very loud, very energetic roommate who had zero respect for the dead… or the hungover.

Groaning, I buried my face into my pillow. Maybe if I ignored the world hard enough, it would go away.

Nope.

Footsteps thundered down the hallway like a herd of elephants, and seconds later, my door flung open with way too much drama for 9 a.m. on a Sunday.

“Good morning, vampire!” Sophie chirped, practically singing as she threw open the curtains.

“Agh—Sophie !” I hissed, shielding my face like I was auditioning for Twilight.

She just laughed. “That’s what you get for drinking mystery cocktails, Tess. Come downstairs, I made hangover soup.”

I peeked at her from under the blanket. “That’s why I love you. You enable my bad decisions and then cook them away.”

She smirked, hands on her hips. “I know you didn’t think I came in here just to open your curtains and feed your sorry ass.”

I sat up slowly, still squinting. “Then what do you want?”

Without another word, she leapt onto my bed like a five year old high on sugar. “WHY AM I JUST FINDING OUT THAT JACE ARMANI WAS AT THE PARTY LAST NIGHT?”

I winced at the volume. “Hangover, remember?”

She ignored me. “I didn’t even see him! He never goes to any of these events! What made this one different? Did you catch a glimpse before you blacked out?”

She turned to me with wide eyes. “Tessa, tell me—did you see him?”

I kept quiet. My lips moved, but no sound came out.

Sophie narrowed her eyes. “Tessa. I asked a question, not requested a dramatic silence.”

I exhaled. “Yeah… I saw him.”

She gasped. “Is he really that hot? Like, hotter than the pictures?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah. They don’t even do him justice.”

Sophie shrieked and bounced on the bed. “Oh my God, oh my God! Did you meet him? Did you talk? Was it a full interaction or just eye contact? What did he smell like?!”

I reached over and tapped her forehead. “Breathe.”

She inhaled like she hadn’t done that in minutes.

Once she calmed down, I gave her the edited version of the story how some creep had cornered me, and Jace stepped in like some kind of billionaire knight in a black button down. I conveniently left out the whole kissing part.

Sophie’s smile faded as guilt hit her. “I’m sorry I left you alone last night.”

“It’s fine,” I said quickly. “I handled it. Sort of.”

She studied me, narrowing her eyes again. “That’s all that happened?”

I hesitated. Then with a shrug, added, “Oh, and… we shared a little kiss.”

Sophie froze.

Then she screamed and tackled me with a pillow. “YOU WHAT?! You kissed Jace Armani and just threw that out there like you ordered fries at 2 a.m.?!”

I shrugged again. “It wasn’t a big deal. He probably won’t even remember. The internet says he kisses a lot of girls. What makes me any different?”

Lola stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Girl. You don’t accidentally kiss Jace Armani. That’s a once in a lifetime experience. You better spill every single detail, starting with the position of his hand and ending with what flavor of air he was breathing.”

I groaned, dragging the pillow over my head.

This was going to be a long morning.

Tessa.

I’m not sure I can forget about it, and I didn’t even get kissed.”she said

Sophia tossed her phone on the bed, then picked it right back up with a wicked grin.

“You know what? I’m calling the girls. This is a code red.”

I groaned.

“Soph—”

“No. You don’t get to ‘Soph’ me right now. You kissed Jace freaking Carter. If this doesn’t qualify as an emergency gossip summit, I don’t know what does.”

She was already typing furiously.

Group chat: Hot Girl Brainstorm Squad.I heard three dings in rapid succession.

Then:

“Give us fifteen minutes.”

“I’m wearing a bonnet, but I’m coming.”

“This better be worth me pausing Bridgerton.”

I buried my face in the pillow again.This was how I died.

Death by hype squad.

______

I should’ve known she wouldn’t let it go.

Sophia didn’t just call the girls.

She summoned the entire council. A few minutes later, our apartment sounded like a club on free drinks night.

“This better be good,” Zara announced first, sweeping into my room like she owned it and honestly, she kind of did. Her nails were gold tipped, her braids were freshly done, and she smelled like mango body butter and judgment.

“I was halfway into my skincare routine. That serum cost more than my GPA.”

“And I was halfway into a dream where I married a man with two passports,” chimed in Liana, flopping onto the bed beside me like a Disney villain in pajamas. Her silk bonnet was still on. Her sarcasm never slept.

“Wake me up for the apocalypse or a Jace Carter kiss. No in betweens.”

“She did kiss him,” Sophia said smugly, already perched at the foot of the bed like this was a royal court meeting and she was the queen of chaos.

Cue synchronized gasps.

“What do you mean she kissed Jace Carter?” That was Liana’s voice loud, dramatic, always two octaves higher when she was excited.

Tessa Mary James!” someone squealed , Liv obviously. Always dramatic, always late, and always overdressed for everything. She stepped in last, wearing a cropped hoodie, glitter lip balm, and a face like this was the best news she’d heard since Rihanna announced her pregnancy.

“You mean to tell me you played tonsil tennis with Mr. Stoneface, and you weren’t going to say anything?”

I sat up slowly, staring at my friends like they were hallucinations from last night.

“Okay, can we all calm down? It was just a—”

“A kiss?” Sophia cut in, arching a brow.

“Someone better tell me this isn’t a prank,” Liv added, slamming the door behind her, “because I just ran barefoot from across campus. My toes are suffering.”

And then there was Liv. Calm, collected Liv. “Alright. Everyone breathe. Let’s get the tea in chronological order. Sophia, you first.”

“No,” Sophia said, practically vibrating with excitement. “Tessa has the floor. And if she skips anything, I’ll drag her by her wig.”

“I don’t wear a wig.”

“Metaphor, babe. Spill.”

I sat up slowly, staring at my friends like they were hallucinations from last night.

“Okay, can we all calm down? It was just a—”

“A kiss?” Sophia cut in, arching a brow.

I flopped back on the couch and held the pillow to my face. “It wasn’t even a kiss kiss. It was, like… a half second mistake. Accidental lip collision.”

Liana gasped. “With Jace Carter?! That’s not a mistake. That’s a divine appointment.”

“Yeah,” Zara added. “People enter lotteries for less.”

“I didn’t mean to kiss him! I stumbled.Then he decided that we put up a show for the creep age then our lips met

The room exploded.

“Creep?!” Liv sat up straighter, alarm flashing in her eyes. “What creep? Are you okay?”

“Why didn’t you tell us someone was bothering you?” Liana asked, her tone immediately protective.

“Yeah, start from there!” Zara frowned. “You can’t just drop ‘creep’ mid-sentence and jump to kissing. Who was it? What happened?”

Sophia rolled her eyes, flopping dramatically on the bed. “Ugh I didn’t say that part on the phone? My bad. Whatever. Skip it. Just get to the kiss, please. I need angles, tongue, hand placement and don’t leave anything out “.

“Sophia,” Liv said sharply, shooting her a look. “There was a creep involved.”

“Exactly,” Zara added. “This isn’t funny.”

“I know, I know,” I sighed, sinking into the mattress. “You’re right. Okay. I’ll start from the beginning.”

Sophia groaned but stayed put, eyes gleaming like this was the season finale of her favorite show.

And just like that, I began to explain everything—from the awkward encounter to the accidental kiss I couldn’t stop thinking about.

Sophia leaned forward, eyes glittering. “Did his hand touch your waist?”

“No.”

“Your hair?”

“No.”

“Your soul?”

I threw a pillow at her.

Liv, ever the neutral party, took a sip of her green tea. “So… you kissed him. Then what?”

“I panicked. Said sorry. He said—”

I paused.

He said the next time we see, I owe him for saving me and also for me stealing a kiss from him for free

Silence.

Then: screams.

I swear the walls shook.

“He said what?!”

“You didn’t lead with that?!”

“Oh, you’re done for. RIP, girl.”

I blinked at them. “Why is everyone acting like I licked a royal heir or something?”

Zara exchanged a look with Liv, who raised an eyebrow.

Then Sophia gave me that look—the one people use when they’re about to drop your GPA with a single sentence.

“Tessa,” she said sweetly, “you do know who Jace Carter is… right?”

⸻

“I frowned. ‘Of course I know who he is.’

‘Then you understand why we’re freaking out?’

I didn’t.

Not now, at least.

Last night? I had a full meltdown.

I paced my room like a squirrel on espresso, googling “can you be sued for accidentally kissing a billionaire,” then panic-ate half a box of Oreos.

But this morning? I was calm.

Totally calm.

Because I’d made peace with one solid truth:

I was never going to see Jace Carter again. Ever.

He was rich, unreachable, and probably forgot my name the second he left.

So I took a deep breath and channeled my inner ice queen.

‘It was just a kiss,’ I said, with a shrug that deserved an Oscar.

‘We’ll all forget about it by next week.’

Sophia gawked at me like I’d grown a second head.

‘Tessa. I’m not sure I can forget about it. And I didn’t even get kissed.’”

No, seriously,” Liana said, already pulling out her P*******t board. “I always knew Tessa would look good in off shoulder lace. Her collarbones deserve luxury.”

“You can’t plan a wedding from a kiss,” I groaned. “It’s not a trip kiss anymore,” Zara countered. “He said it wasn’t bad. That’s consent for a wedding hashtag.”

“#JustCarterThings,” Sophia chimed.

“Oh my God,” I muttered, eyes glazing over.

Within seconds, they were picking out flowers, assigning roles Zara as the chaotic maid of honor, Liana insisting she’d walk down the aisle with a mini dog instead of a bouquet, Liv calculating budget logistics in her Notes app like this was a real thing.

I stared at the ceiling and let my brain float away.

Sophia, with her bold eyeliner and louder opinions, would fight God for her friends and somehow still post a cute selfie afterward.

Zara was drama on legs, already planning a viral TikTok series titled “My bestie married a billionaire, and all I got was this wedding speech.”

Liana was chaos in crop tops loud, lovable, and probably already emailing Vera Wang.

And Liv? The responsible one. The one who’d bring snacks to a kidnapping. My unofficial therapist with a killer neutral aesthetic.

How did I end up with them?

Right. College and bad luck.

I blinked back into reality just as Zara said something about a beach honeymoon and Liana suggested Bali because “it’s very barefoot luxury.”

“Okay enough,” I said, sitting up and waving my arms like an airport marshal. “Let’s all get off our bridal themed high horses. The kiss was an accident. Jace probably forgot my name already.”

“But did you give him your name?” Liv asked.

“I—no! See? Exactly. He doesn’t even know me.”

Sophia narrowed her eyes like she didn’t believe me but let it slide. “Fine. What’s on your tragic little mind then?”

“I have an IT placement application due tomorrow,” I sighed. “It’s already my third rejection. If I don’t get this one, I’m officially the clown of the semester.”

“That’s okay,” Zara said cheerfully. “Every friend group needs one.”

I threw another pillow.