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Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dylan
The day is dragging and I’m hungry and exhausted, having skipped lunch earlier. Tessa was out too, busy with her own work stuff and thank god we’ve been spending our nights together or it would be starting to feel like we don’t get much chance to see each other these days.
It’s good though, this thing with me and Tessa, because even though she’s been super busy lately, we’ve found this cool groove that we’ve settled into. And while we haven’t always been able to catch up at work and have lunch, we have been spending our nights together and honestly, it’s been seriously awesome.
I just love being with her, the two of us hanging out and having fun. It’s nothing super fancy either, easy dinners at each other’s place, movies or a TV binge, and of course, a shitload of really, really good sex. But it’s all been fucking perfect.
Looking back over the past few months we’ve spent together, it’s hard to believe I was so anti-relationships, preferring random hook ups that scratched an itch until I found someone else to fool around with.
But with Tessa, everything about her is just so easy and fun. She’s hella smart and sexy as fuck and goddamn, in the bedroom, she is amazing. I can’t believe what the fuck I was ever thinking putting her in the hook up category when we first met. Because she belongs firmly in the never-letting-go category.
And weirdly enough, that doesn’t scare me one single bit.
Not anymore.
“Dylan, let’s call it a day,” Jack shouts as he heaves the last of the kegs out from under the crusher.
I exhale, scrubbing a hand down my face. “Sounds good,” I call from the other side of the machine. We must have filled several dozen kegs today and I know we still have more to do tomorrow. With all the fruit having been picked and the cider brewed, it’s our busiest time of the year. Still, even though it’s hard work, it is good fun.
“Come on, let’s go have some drinks,” he calls from the doorway, Tommy beside him.
I walk over to where they’re waiting, washing my hands in the small sink we have by the door before the three of us walk outside. Somerville’s and Apple Jacks doesn’t have a huge workforce, which means there is always something to be done, but none of the owners shy away from getting their hands dirty and they are always super generous with the food and drinks during and after work too.
“Thanks for all the help today,” Jack says, slapping a hand on my shoulder.
I grin, glancing over at him. “No problem, it is my job, remember?”
Jack laughs. “Sure, but I do appreciate it. I know we work hard, especially this time of year.”
I shrug. “Yeah, but we also play hard too, don’t we?”
Chuckling, Jack holds open the door to Apple Jacks. “That we do, Dylan, that we do.”
We wander over to the end of the bar and take a seat at some of the empty stools. The bar area isn’t closed yet, and the restaurant will stay open for the dinner crowd, but it’s common for the staff to hang out with the customers. It’s what makes this place so relaxed and fun to work out.
“Pen still working?” Jack asks Tommy.
He shrugs. “Yeah for another hour or so,” he says, before he and Jack start chatting about the next batch of cider we need to bottle.
I pull my phone out to send a text to Tessa, letting her know where I am in case she feels like a drink too. I know she was meeting with Lauren this afternoon and we would usually touch base to organize tonight, especially as it’s pretty much a given at this point that we spend each night together.
Me: Hey babe, am having a drink at Apple Jacks, you wanna come join us?
I wait a few minutes, chatting with Jack and Tommy as we enjoy a drink, but no response comes through from Tessa. It’s weird, because even busy, she’s pretty good at responding to my messages.
Me: Just me again…you still chatting with Lauren? If too busy, all cool. You wanna just meet at my place later?
It wouldn’t matter if she got done first, as we’d actually given each other keys to our places a couple of weeks ago. It was weird, because this is something I had never, ever done before either. Only my sister and my parents had keys to my place, but when Tessa had out of the blue given me one to hers, it just felt totally natural to give her one to mine too.
Natural as in, I hadn’t even blinked a fucking eye. Hadn’t freaked out and hadn’t felt the need to run a mile and block her number.
I mean seriously, this woman has totally changed me. And again, nothing about that freaked me out, not in the least.
“Dude, what you doing?” Jack asks, sliding another cider toward me.
I lift the bottle for a sip, my eyes still on the screen, waiting for Tessa’s response. “Nothing, just texting Tess.”
