No More Wasted Time (17 page)

He held her hand, darting down several side streets,
stopping outside of an inn. He grinned. “Will this work?”

“Yep.” The words were barely out of her mouth and he was
inside getting them a room.

By the time the key unlocked the door, Tess had her shirt
half off. Both scrambled out of their clothes before Tom tackled her to the
bed. He pinned her hands beside her head, kissing her fervently, on the verge
of being forceful, robbing her of air. Turned on by his zealousness, she could
barely breathe. Fully aware the balcony door was wide open, Tess tried to
contain her moaning, but she was beyond excited. At this point, she didn’t care
who heard them.

An hour later, they lay on their backs, covered in sweat
staring at the ceiling. “I like Greece!” She giggled with a sultry smirk.

“I had something I wanted to ask you before you seduced me
back there on the wall.” Tom teased innocently.

“What? Me? Oh, I don’t think so! You totally started it. I
thought it was me lusting after you this whole time but-”

“It’s not just you. I didn’t care where we were. Thanks for
stopping me.”

“I certainly didn’t want to stop.” They laughed for a few
minutes. “Okay. What did you want to ask me?”

Tom rolled over on his side, gazing intently at her. He
grinned with excitement, but seemed serious and a bit self-conscious, too. “I
want to know if you’ll you come back here with me, to Greece on vacation?”

“Do you mean like, tomorrow or next week or when? Is this
the surprise?” Her heart raced at the idea of spending more time with him.

“Look, Tess, I haven’t figured out when yet, but I’m crazy
about you. I think you’re amazing. I don’t want to be without you, or you to be
without me, like my girlfriend.”

Tess nervously chewed on her cheek, overcome with sudden
urge to guard her emotions. She climbed out of bed and stared out at the sea
with her arms folded across her chest. Secretly she wished for this moment, but
there were still so many unanswered questions running through her mind.

Being Tom’s girlfriend would come with numerous drawbacks.
He lived an entirely different lifestyle than her. The media, his career, and
the list of women he dated prior to her. Questions she refused to let herself
ask previously, started stacking up like poker chips on a hot Las Vegas casino
table. Tess wasn’t foolish, if she bombarded him with twenty questions, she
risked the chance that he might panic. This was a huge step for her, but an
even bigger one for him. She couldn’t be happier, but she didn’t want to get
hurt.

She didn’t realize he was standing right next to her until
he reached down and took hold of her fingers, pressing them to his warm lips.
His eyes fixed keenly on her face and she knew he was waiting for her reply.

“Yes,” she whispered softly. “I would love to come back here
with you.” 

“Are you sure? Because you’re not as excited as I hoped
you’d be.” Tom asked quietly, unable to mask the rejection in his voice.

“Sorry, actually I’m elated. It’s just that I…I’ve been
telling myself I couldn’t keep you, so to speak. At the end of three weeks, I’d
have to give you up and try not to be devastated. I’ve been attempting to
convince myself you’re just a vacation.”

“I’ve never found someone I can put up with for two weeks,
but I can’t be without you for ten minutes. You’re the best time I’ve ever had.
I want us to be together.”

“I think you’re the best time I’ve ever had, too.” She confided
in a hushed voice.

Tom’s eyes filled with skepticism.

“Please don’t look at me like that. It’s difficult for me to
admit aloud. I feel bad enough when I admit it to myself inside my own
thoughts, let alone confessing it to you. I feel like I’m saying Richard wasn’t
as good, but that’s not how I mean it. What I had with my husband was wonderful
and anyone should be as lucky as I was to have the marriage we had. But you
make me feel like I’ve never felt and I’m not even talking about the sex yet.”

He smiled deliriously. “I have a job coming up my agent
committed me to, so in a week or two I have to leave for a film. If I can
figure out a schedule, will you come see me until I can make time to come back
here?”

“Yes.” Staring into his dark brown eyes, she knew there
wasn’t anything she wouldn’t go through or give up in order to be with him,
except one.

Monogamy.

“But Tom, I need to know your definition of a
girlfriend
.
I refuse to set myself up to be hurt,” she stated bluntly.

“I’m not sure what you mean. I want to be with you, like the
last three weeks. You
are
my definition of a girlfriend.” He pulled her
onto the bed playfully.

She realized he was oblivious of what she asked him. “Tom,
I’m asking you if you’re going to go on “dates” while I’m your girlfriend. I’m
not going to see anyone else, not that I would have many options, but I know
you have a hundred different options anywhere you go. So if you want to sleep
with other women, or even just one other woman, then my answer is no! I’d
rather say goodbye to you now.” She spoke directly. “I wouldn’t even be able to
deal with that crap. I don’t care who you’ve been with, but it would hurt me if
you sleep with someone now.”

“Tess, I don’t want to see other women.”

She straddled him, sitting on his stomach. “‘
I don’t want
to
…’ is still a little vague, Tom. I want your word. I want to be with you,
but that’s what I need. Your word.”

He sat up onto his elbows, looking her in the eye. “Tess,
you have
my word
that I won’t date or sleep with or kiss another woman.
No one else would compare to you. I promise.” He curled his lip in disgust.
“And I don’t want you to date other men. I wouldn’t like that. At all!”

“I won’t. You have my word.” She smiled, kissing him.
“Please don’t freak out in the middle of the night and leave me here, okay? If
you change your mind and want to see other women, just tell me. First. Please.”

“Do you trust me?” he asked in a slow sexy tone.

She recognized a serious question underneath that steamy
voice. “I have been trusting you, haven’t I?”

“That’s a little vague,” he said, mimicking her. “I’ve never
denied the fact I’ve dated a lot, but I didn’t find you until three weeks ago.
Now, I want you. Only you. The thought of you sharing yourself with another
man, might hurt me more than I could possibly even imagine. So, Tess, do you
trust me?”

She swallowed hard. “Yes, I trust you.”

“So it’s official. You’re my girlfriend. And I am your
boyfriend.”

It sounded silly, almost juvenile coming out of his mouth,
but in fact, Tess understood it was a huge commitment for him. 

“Tom, just so you know, I’m very excited.”  She hopped off
the bed and danced around the room. “Was that the response you were hoping
for?”

“No, this was.” He grabbed her from behind and planted a big
kiss on her lips. “I have to make some calls. Let’s leave early in the
morning.”

“Oh! I’m not sure if I’m going to like it here,” she replied
sarcastically, gaping out the sliding glass door. Tess slipped on his shirt,
stepping out onto the balcony. “No wonder you like Greece so much.”

The inn perched on a cliff with a view of the clear, blue
sea. Whitewashed houses with blue shutters lined the brick street below them
and fuchsia bougainvillea grew everywhere.
Gorgeous!

“I like it.” Tom snapped a photo of her wearing his shirt.

“Are we really coming back here together?”

“Yes, we are and you haven’t seen anything yet. I know
you’ll love it here; the islands, Athens. We can go hiking and go to an
archeological site.”

Tess threw her arms around his neck. “I can’t wait.”

That night, the streets bustled with artists selling their
work and people out shopping. Several recognized Tom, only a few approached
him, most just pointed. Tess chuckled to herself.

“What’s so funny?” he asked with his crooked smile.

“I see you so differently than all these people.” Tess
glanced around at the people in the streets.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He pretended she offended
him.

“I see you as a person; smart, charming, funny, adventurous,
gorgeous and very confident. They see you as Tom Clemmins the famous actor. I
just think it’s ironic. I understand my fascination with you, but I don’t get
theirs. No offense. Not only you, famous people in general.”

“I’m glad you feel that way because everything changes
tomorrow, Tess.”

“Don’t tell me. I actually don’t want to know yet. Right
now, I simply want to enjoy this place. Okay?”

“All right.” He agreed.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Tom and Tess grabbed breakfast at a café before heading to
the bottom of the hill to meet the car. He informed her it would be a long
flight so she changed into comfortable clothes, lounged on a couch, and watched
a movie while Tom stayed in the bedroom on the phone. He sounded unhappy about
something, but finally joined her when she finished her second movie.

“All right, Tess,” he smiled nervously. “We have about five
hours left, so we need to go over some things.”

“Okay.”

“First off, we’re going to my home in Malibu.”

“Great,” she paused. “It’s not a castle, is it?”

He shook his head and continued. “Did you know Benny has a
new movie coming out?”

“No. Well, maybe. Lisa mentioned a film he’d finished
recently.”

“We’re going to his movie premier. That’s one of the reasons
I took you to see your girls, because you won’t be able to pick them up at the airport.”

“All right,” she agreed with a casual nod, not fully aware
of what a movie premier entailed.

He wore an enormous grin. “Tess, it’s a big deal. There’s
going to be a lot of people there, including reporters and photographers. Plus
a little red carpet you’ll be walking down with your
famous
boyfriend,
remember?” he teased sarcastically.

“Are you kidding me? Red carpet? No way! What am I going to
wear? Holy crap!”

“It’s going to be a great time. Lisa will be there too, not
at my house, but you’ll get to see her. She said she’d help you get…prepared.”
His voice faltered.

“Prepared?”

“I have to tell you one more thing. There will be paparazzi
everywhere when we land.” He rubbed his knuckles against his jaw.

“Why? What is it? What’s wrong?” She knew something was
wrong by the way he scratched the rasp of his unshaven face.
He would never
win playing poker.

“Apparently, there’s a picture of me kissing a beautiful
woman in Greece circulating on the Internet today. I don’t know if you can get
a hold of your kids, but you might want to try, especially John because when
the paparazzi get your name, and they will, they’ll want to know who you are.”

“How could that happen? Are you sure?”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure.”

“Have you seen the picture?” She knew the answer by the look
on his face. “Let me see it.”

He pulled up the picture on his phone and handed it to her.
“That’s when we were on the wall last night!” Utterly dumbfounded, she stared
at the picture in astonishment. “Who took this?”

“Tess, it doesn’t matter who took the picture, probably the
lady from the ice cream shop. They’re going to want to know who you are.
They’ll be waiting when we land.”

“Let me see that picture again. Shit, we do look good
together.”

Tom chuckled uneasily. “Tess, you need to call John. He’s
going to see this, and we’re all over each other in this photo. Your girls
might see it, too.”

Her eyes glued to the photo of Tom standing between her legs
while she sat on the white curved wall. Her head hung back and Tom kissed the
base of her neck. One hand squeezed her ass and his other hand rested right
under her breast.

“How much money do they get for these pictures? I would’ve
paid for this one. I can’t believe we look so sexy.”

“Tess, you should call,” Tom reiterated, sounding baffled by
her lack of response.

“I need to think for a minute. What exactly is the problem?
Photographers? Aren’t they going to be taking pictures in a couple of days
anyway? Seriously, is there really going to be a red carpet?”

“Are you delirious?” he asked in confusion. “You don’t seem
very upset.”

“They’re going to find out who I am anyway. Why not just
tell them? I don’t get it. I’m proud to be with you Tom.”

“I thought you would be pissed, Tess. It’s an invasion of
your privacy.”

“Well, at least it’s a good picture. I might be pissed if it
were a bad picture. We look like we could be on the cover of a smutty romance
novel.”

“Tess, why don’t you get ready? I have to make a phone
call.”

“Is this picture a problem for you, Tom? You sounded upset
earlier on the phone.”

“It’s not a problem for me at all. My publicist is unhappy
with me, but I’m not going to hide you.”

Unsure of how to respond, she stammered, “I’m going to get
ready, and then I’ll call home.” Tess headed for the bedroom, but turned back
around. “I don’t want this to be an issue for you. Just walk me through it so I
know what to expect and I’ll be fine. I don’t want to hide. I promise I won’t
embarrass you.”

She turned toward the bedroom. Tom grabbed her by the wrist
and pulled her into his lap. “Wait a minute, Tess. I’m not embarrassed of you
at all! That’s not what I meant. Sometimes in my business, there’s a certain
way people like to handle things. I wasn’t going to take you out until the
premier so you wouldn’t get anxious and be a wreck that night. I want to be
seen with you. That’s why I brought you here.”

She smiled. “I was referring to the picture of you with your
hands all over my body.” She grasped his hands and placed them over her boobs.
“What I meant was, I will try not to do
this
in public. But I can’t make
any promises.”