Chapter 216

Tessa’s POV

I jumped off the couch quickly as I stared at the email.

Fable Magazine wanted to offer me a full-time position for their New York branch. I couldn’t believe this was happening. This was something I’d been wanting, knowing that they had a branch in the big city. Ruby was going to lose her shit when she found out that I had a job offer in the very city she was hoping to move to after graduation.

Just then, Joseph stirred on the couch.

My entire body froze, and I turned to look at Joseph who was now opening his eyes and peering up at me with a timid frown.

“Where did you go?” He asked, holding his arms out for me to return to him.

I opened my mouth to respond to him and tell him what had happened. But just as I did, I remembered that he wanted to return to the mountains after I graduated, so I shut my mouth and put my phone on the coffee table.

“Maybe we should go to the bedroom,” I suggested.

He groaned but he sat up; he looked so good freshly woken. His hair was messy, and his eyes were barely open as he pouted at me.

“Do we have to?” He asked, making me chuckle as I bent down and kissed his pouting lips.

“We can’t sleep on the couch all night,” I said, pulling him to his feet.

He blinked a few times before looking at his window.

“It’s night?” He asked, furrowing his brows together. “When did that happen?”

“It's 2 am,” I told him. “Tomorrow is a big day so we should get some more rest.”

He entwined his fingers through mine and pulled me along with him toward his bedroom.

“Have you spoken to your father at all?” He surprised me by asking. I stared at him confused, a small blush on my cheeks when I thought about our night. When would I have time to call my father? “I mean while I was asleep,” he added, as if he was reading my mind.

“No,” I answered. “He hasn’t tried calling me again.”

“Are you planning on talking to him? Will he be going to graduation?”

Joseph was tense when he asked that question and I knew he was worried. He almost lost his shit when my father almost hit me by accident, and I couldn’t blame him.

“I don’t really know…” I admitted. “I haven’t thought about it since we left the school. But I have to get my dress for graduation and I’m assuming he’s going to be in my apartment. I guess I’ll talk to him then.”

“I’ll go with you,” Joseph said firmly, leaving me no room for arguments.

My cheeks heated.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I admitted as we entered his bedroom. “It’ll set my father off again and I don’t know if I’m strong enough to hold him back.”

“I won’t let it escalate like that again,” Joseph assured me.

I curled up in bed beside him, wrapping my arms around his bare body and holding him close to me. I needed his warmth and love to get me through the night.

“Get some sleep,” he whispered, kissing the top of my head gently. “We can talk more tomorrow.”

I didn’t think I was going to sleep as long as I did, but surprisingly, I slept the entire night. I must have been lacking sleep from the last few days of stressing over Joseph and now my body was catching up on the much-needed rest.

Joseph wasn’t in bed when I woke up and I felt a bit disheartened by that. Frowning, I slid out of bed and quickly realized I was still naked.

I went over to Jospeh’s drawers and grabbed a T-shirt that was practically a dress on my small frame. It smelled like Jospeh though, so I was happy.

I left Joseph's bedroom and traveled down the many corridors until I reached the kitchen. It was strange because there was no indication that he was in the kitchen until I reached the kitchen door and smelled the delicious food he was cooking. I just somehow knew he was there; like a feeling in my chest that tightened when I neared him.

Entering the kitchen, I watched as Joseph fried bacon and scrambled eggs. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants, but he was shirtless and mouthwatering gorgeous. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off his broad and muscly form.

Everything about him was amazing and I wanted to pull him into my arms and never let him go. He didn’t notice me at first.

The coffee maker dinged, indicating that it was finished, and I saw the light smile on his face as he went to pour a couple of hot mugs of coffee. He brought one of the mugs to his lips and took a large sip of the steaming liquid and I heard his sigh of satisfaction.

“That good?” I asked, making him turn to face me.

“Sorry, I’ve been in my own world. I didn’t hear you walking into the kitchen,” he said, a little sheepishly. “I’m just making breakfast.”

“It smells good,” I told him honestly.

Joseph always made really good food.

“Coffee?” He asked, motioning for the other mug of coffee.

I smiled.

“Always,” I said as I went toward him and grabbed the mug.

I brought it to my lips and took a deep breath before I took a sip. I didn’t take anything in my coffee anymore. Not since meeting Joseph. I used to put a lot of cream and sugar in my coffee, but I wanted to appear more sophisticated in front of Joseph, so I started to drink it black.

Now I just really love the taste of black coffee. Not to mention it worked a lot faster when I didn’t add things to it.

He plated the food and we sat at the counter bar while we ate our food and drank our coffee. We had some light banter and it helped to keep my mind off things, but as breakfast came to an end, I knew we couldn’t avoid things for long.

Graduation was this afternoon and I had to get ready for it. My stomach clenched at the thought of seeing my father again after yesterday’s fiasco. I still wasn’t sure I wanted him at the graduation The last thing I needed was for him to cause a scene in front of my entire graduation class, their families, professors, and Dean Miller.

I shuddered at the thought of my father embarrassing me that badly.

“Are you nervous for today?” Joseph asked, watching me carefully as I drank the last of my coffee.

“You mean graduation? A little,” I admitted. “I’m more nervous about seeing my father today.”

“You aren’t going there alone,” Joseph said, shaking his head. “I don’t trust him. At least not right now.”

I pressed my lips together and turned my entire body to face him.

“My father won’t hurt me,” I told him.

“He almost did,” Joseph said through his teeth.

“It was an accident,” I said, raising my brows. “He would never deliberately hurt me. I shouldn’t have jumped in front of you like that… it was stupid…”

Joseph wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his chest.

“None of this is your fault,” he whispered.

I buried my face in his chest, not wanting to let him go. I loved everything about him; the way I felt when his arms wrapped around me, his scent, his warmth, and most importantly, his love.

After a few minutes of embracing, I realized there was no way he was going to let me return to my apartment alone, so I decided not to fight it. It was a losing battle.

“I’m going to get dressed and then we can return to my apartment to grab my dress,” I told him, kissing him lightly on the lips.

He nodded in agreement and watched as I walked out of the kitchen. I went into one of his many bathrooms and took a hot and steamy shower. I allowed the water to soothe away my stressed and rinse through my hair, massaging my scalp.

I still had my bathing stuff in the bathroom, thankfully, so I was able to wash my hair. But just as I put the shampoo in my hair, I felt a strong pair of hands massaging my head and I turned to see Joseph standing behind me in the shower.

My face flushed as I stared up at his lust-filled eyes.

“What are you doing?” I asked, breathlessly.

“Saving time by showering with you,” he said with a sly grin.

“You have a ton of showers,” I said, furrowing my brows together.

“Saving water,” he shrugged.

I gave him a knowing look and his grin only widened.

He leaned down and kissed me. I wasn’t going to complain about having him here. He put some hand soap in his hands as I finished scrubbing my hair and he ran his fingers up my body, cupping my breasts with his soapy hands as he did so.

I loved being touched by him. I practically melted into his body as we continued to wash one another.

After we finished, Joseph got me a towel and a change of clothes. Which consisted of another long shirt and a pair of sweatpants because I didn’t have any clothes here. I put my wet hair in a messy bun and grabbed my phone off the coffee table in the living room.

I frowned when I saw an unopened text from Penny.

Penny: Your father’s hand was broken. We only wanted to apologize for yesterday. I wish you had answered your phone. We are returning home today.