The Last to Know (Teen) 10/8 [COMPLETE]

[Anniepoo98]

Title: The Last to Know
Author: Annie
Couples: This is more of a character driven piece.
Rating: Teen
Summary: Alex is feeling a little left out. Tess discovers some of the reasons why and wants to do something about it.
Disclaimer: You know that I don’t own them. They belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims and the rest of the powers that be.

Author's Note: Hey everyone. I gotta give a big thank you to Kath7. She won me in the Author Auction and is letting post this story. Plus, this was such a great challenge and so much fun to write.

Thanks Kath!





Part One:

Tess Harding bit into her apple, her eyes scanning the lunchtime crowd gathered in the quad. Fall was really starting to settle in, leaving a bit of a chill in the air. Not that she was surprised. Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away, meaning Christmas was just around the corner.

She wondered if the Valenti’s really got into the holidays. Halloween seemed to be big. A little smile tugged at her lips as she remembered Kyle showing her how to carve a pumpkin, lugging out all the monster-themed decorations, and handing out candy to all the little kids. Granted, he might have been doing it to take her mind off of what happened on Isabel’s birthday. Either way, she enjoyed it as much as she appreciated it.

Still, she was kind of hoping that Thanksgiving and Christmas were given the same type of treatment. It would be pretty cool to go all out for the holidays. No offense to Nasedo, but he really didn’t get holidays. Or any other human celebration, for that matter, Tess thought. Not once in her life had they put up a Christmas tree or decorated Easter eggs or baked a birthday cake.

That’s what normal people did, and her guardian made sure Tess knew she was anything but normal. However, the more she thought about it, the more normal looked like fun. After the last few months – heck, the last couple of weeks, she really wanted to give fun a try.

Chewing, contemplating, Tess allowed her gaze to wander until she saw something that was completely out of the ordinary. Alex Whitman was sitting, alone, under a tree, lunch bag open beside him. Like her, he was munching on an apple, but the expression on his face was anything but happy. It didn’t even reach mildly content. In fact, it looked like he was actually irritated, and that was very un-Alex like.

Curious, Tess took one last bite of her apple than tossed the core into a trash can as she made her way towards the tree.

~~~~

The Red Delicious apple his mom packed for his lunch crunched as Alex took a big bite. However, he was too lost in his thoughts to notice its sweet, tangy flavor. Once again, he’d been left in the dark.

It seemed his was always left in the dark when it came to all things alien.

The senator Liz was working for turned out to be a bad, evil alien. Said bad, evil alien was now kaput. And, somewhere in the middle of all this, the rest of the gang found a big alien artifact. Yet, did anyone bother to keep him in the loop?

The answer to that question was a big, fat no.

Yes, part of him could rationalize it. Michael and Max weren’t usually forthcoming when it came to anything out of the ordinary. As for Tess, well, they’d barely had two conversations. The last thing he would expect would be for her to let him in on the current happenings. What hurt was that it hadn’t occurred to Maria, Liz or Isabel to tell him. The last way he should have found out was to overhear his two best friends talking about the latest Chechoslovakian occurrences in the hallway.

Maybe that was just his destiny, to be the last guy to know anything.

Screw that, Alex thought as he took another bite. The last thing he wanted was to be out of the loop all the time. After all, if he didn’t know what was going on, how could he possible help?

“Serious thoughts?” a voice asked.

Alex glanced up, surprised to see Tess standing beside him. He was even more surprised that she seemed to notice his pensive mood. Unsure about what was going on, he nodded.

“The good kind or the bad kind?” she asked as she dropped down sit on the ground.

Surprise turned into shock. His first thought was, What is she up to? He could never remember a time when Tess had ever approached him out of the blue. Still, the look in her eyes told him that she was genuinely interest in his answer. Wanting to know where this was going, he finally spoke. “The bad kind, I guess.”

“Sorry for that.” She pursed her lips. “Anything I can help with?”

Whether it was the interest or the honest offer of assistance, Alex would never know. Somehow, her question opened a gate inside him. Without even thinking, everything that was turning inside of him came flooding out. He told Tess how he hated being the last to know everything. How he was tired of feeling like an outsider or intruder.

He even told her things that he didn’t realize had bugged him, like everyone forgetting his birthday. He confessed that he’d overheard Maria and Liz talking about what happened at Isabel’s party, and that this was the last straw.

And she listened to every word he said. When he was done, Tess even reached over, giving his shoulder a little pat. “That sucks big time,” she agreed. “Trust me, I know exactly how you feel.”

“How would you know?” Riding on the wave of righteous anger, he could possibly fathom how she would know what he was feeling. “You knew about the Whitaker thing,” he tossed back, satisfied that he’d gained the upper hand.

At his statement, the harsh tone behind it, Tess shifted away just the slightest bit, but it was enough. Alex watched as she drew her knees up, hugging them to her chest, and mentally cursed himself. She was trying to help by listening to his rant and offering understanding for his problems. She wasn’t to blame because he suddenly felt twin twinges of guilt and angry embarrassment because he’d confessed all. Then, Tess spoke.

“Yeah, I knew,” she said softly. “It’s kind of hard not to when it’s your face being pummeled.”

Alex winced, feeling like the lowest molecule of dirt to ever exist. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, feeling completely lame. How, for any second, could he have forgotten that she’d been hurt?

When she only shrugged at his apology, Alex found himself reaching out and laying a hand over her’s where it rested on her knee. “Are you okay?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

“Yeah.” This time, the shrug was accompanied by a little smile. “Max fixed me up, good as new. Plus, Jim went all parental on me. He even kept me home from school the next day. I can now say that my perfect attendance record has been shot.”

The smile grew deeper when she mentioned the Sheriff, so Alex knew she wasn’t upset about the latter. In fact, he would say that the thought made her happy.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said, patting her hand.

Her eyes lit up just a little. “Thanks.”

That’s when it seemed to hit the both of them. They’d actually had a conversation that wasn’t filled with awkward small talk or life and death situations. The realization made the next minute or so of silence very strange. Then, Alex jerked his hand away from Tess’s as she started clearing her throat.

“Now, let’s get back to something. You said that everyone forgot your birthday. Now, don’t get mad, Al,” she said, holding up her hands, “but when was your birthday?”

He laughed, knowing she was poking a bit of fun. “June 21st.”

“Seriously.” Her jaw actually dropped. “That’s over four months ago. Are you telling me that no one did anything?”

Now, it was Alex’s turn to shrug. “Liz sent me an e-mail.” When Tess continued to stare at him, a dumbfounded expression on her face, he tried to think of something else good that had happened. “My parents got me an external hard drive.”

“That’s just not right,” she muttered. Then, she cringed as if remember her earlier question. “I’m sorry, Alex, that everyone was stupid and did nothing for you.” She let out a long sigh. “I’m even sorrier that I am below stupid on this ladder because I didn’t even know when your birthday was.”

Smiling, he started to gather up his lunch as the bell rang. “It’s okay.”

Tess shook her head. “It’s not, but thanks for saying so.”

She surprised him again. She really seemed to regret what had happened with his birthday, maybe everything. Tess Harding, the girl who seemed to care less about human ties was acting surprisingly human.

Alex watched as she gathered her belongings. With a quick goodbye, she took off, moving quickly down the corridor into the school. All he could do was shake his head at their strange interlude. Part of him wondered if her she was thinking the same thing.

“Nah,” he muttered to himself.

He wasn’t wrong. Tess’s thoughts weren’t mirroring Alex’s. In fact, if he could have read her mind, he would have been completely flabbergasted at the direction her mind was heading in.

[Anniepoo98]

Hello,

Thanks Kath, Jenny, and forever dreamer. I'm glad that you liked the first part. I hope the same holds true with the second.

Have a good one!
Annie:)


Part Two:


When Tess was ten, she used to stay up late, waiting for Nasedo to go off and do whatever he it was that he did. The second he was gone, she would sneak into the living room of the little apartment they were renting in Chicago and turned on the television.

Most of the time, the only thing on were news programs or reruns of old shows. However, occasionally there would be a movie playing on one of the local stations. They ranged from old black and white films to bright, colorful musicals. It didn’t matter to her which because each and every time Tess would find herself drawn in by the stories.

One night, the station was playing Alice in Wonderland.

God, she fell in love with the movie. From Alice’s loopy adventure chasing the elusive rabbit to the crazy cast of characters that sang and danced. Her favorite part of the whole movie was when Alice went to see the Mad Hatter and stumbled into the party he was having. For weeks, she hummed the Un-Birthday song under her breath.

The whole idea of taking an ordinary day and making it special just because you could appealed to her on every level. When Alex mentioned that nothing had been done for his birthday, it shocked her. While she had never celebrated one, Tess knew that birthdays were supposed to be special. To find out that Alex, the nicest of nice guys, didn’t even get a cake for his birthday really irritated her.

The longer they talked, the more it bugged her, until the little seeds of an idea started to grow. Since Alex’s birthday had been made ordinary because no one remembered, she would take a normal day and make it special, just for him. She would give him an Un-Birthday party.

It was a good thing that her Spanish teacher, Mrs. Dixon, never paid that much attention because Tess spent most of the next period jotting down ideas instead of notes. While the majority of her fellow students learned how to conjugate verbs, she thought about party decorations. When the practiced a little rhyme using various forms of jugar, she made a list of people to invite.

Still, there was something she was missing. Tess couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it nagged at her. At least, until the bell rang. The sound was enough to break through all of her party planing thoughts. As she gathered her things, Tess started to think about her next class, English.

That’s when it hit her. She had English class next. A class she shared with one person in particular.

“Oh God,” Tess whispered to herself, nearly dropping her books back on her desk. “I have to ask Liz Parker a favor.

~~~~

“Hi, Liz.”

Liz Parker glanced up from her book, blinked, than blinked again in shock over who was standing in front of her. For two and a half months they sat next to each other in English class. However, today was the first time Tess Harding ever acknowledged her presence, let alone greeted her in some way.

Was she up to something? Though she felt a little bit of guilt that it was the first thought that popped into her head, Liz couldn’t help it. Every day, Liz had to hide behind her pride to walk through the door of the classroom and sit next to the girl that was destined to be with the boy she loved. It seemed to be the same for Tess on some level, which resulted in their wordless agreement to tolerate each other’s existence with as little communication as possible.

Now, Tess had broken their status quo, throwing Liz for a little loop. Though it took a second for the shock to wear off, when it did, her curiosity was peaked. Game to finding out what was going on, Liz answered. “Hello, Tess.”

A moment of silence passed between them. In that time, Tess managed to shift from foot to the other, shoot a quick glance at the clock, and roll her eyes. Whatever this was, it was obvious that she wasn’t happy about it. Finally, she spoke, her voice begrudging. “Look, I don’t have time to get into all the details now, but I need to ask you something after class, so would you mind waiting?”

Again, Liz blinked. “Like a favor?”

Tess’s jaw clenched. “Yes,” she bit out.

Hesitating for a second, Liz nodded. “Okay,” she said as the bell rang.

Relief, clear as a day, washed over Tess’s expression. Easing behind her desk, just as the teacher was walking in, the blonde looked over at Liz. “Thanks,” she said quietly.

~~~~~

Okay, Tess thought. Liz had agreed to talk. That was a good sign.

However, Tess was barely able to say the word ‘favor’ when Liz questioned her. How was she going to actually ask for the favor if she trouble saying the word? That was a bad sign.

For the rest of English class, Tess’s mind worked back and forth like that, debating the pros and cons of her idea. One moment she was absolutely sure that Liz would pull thought when she found out about the whole situation. After all, Alex was one of Liz’s best friends. Yet, just when she managed to put that positive spin on thing in her mind, doubt would creep through.

If she went through with this, Tess knew she would owe Liz. It was a hard pill to swallow, given the circumstances.

This was the girl that had everything Tess ever wanted. She had the unwavering trust of all their friends. Tess had barely managed to claw her way up to tolerated, with maybe a hint of like on the side. Trust was still a long way off. It didn’t help that the only person Tess had to blame for it was herself.

For as long as she could remember, she’d dreamed about finding Max, Michael and Isabel. She dreamed about the family they would become. In those dreams, they would instantly recognize her and welcome her. She would go from being a lonely girl to a friend, sister, and a significant other.

When she arrived in Roswell and reality hit, it hurt unbearably. A week before she started school, Tess had snuck off to catch a glimpse of her soon-to-be family. She’d found them sitting at the Crashdown, eating burgers with their human friends and laughing like loons over some joke. Her desire, her wish, to be part of the moment got the better of her. Instead of just observing, Tess went into the restaurant, her mind weaving a little fantasy of the others glancing up, realizing who she was and inviting her to join them.

They never so much as glanced in her direction.

For the next hour, she watched, sipping quietly on a soda, while they laughed, flirted and enjoyed each other’s company. It was like torture. The worst part was Max and Liz. The second she saw him, Tess knew who he was. It was like an instant connection with him formed inside of her. Over that connection, she could feel this overwhelming love and joy. Only it wasn’t for her. It was for Liz.

Tess had no barrier against that kind of pain. The only long term relationship she’d ever had was with Nasedo, and it held little to no warmth. So, to feel everything she’d ever wanted to feel for another being and find that he felt the same way about someone else, crushed her. She made a pact with herself to never feel that helpless again, to use everything in her power to make sure she got what she wanted.

Looking back on it now, Tess understood that she’d been acting out of grief. The grief she felt for her dreams of acceptance. Still, it didn’t make much of a difference. She had done everything in her power to manipulate and trick the others into seeing that they belong together. Only, it had the opposite effect. Instead welcoming her with open arms when they discovered who she was, they looked at her with distrust and maybe just a little bit of disgust.

She was working to get past that, to make them see past that, but it was hard. For the first time in months, Tess started to feel like she was making some progress. Michael didn’t mind hanging out with her, even if it was just to practice using their powers. Plus, they all worked together to save her from Whitaker. Still, it felt like she was balancing on a very thin, tight rope.

What if this knocked her off kilter? Would she fail and fall out of what little goodwill she’d earned?

When the bell rang, signaling the end of the period, it echoed in her head like a loud blast. Tess took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together as the students around her gathered their belongings and filed out of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Liz doing the same thing. Then, she turned to face Tess, and expecting look on her face.

“So, what’s the favor?” she asked with a little hint of apprehension in her voice.

There was the distrust again. Lordy Petes, to all high heavens, Tess thought. Do I look like some fairytale villain come to cheat you out of house and home?

She took another deep breath, determined not to let it get to her. After all, she’d taken the first step. She just needed to take a couple more and this part would be over with.

“I want to throw a party for Alex,” Tess said quickly, not giving herself a chance to think. “It would be a kind of very belated, Un-Birthday type of party. Only I need a place to have it.”

Liz obviously caught drift. “And you were thinking about maybe having it at the Crashdown.”

“Please,” Tess said, pleased with herself that the word hadn’t come out sounding pitiful or sarcastic.

As she had before when Tess first mentioned the favor, Liz blinked. “Okay,” she said, drawing out the word a bit. “When?”

Though internally she was doing a little dance of joyous victory, Tess managed, barely, to keep her voice even. “A week from Saturday?”

Liz nodded, thought, than nodded some more. “I think that would be okay. I’ll double check with my dad and let you know.”

Now, Tess felt more than joy, more than victorious. She felt relief. Her idea just might work. “Thanks. Just give me a call or something.”

Gathering her books, Tess started for the door, wanting to make a quick getaway before her good luck changed. However, Liz called out. Tess turned around, dread wanting to take over. “Yes?”

“Why?” Liz asked, moving to stand beside her. “Why do you want to do this?”

Tess thought once more about her conversation with Alex. “I know what it’s like to be forgotten,” she said softly. When Liz just stared at her, she shrugged. “ When I heard that nobody did anything for Alex’s birthday, it bugged me. I know that this summer sucked and we were all caught up in our own lives, but it really doesn’t excuse it.” She paused, taking a deep breath and hoped she wasn’t about to cross some sort of sacred, unspoken line by revealing a bit of what she’d learn at lunch. “I think Alex feels left out sometimes. It’s hard to be the last one to know when things happen.”

Liz hugged her books tighter to her chest and, if Tess wasn’t mistake, a hint of guilt crept into her eyes. “Did he say something?”

Pretty sure that an affirmative answer would definitely cross the line, Tess shrugged again. “I just think it would be nice to do something special for him.”

For the first time in Tess’s memory, Liz Parker actually smiled at her. It might have been a little tense, but it seemed like the emotion behind it was genuine. “Will you let me know if there is anything else you need help with?”

Tess thought back to the lists she only started to make and laughed. She would need all the help she could get. “Count on it.”

[Anniepoo98]

Hello,

Thank you for all the feedback. I am so glad that everyone is enjoy the story. Well, I've got the final part with me. I hope you like it!

Thanks!
Annie:)



Part Three:


Tess looked up as Kyle and Max hung a banner above the counter. With a little alien hocus pocus the girly pink background from Isabel’s party had been changed to green, it white letters proclaiming Happy Un-Birthday Alex. Next to it, floating from their anchors, were huge masses of green and white balloons, some with alien faces on them, of course.

She couldn’t have been happier.

Ever since her conversation with Liz, offers of help had come shooting at her from every direction. Michael offered to help cook and Liz talked her dad in to helping out with the food. Maria and Max showed up with the mother load of decorations. Isabel even took over handing the invites. They all talked to her, asked her opinion, and relied on her when there was a problem or question.

For the first time ever, Tess actually felt like she was a part of something.

“Hey Max,” she called out. “Your side needs to come up a little higher,” she said, feeling a little mischievous. Yes, deep down, she could admit it felt pretty good to boss the King around for a change.

He looked down at her, his mouth quirking up a little at the side. “Yeah right,” he said. Unlike so many times before, there weren’t any awkward pauses or second guessing. They were becoming a little easier around each other. It was almost like a genuine friendship.

Tess knew could definitely get used to that.

Turning around to face the rest of the room, she took a quick inventory of everything else. Food was laid out in trays on a couple of tables pushed together. Over in the far left corner, Maria was almost done setting up a little sound system. Between the entire group donating CDs for the cause, Tess knew they would be able to play hours of music without listening to the same song twice.

The sounds of footsteps beside her had Tess looking over. Smiling, Liz handed her a plastic cup fill with Tess’s favorite, Cherry Cola. “It’s all coming together.”

Grinning back, Tess nodded. “It is.” She took a sip of the soda, giving herself a minute to think over what she was about to say. “I wanted to say thanks, Liz, for helping out. I think I would have been pulling my hair out by now. So, thanks.”

“You don’t have to,” Liz started to say, but Tess shook her head, cutting her off.

“I do.” She took a deep breath, her eyes glancing over to where Max and Kyle were now having a little disagreement over the placement of the streamers. Since the expression on both their faces was just shy of all out laughter, she assumed it was arguing for the sake of arguing. Still, Tess felt a little tug in her belly that was equal parts regret and wonder. Regret that she was about to let something go that was important to her. Wonder that she’d found the strength to do so in the name of friendship.

“He thought about you all summer,” Tess said softly. When, Liz’s eyes went wide, she pushed on. “It wasn’t like he said anything, but I could tell. We all could.” With a sigh, Tess took another sip of her drink. “And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

She walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Liz behind her.

~~~~

Alex didn’t have a clue what was going on.

On Monday, he’d overheard Max and Maria discussing whether the color blue was better than green. He let it go. Two days later, Alex actually came across Michael and Isabel arguing over appetizers. However, the final straw was when he’d seen Liz and Tess having an honest to goodness friendly conversation about the Crashdown.

Something was up. Alex spent the better part of the week trying to analyze his friends’ strange behavior, but had no luck getting to the bottom of it. It didn’t help that every time he approached any of them, they all clammed up.

Liz’s phone call was the final straw. Thirty minutes ago she’d left a message on his cell phone summoning him to the Crashdown, no explanation given. It was as if she assumed that he didn’t have anything else to do on a Saturday night. Granted, he didn’t, unless you called brooding in your bedroom plans. That didn’t make his argument or annoyance less legitimate.

It didn’t help his mood that he had to park nearly three blocks down from the restaurant. It seemed like everybody was out and about tonight. Like salt on an open wound, it began to burn in his belly with every step he took that by the time he reached the front door, Alex was muttering roughly under his breath.

“This is it,” he said to himself. “They very last time I get plunked down on the ‘uninformed’ list.” He grabbed the door handle. “Liz is so going to get reminded of a little truth pact we made.”

The moment he pulled open the door, his ears were assaulted by one loud cry.

“Happy Un-Birthday Alex,” the mass shouted in unison.

Startled, Alex nearly stumbled back outside. His eyes scanned the room, seeing the elated faces of his friends and acquaintances from school, the decorations, the food. Surprise coursed through him, leaving him nearly speechless. In fact, all he could manage was one word. “Wow.”

Laughing, Liz walked over to him, taking his arm, leading him into the middle of the room. “Is that all you have to say?” she teased.

Nodding, Alex just goggled at the celebration before him. “Wow.”

“Hey Man,” Kyle said, moving beside him. “Why don’t you give the word so we can get this party started? There are some seriously delicious looking eats over there and I’m starving.”

That got a laugh out of him. Not used to being the center of this kind of attention, with the exception of Isabel’s party, Alex cleared his throat. “This is a, well, complete surprise,” he said. “Thank you. And, just so Kyle can eat, let’s party.”

Chuckles rang throughout the room, drowned out a moment later by a blast of R.E.M.’s Orange Crush from the speakers.

~~~~

“Scoot over, Parker.”

When Liz did as he asked, Alex slid into the booth next to her. Around them, voices, laughter, and music echoed through the restaurant. People ate, drank and dance to the heart’s content. In other words, the party was a success.

However, that wasn’t the best part. For Alex, it was the fact that the first time in a long time he felt completely content. Well, almost. There were still one or two questions he needed to get answers to.

“Having a good time?” she asked.

Alex nodded. “One of the best times I’ve had in a long time.”

Liz chuckled, bumping her shoulder lightly against his. “But you still have questions?”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “You know me too well.” Then, he sobered a bit. “How long have you all been planning this?”

“A little over a week,” Liz said, shrugging a bit, but it was enough to confirm Alex’s suspicions.

“It was Tess’s idea, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Then, to Alex’s shock, Liz twisted around in her seat, throwing her arms around him. “I am so sorry, Alex. We never meant to make you feel left out or like an outsider. You’re not, I promise. We all need you. I need you. With everything that goes on, you keep me sane.”

“Liz.” Alex lean his forehead against hers for a moment. “I’ve gotta be honest. I do feel like that sometimes, like with what happened after Isabel’s party,” he said vaguely, well aware of the crowd in the room. “It hurt that no one remembered to tell me about it. Hell, I didn’t know until I overheard you and Maria talking.”

He took a deep breath, exhaled. “Part of it is my fault. I never told you or Maria or any of the others that it bugged me. If it happens again, I’ll remember too.”

“Not if I can keep it from happening again,” Liz added, giving his shoulders one last squeeze before easing back. “Seriously, Alex, I’ll try. I know the others will too.”

Alex chuckled. “It sounds like we’ve got a plan.” His eyes drifted around the room, searching. “Now, that we’ve got that out of the way, there’s one more thing I’ve got to do.”

“She’s in the kitchen,” Liz told him. “It’s almost time for cake.”

~~~~

Tess hummed softly, the sound blending with Jewel’s voice as she sang about saving someone’s soul. In front of her on the stainless steel counter, her masterpiece sat, its frosting gleaming underneath the glow of the kitchen lights. She let out a sigh of relief.

She’d actually done it.

All week long, she listened to Kyle as he listed off the benefits of buying a cake from the store. They would do all the work, be responsible for all the clean up, and it would be perfect. What he didn’t understand was that Tess wanted to make the cake. She’d never made one before or had one made for her. The effort, the sentiment, that went into preparing something like that made it personal. It made it special.

So, she’d done her research. The library had been filled with recipe books. God, Tess thought. I must have checked out like twenty of them. But it had paid off. Each night, she tried a different one, using Jim and Kyle as her guinea pigs. Ironically, Kyle hadn’t complained about that part.

It was Thursday before she found the one that got the unanimous thumbs up. She should have known that a classic vanilla cake with chocolate frosting would do the trick.

That morning, she spent hours replicating her early success, praying with each step that it would turn out. It did. Now, all she had to do was add a few finishing touches, and it would be ready for presentation.

Grabbing a nearby package of birthday candles, Tess concentrated on placing them just right on the top of the cake. When the door behind her swung open, she was too focused to turn around. “I’ll be done in a couple of minutes,” she called out to who ever came in.

“Tess.”

The sound of Alex’s voice got her attention. Tess whirled around, shocked to see him there, a little grin on his face. “You startled me,” she laughed, pressing her hand over her heart. “I thought it would be Isabel or Maria.”

Someone else was what she really wanted to say. Tess thoroughly expected for Alex to spend the entire time out in the restaurant, not know what she was doing behind the scenes. To her surprise, the idea that he caught her fussing over the cake like a mother does over her child was a little embarrassing.

“So, how’s the party going?” she asked, trying to cover up her self-consciencness.

The grin got a little bit bigger. “It’s great.” He took a couple of steps towards her, his eyes meeting her directly. “Thank you, Tess.”

She picked up another candle, stuck it in. “For what?” she asked, playing dumb. She’d never been on the receiving end of gradititude. It unnerved her.

Alex just shook his head. “I know this was your idea. Liz just confirmed it.”

“Tattletale,” Tess muttered under her breath.

“I’m glad,” Alex laughed. “Tonight has been great and I’ve gotten the chance to thank the person responsible. It means a lot that you did this.”
To her complete surprise, he leaned forward, his lips brushing her cheek lightly. Tess felt heat rush into them as he drew back.

Unsure of what to do next, she took a step back. “Um,” she said lamely, suddenly needing something to do with her hands. While he watched, expectingly, she placed the last two candles on top of the cake. With a wave of her hand, each of the wicks lit. Carefully, she lifted the cake, held it between them.

This time, when her eyes met his, there was a little humor in them. “You’re welcome… Al.”


The End