Perfect Tenn

“Regan, go back with your friends. I’m going to finish my date with Wendy,” he says and walks away shaking his head.

I know what he meant about opening my eyes. He meant I’m looking in all the wrong places, so I don’t know why he got so upset about my remark. Lifting my shoulders, I head back to the table and sit down. Both Holly and Jennifer stare at me like they are waiting for me to tell them the answer to world hunger.

“What?”

“Stop being so stupid. What did Tenn say? I’ve never seen him pissed like that. It was kinda hot,” Holly says, fanning herself with a napkin.

“Please, that was nothing. He told me I need to stop going out with assholes and open my eyes to better guys out there. So bring on the blind dates, ladies, I’m going to find me an eye-opening man,” I say, lifting my empty glass.

They exchange a look before focusing on me. “Well, okay. Here’s to finding you an eye-opening guy,” Jennifer says, taking a sip of her drink.

“One who wants his finger in my asshole,” I yell.

**

The next morning I wake up feeling like shit, and most of it has nothing to do with this hangover. I know I said some hurtful things to Tenn last night, and now I need to apologize. Admitting that I’m wrong is hard for me. Not sure it’s evident, but I’m a bit of a hardhead. Wasting as much time as possible, I shower, do my hair, and even clean my room. All while feeling like my head is going to explode.

Knowing I can’t hide any longer, I creep out into the living room, crossing my fingers that Tenn either didn’t come home or left for the gym already. Living room is clear, so I tiptoe into the kitchen, and breathe a sigh of relief when I find it empty as well. Grabbing a water out of the fridge, I stand with the door open while I guzzle it down. It feels so good on my dry throat.

“Done hiding?”

I scream, dropping my water and choking on what is in my mouth. Coughing over and over, I look up at Tenn standing there with his arms crossed, looking very pissed. Grabbing a paper towel, I wipe my mouth and drop a bunch down on the spilled water. “I’ve got it,” I clip out, annoyed he’s just watching me clean it up.

“I don’t want to stand too close. I might feel the urge to piss all over you,” he says, still standing where he was.

I stand in front of him and toss the paper towels into the trash. “I’m sorry, alright. I don’t know why I said all that shit last night. The drinks were strong, and I guess they got the best of me.”

He scrubs his face, pushing the heels of his strong hands against his forehead. Turning his green gaze on me, he drops his hands. “Regan, is that what it was? The alcohol? You have nothing to say to me now in the light of day?”

I think for a minute, even taking a second to look up at the ceiling. “No. I’m sorry, Tenn. It was uncalled for to call Wendy names. I don’t even know her. I was out of line saying you piss on me like a dog. I don’t know why I did it. I guess maybe for the same reason you set me up with lemon teeth, I thought I was funny.”

“Oh, hmmm,” he says, moving past me to get the coffee going.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Not looking at me, he continues to fill up the coffee pot. “It means what it means. We both do shit and regret it later.” Once the coffee is brewing, he spins around and latches a strong hand around my neck, his thumb trailing ever so softly against my bare flesh. “I don’t want to do anything either of us will ever regret,” he says squeezing the back of his neck, making the muscles in his arm flex.

“I don’t either. I’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you. You have to know that,” I plead, pouting. I rest my chin on his chest and look up at him. “I’m sorry, Tenn. Maybe I was a little jealous because I’m not used to you dating. They might have you at night, but I get you every other time.”

He holds me closer, wrapping his solid arms around me. “Maybe that is part of my problem, too,” he confesses.

I lift my head, raising an eyebrow. “The only difference is I’ve never kept you up all night.”

He chuckles and squeezes me a little tighter. “Oh, Regan, such a damn fool.”

After a nice breakfast, we just relax on the couch, with my feet up on his legs. Tonight, we both have dinner with the parents, and it’s going to take all day to build up the courage to face it. They are all going to ask about my imaginary boyfriend, and I need to convince Tenn to go along with it. I’m afraid he’s going to blow my cover, making tonight even more of a nightmare.

Finding the confidence to talk about it, I mute the TV.

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?”

“Listen, I need you to support me and my fake boyfriend tonight. They are all going to ask a million questions,” I grumble.

“You can’t be serious.” He levels me with a questioning glare.

“Tenn! Please, you can’t just throw me to the wolves and get off on my humiliation!” He laughs through my pleading. I throw a pillow at him and he catches it, putting it behind his head. “Oh, this should be fun.”

Tenn parks his Ford F-250 outside my parents’ house, and I reach over grabbing his arm.