The Bad Boy's Forever (TBBG Series #3) NOW PUBLISHED

Chapter Nine: I've Got Prime Real Estate In The Doghouse

       

Chapter Nine: I've Got Prime Real Estate In The Doghouse

Cole

Six Months Later

Felix catches me on my way out from the library and stops me to discuss a paper we have due next week. I'm already done with it so I don't have any problem in helping him out but I've got a date tonight that I'm already running late for and this is going to hold me up for at least the next fifteen minutes.

"In a hurry?" He looks amused as I try and rush through the sources I used and the books that helped me and I have to bite back a smartass reply because the man has grown to become one of my closest friends on campus and Tessa seems to love him too.

Not as much as she loves me though.

"Kind of, I messed up and spent too long in the library and Tessa's probably going to be pissed off because we'll miss our reservations." She'd wanted to go out for a special meal because this author she'd been rooting for for months had managed to snag a book deal and Tessa had played a huge part in pushing the manuscript through the door. I remember vividly how she'd stayed up the entire night reading the five hundred page book and been so excited about it because, as she told it was the first book she'd genuinely been excited for and the first time she thought she had a shot to make a recommendation to her editor. It's been a huge change for Tessa, going from having a huge say at the women's magazine she'd worked at before to her entry level job at Peak Publishing but she loves the grunt work and has slowly been building up her place at the firm and this week has been huge for her so of course I want to celebrate but this second year of school is literally kicking my ass and when I'm not attending class I need to be at the library to work on all the papers and assignments that line up.

Tessa's probably the world's most understanding girlfriend and I'm a lucky bastard to have found her. She knows what my schedule looks like throughout the week and when I'm not doing any of the above, I'm busting my ass at the legal aid clinic trying to get as much hands on experience as possible by assisting my professors. The competition has gotten ridiculously cutthroat this year, everyone wants the best clerkships and the highest scores to ensure they land the dream job right out of the gate. I don't even know what direction I want to go in come next year but I push myself hard and do the best I can and hopefully by the time the third year rolls around I will have picked a specialisation. It's a demanding job and I'd hoped that Tessa wouldn't get upset by how busy my routine is day in and day out but she's gone above and beyond. She's the first one up most days and feeds me when I'd gotten in the habit of surviving on coffee and vending machine protein bar. She'd been appalled by the state of my pantry and fridge and I have to say, not to sound like a total chauvinist pig but one of the biggest perks of living with my girlfriend again is that I get to have home cooked meals at least twice a day.

Speaking of, if I don't hurry I'm pretty sure I'll be starving this week.

"Okay, I think I got it. Thanks a ton Cole, we're still on for drinks on Saturday yeah?"

I pull my backpack higher up wanting to ditch the deadweight as soon as possible and nod, "See you and Vic then." Victoria is his girlfriend of the moment but they've been going strong for three months and Tessa likes her more than the previous one so we try and go out with them on the weekends if we're not doing something alone. I walk away feeling proud of just how much Tessa's managed to fit in with my group of friends and how quickly she's settled in because the last six months have been nothing but pure bliss.

I hurry home, my apartment building a fifteen minute walk from campus that I make in ten. By the time I actually get home I'm more than an hour late than when I promised shortcake I'd be home. Closing my eyes and praying to any divine entity that'll listen right now, I unlock the door and prepare to face Tessa's wrath.