After (After 1) - Chapter 161

“To England . . . to my mother’s house.” He looks a little sheepish as he hedges, “I get it if you don’t want to. I know it’s a lot to ask, and you’ve already moved in with me.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just . . . I don’t know . . .” The idea of going to another country with Hardin is thrilling, but terrifying. I have never even left Washington.

“You don’t have to answer me tonight, but let me know soon, okay? I will be leaving on the twentieth,” he explains.

“That’s the day after my birthday,” I tell him.

He moves suddenly and lifts my head up. “Your birthday? Why didn’t you tell me it was so soon?”

I shrug a little. “I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it, I guess. Birthdays aren’t really a big deal to me. My mother used to go all-out on my birthdays, making each one special, but not in the last few years.”

“Well, what would you like to do for your birthday?”

“Nothing. Maybe we can go to dinner?” I don’t want to make a big deal out of it.

“Dinner . . . I don’t know,” he teases. “A bit extravagant, isn’t it?”

I giggle and he kisses my forehead. I force him to watch the new episode of Pretty Little Liars and we end up falling asleep on the couch pretty quickly.

I wake up sweating in the middle of the night. Lifting myself off Hardin, I peel off the sweatshirt and go over to turn the heat down when a small blue light blinking on Hardin’s phone piques my curiosity. I pick the phone up off the counter and swipe my finger across. Three new messages.

Put the phone down, Tessa.

I have no reason to go through his phone; that’s insane. I set it down and walk back toward the couch, only to be stopped by the vibration of another text message arriving.

Just one. I will only glance at one. That’s not so crazy, right? I know it’s insane to be looking through Hardin’s messages, but I can’t seem to stop myself.

Call me back dick, the message reads. Jace’s name covers the top of the small screen.

Yup, reading that was a terrible idea. It didn’t get me anywhere at all, and now I feel guilty for going through Hardin’s phone like a crazy person . . . but why is Jace texting Hardin, anyway?

“Tessa?” Hardin’s voice croaks, causing me to jump, and the phone slips out of my grasp. It falls to the floor with a crack.

“What was that? What are you doing?” he asks through the dark room, the only light being cast from the television.

“Your phone went off . . . and I grabbed it,” I half-lie and scramble on the floor to pick up the phone. The screen now has a small crack along the side. “And I cracked the screen,” I add.

He groans wearily. “Just come back to bed.”

I set the phone down and lie back on the couch with him. But I don’t fall asleep for a long while.

THE NEXT MORNING, I wake up to Hardin trying to move out from under me. I shift against the back of the couch to let him get up, and he grabs his phone off the counter before going to the bathroom. I hope he isn’t too pissed about me breaking his screen. If I wouldn’t have been so nosy, this wouldn’t have happened in the first place. I pull myself off the couch and make a pot of coffee.

Hardin’s proposal of going to England with him keeps running through my mind. We have already progressed so quickly in our relationship by moving in together at such a young age. Still, I would love to meet his mother and see England with Hardin.

“Deep in thought?” Hardin’s voice interrupts me as he comes into the kitchen.

“No . . . well, sort of.” I laugh.

“About?”

“Christmas.”

“What about it? You can’t figure out what to get me?”

“I think I’m going to call my mother and see if she would have even invited me for Christmas. I feel bad not at least seeing first, you know. She will be alone.”

He doesn’t look thrilled, but he stays calm. “I understand.”

“I’m sorry about your phone.”

“It’s fine,” he says and sits at the kitchen table.

But then I blurt out, “I read a text message from Jace.” I don’t want to hide things from him, no matter how embarrassing the confessions are.

“You what?”

“It vibrated and I looked at it. Why was he texting so late, anyway?”

“What did you read?” he asks, ignoring my question.

“A text from Jace,” I repeat.

His jaw clenches. “What did it say?”

“Just to call him back . . .” Why is he getting so worked up? I knew he wouldn’t exactly be happy that I looked at his text message, but this is an overreaction.

“That’s it?” he snaps, which starts to get me annoyed.

“Yes, Hardin—what else would it have said?”

“Nothing . . .” He takes a slow sip of coffee, like it’s all suddenly no big deal. “I just don’t like you going through my stuff.”

“Okay, well, I won’t do it again.”

“Good. I have a few things to do today, so can you keep yourself busy for a while?”

“What do you have to do?” I ask and instantly regret it.

“Jesus, Tessa,” he says loudly. “Why are you always on my case!”

“I’m not always on your case. I just wanted to know what you were doing. We are in a relationship, Hardin—a pretty serious one, at that—so why wouldn’t I ask where you’re going?”