Tessa's P.O.V:
I pace up and down in my room as a millon thoughts run through my head. DeShaun left a couple of hours ago and I was still waiting for Marshall to come home.
I'm going to do it. I'm going to tell Marshall that I feel the same about him too. DeShaun's right, life is too short for me to be taking such small steps.
It's been a year since I got divorced but usually people don't start to date until it's been over a year. But Marcus and I talked everything out. We both moved on, so that means I should start dating again, right?
I stop in my tracks when I hear Marshall talking on the phone. I push my hair back as my heart starts to beat twice as fast. I walk towards the door as Marshall closes his own.
"Come on. You can do this." I mumble to myself as I pull open the door and walk out.
I make my way towards Marshall's bedroom and knock on his door. I fiddle with my necklace that's hanging around my neck as I listen out for Marshall.
"It's open!" Marshall shouts. I let out one final breath before I place my hand down on the handle and push it open.
My eyes scan the lit room as I step inside nervously. I close the door behind me as I look around for Marshall. He finally walk out of his closet, dressed for bed.
"What's up?" Marshall asks as he takes of his chain from around his neck and walks towards his bed. I hate how he's acting like everything is normal.
"Can we talk?" I ask quietly. Marshall doesn't say anything as he places the chain down on his bedside table and walk's towards the windows to close the curtins.
"I'm kinda tired, Tessa. I've been up since 6am." He says as I lean against the door. "It's 12am and I have to be up early tomorrow." He adds with his back still turned towards me.
"Please can we just talk." I say but he ignores me and keeps his back towards me as he looks out at the window. Marshall finally looks up at me but doesn't utter a word and walks towards his bed. "It's been four days since you last had a full conversation with me and the silence is killing me so please just say something." I sigh as I make my way towards him and stop at the end of the bed as he stands next his bedside table.
"There's nothing to talk about." He shrugs. "Proof convinced me to tell you how I feel for you and me being the idiot I am, I listened to him and I did just that and you...You stood there...You just froze and didn't say one damn thing." He says.
"I was in shock." I state.
"It doesn't matter anymore. It's all clear to me. I've got my answer." He shrugs lightly. I watch him as he tries to take the chain that Hailie had gifted him off from his wrist.
"Can you let me talk." I sigh.
"Go ahead. I know what you're going to say anyway." He shrugs. "You're going to say how you can't be with me. How the contract won't let us." He says as he sits down on the bed.
"Tha-" I start but stop talking as he carries on.
"You're going to tell me how i'm not your 'type' and that we're nothing alike which is true in a way." He shrugs as he tries to take the chain off and sits down on his bed.
"Will you let me talk." I sigh.
"You're going to tell me how i'm not like Marcus-" He carries on before I cut in.
"Will you go out with me?" I ask. Marshall quickly looks up at me.
"What?" He asks in confusion. I walk towards Marshall and kneal down before him and take his wrist. Marshall looks down at me as I help him take of his chain.
"I was in shock, Marshall." I say as I unhook the chain. "You said exactly what was on my mind." I add.
I glance up at Marshall to see him looking down at me. I swallow a lump in my throat before I look back down at his wrist again as I try to form words.
"I started...to have...feeling's for you too but I pushed them back down because I didn't want to ruin the relationship that we had. I just got divorced and when I signed the divorce papers I told myself that I wouldn't fall for another guy. That I wouldn't start seeing anyone else until Marcus had moved on first. I didn't expect to fall for someone in just a few months after my divorce." I say.
I place my elbows on Marshall's thighs as I look down at the bracelet. God only know's how long we sat there as I tried to come up with more words as Marshall just sat there, looking down at me.
"I like you." I sigh. "I've never felt this way before." I shrug and look up at him. "I haven't even felt this way for Marcus which I don't even understand because I was married to him. I thought he was my one." I say. Marshall's eyes scan mine for a few seconds before he finally speaks.
"And you think i'm your one?" He asks.
"You can be." I shrug. "You can be the one." I half whisper. "So." I clear my throat. "Will you go out with me?" I ask.
"Isn't that supposed to be my role?" He smirks. I laugh softly as he places his hands on my cheeks.
"Is that a yes?" I ask.
"Hell yeah it is." Marshall says making me laugh. I lean foward and wrap my arms around his neck and hug him. "But I choose the place." He says.
"Sounds good to me.' I say.
"Tomorrow?" He asks as he moves back. Our noses slightly touch and my arms stay wrapped around his neck loosely.
"Tomorrow it is." I nod. Marshall leans foward slightly as he locks his eyes on my lips. I turn to my right and his lips land on my jaw.
"What are y-" He says as he stands up.
"I don't kiss until the second or third date." I shrug as I stand up. Marshall chuckles as he stands up with me.
"Well i'm sure you can bend the rules this time round." He says.
"Nope. I'll see you in the morning." I say and walks past me..
"You're fucking with me, right?" He calls after me as I wallk towards the door.
"Goodnight, Marshall." I say in amusement as I pull open the door and walk out before I close it behind me.
***
"You can do it better than I can." Blaire says as she apply hairspray to my curls.
"My hands are all shaky." I say as I apply lipstick. Blaire comes to the front and lifts my chin up before she picks up the eyeliner and applys it.
"Why are you so nervous anyway. It's not like it's you're first time going out." She says as she hovers over me.
"It is." I mumnble to myself.
"What?" She says in confusion.
Damn it, Tess...
"Marshall never really took me out on a date. We had to hide our relationship from the media so we met at studios or stayed at home." I lie.
Damn, i'm getting used to lying to everyone.
"Wow. You guys have it tough." She mumbles. "So, where is he taking you?" She asks.
"No idea. He won't tell me." I sigh as I pick up my jacket and pull it on.
"Tessa!" We hear Marshall shout.
"Well, he's home." Blaire wiggles her brows at me making me laugh. "Have fun." She says as a he walks towards me and embraces me in a hug.
"Thanks." I smile.
Blaire walks out of the room as I grab my chanel side bag and look for my heels. I quickly spray myself. I place a piece of gum in my mouth as I grab my phone and walk out of my room.
I make my way downstairs just as Blaire leaves through the front door. I make my way towards the kitchen and grab a water bottle before I walk out.
I make my way towards the front door and open it before I step outside. Marshall paces up and down infront of his car as he talks on the phone.
At the sound of the door closing, Marshall quickly turns around and his eyes land on me. His eyes wonder down my outfit before he looks up at me and smiles softly, making my heart flutter a little.
Why am I so nervous?
"Hey." I say as I walk towards him.
"You look good." Marshall says as I make my way towards him.
"Thanks." I smile before we both embrace eachother in a hug. Marshall opens the door for me before I slide in.
I place my bag between my feet as Marshall closes the car door and makes his way around to the drivers seat. I pull on my belt as Marshall climbs into the car.
"So, where are we going?" I ask.
"You'll see." He says as he starts the engine.
Marshall and I make small talk on the way to our destination. I try to relax but I can't, Marshall on the other hand isn't showing any signs of him being nervous. He looks pretty relaxed driving to our destination.
"Relax will you?" Marshall chuckles as he looks at me and back at the road.
"Sorry." I clear my throat awkwardly. Marshall reaches over slightly and place his hand on my thigh, sending tingles down my body before he takes my hand in his which is resting on my thigh.
"Sit back. Relax." He says as he holds my hand up to his lips and pecks it, making me blush a little.
Damn it, Tess! He's done alot more than just kiss your hand so stop blushing like an idiot!
An hour later, Marshall starts to dirve slowly. I look out the window as we come onto a tiny road. We drive down a narrow path which is surrounded by tree. Marshall let's go off my hand and places his both hands on the wheel as we drive over the rocky road.
"Where are we?" I ask as he drives up a small cliff. He chooses to ignore me as he does a half u-turn and starts to reverse the car.
"We're here." Marshall says as he kills of the engine and unbuckles his belt.
"And where is here exactly?" I ask him as I look at all the trees surrounding the tiny path we are a parked on. "This is something out of a horror movie." I say as Marshall opens the door for me. We're literally in a forrest.
"Come on." He rolls his eyes before he holds his hand out for me to take.
"Is this where you kill me?" I joke making him laugh softly as he close the door and walks besides me to the back of his car. "Because if it is, then it's a really goo- Oh my..." I trail off as I stop at the end of the small cliff.
Marshall stands next to me as we both look at the beach ahead of us. The sky was mixed with pink, orange and red. The view from the cliff made it even more beautiful.
Marshall open the booth door to his escalade as my eyes scan the beautiful view in front. There were families playing on the beach as the water hit the sand and seagulls flew across the sea and towards the sand, pecking at the food.
"We're kinda late since the sun's almost about to set." Marshall says, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"This is...just perfect." I breath out as I smile at the view. I turn towards Marshall and watch him take a seat in the booth of the car, letting his feet dangle a few inches above the ground.
"I bring Hailie and Alaina here sometimes." He says as I sit besides him and look out at the beach. "No one really comes to this cliff so no paparazzi can take pictures of my daughters." He explains.
"How did you find this place?" I ask him. I noticed he also had white cartons of food in plastic bags besides him.
Thank god he wasn't taking me to some high end restaurant! I had enough of eating from those places since I had alot of meetings and they would always be at rich, posh restaurants.
"Proof and I would come down to the beach when we were kids and one day Porter came along with us and he showed us this cliff." He explains.
It goes quiet for a few seconds as I cross my legs underneath me and lay my head on Marshall's shoulder. It felt so peaceful just sitting here and watching the sun set.
"You hungry?" Marshall asks.
"Straving." I say, making him smile a little as he take out the white cartons and hands me chopstick.
"We can go to the aquarium once we're done eating." Marshall says as before he takes a bite of his food.
"There an aquarium?" I ask in excitement like i'm a little kid.
"And a nature zoo." He adds.
"You're shitting me. On the beach?" I ask.
"Around 10 or so minutes away from it." He shrugs.
"Then we're differently going." I say before I take a bite of my food.
It was a little windy for but still the weather was nice for October. Marshall and I made small talk about work and about music as we ate for the next ten minutes before we both went quiet.
"What made you change your mind?" Marshall asks, making me look up at him.
"About going out with you?" I ask and watch him nod slowly in response. "DeShaun and I talked." I say.
"About?" Marshall asks.
"Well...We talked about the contract." I say as he we eat out food. "He made me come to my senses and made me realise that I can't push my feelings down for the next three years. My feelings for you are bound to show sometime soon." I shrug.
Marshall doesn't say anything as I go quiet. I clear my throat and shuffle in my seat before I lean against the wall of his car and place my food besides me.
"I was scared." I say, making Marshall looking up at me.
"Of me?" He asks.
"Of us." I state. "I was scared that we would end up fighting which would ruin our contract. I was scared because I thought me and you being together might end our careers. We can never be together Marshall. Never. It's in the rules. This contract is going to end. We can never be together or have feelings for eachother. But yet, here were bending the rules once again and we both know that bending the rules or breaking them completly will have its consequences." I say as we hold eachother's gaze.
It's simple for DeShaun to say fuck the contract but for me it isn't. Leroy explained to me that Paul can go to court against me if I break the rules, just like Leory can go against Marshall if he breaks any.
It's all too much to take in but he also explained to me that there are bigger people who control the contract. They were the people who wouldn't let me end the contract when Marshall and I had an argument in New York.
They can basically do anything. They can control our album sales. They can stop us from realising any music or from getting anymore deals or offers for movies, collaborations with other artist or companies and many other things.
Those people control us. They don't care about what we want they only care about what they want. I don't know who the hell they are but they want me to stick to the contract. They want me to follow ever damn rule on it.
God only know's whats going to happen when they find out about Marshall and I breaking the rules. They can end our careers with a click of their fingers.
They can make us become the most hated people in the industry with their power. They can literally do anything. They have the full control, not our managers or us.
"But I'm willing to risk it all." I say, making Marshall look away from the beach and back at me. "I just need to hear you say it and mean it so I know i'm not making a huge mistake." I say.
"I'm willing to risk everything just to be with you, Tessa." Marshall says softly without any hesitation. "I made my mind up. I was only waiting on you to make your mind up." He says.
"And I made mine up too." I shrug lightly.
Marshall and I hold eachothers gaze befote he leans foward lightly as I meet him halfway and place my lips on his gently. As cheesy as the sounds, it feels like time had stopped around us.
The noise of the waves and the seagulls flying above our heads just dissappeared as we kissed eachother with passion. This kiss felt different. It held something special, something that I can't describe.
The wind blows heavily, making my hair fly everywhere as Marshall and I pull back slightly and just stare at eachother. The wind blows faster, as Marshall places his hand on my cheeks and rubs his thumb over my skin gently.
"It's offical." He says softly.
"We keep it on the low." I say as I glance down at his lips and look up at him again.
"We keep it on the low." He agrees and nods slowly. "You're mine, Tess." He says as his eyes scan my whole face.
"And you are mine." I smile. Marshall returns a smile as he leans foward and claims my lips once again as the wind blows faster.
♤♤♤
I am so sorry for not updating yesterday. I wasn't home all day and by the time I got home, I fell asleep right away.
Anyway, what do you think?
Okay, so all of the chapters are complete and all I have to do is edit and publish them. So when I was re-reading this chapter that I wrote last year, I kind of hesitated to post it.
I felt like this was all to rushed and that I didn't really explain in the chapter how hard they were falling for eachother. The time period of this current chapter is near the end of October, 2003. Tessa and Marshall signed the contract in the January.
They lived in the same house for a couple of months and became really close and started to fall for eachother but they both pushed back their feelings and now...well, here we are!
Do you guys think it's all too rushed for them to become an offical couple? Let me know.
Anyway, thank you for all the votes and comments. I really appreciate your support and I am really glad you like reading my fanfic.
Please do excuse any mistakes because I am a lazy arse and I'm too tired to edit this:)
Don't forget to vote/comment and share and I will be back with an update soon! Byyye!