Start Me Up

"Last box." Shea called out as he made his way upstairs with a large box in his hands. Tessa was in the bedroom of their new house with an empty suitcase in front of her while she looked through boxes and bags for things she had been planning on packing for their summer in Kelowna.

"And last suitcase!" Tara called up as she dragged the suitcase inside. She rolled her eyes as Pekka grabbed it and carried it up the stairs for her, and as she followed him she told him, "I'm pregnant, not terminal, you know."

He turned his head over his shoulder and grinned at her, "This was far too heavy for you to carry."

Again she rolled her eyes as they stepped into the bedroom and Shea asked Tessa, "You anywhere close to being done?"

She glanced over at him, motioned to the empty suitcase in front of her and asked, "What do you think?"

Shea glanced down at the suitcase and then he told her, "Well you better get to work then."

"Or what?" Tessa challenged back, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her eyebrow.

Shea informed her, "Well we leave tomorrow morning, and Pekka has decided we're doing dinner tonight and it's already four in the afternoon."

"It's not me who booked flights at the ass crack of dawn." Tessa muttered as she turned back to the two empty boxes of clothing and shoes in front of her. She rifled through the box before she threw her hands up and exclaimed, "I have nothing summer appropriate!"

Shea and Pekka let out a laugh and Pekka asked her, "Do I even want to know?"

"I don't own a single pair of shorts." Tessa muttered, pulling things from the box and tossing them onto the bed. She then realized out loud, "I don't even own a bathing suit."

"Okay, that's just sad." Tara stated, and Pekka nodded his head in agreement. She linked arms with Tessa and as she pulled her away from the boxes of clothing she told her, "Step away from the suitcase, we're going shopping."

"I don't wanna go shopping." Tessa muttered.

Shea told her, "You go shopping, I will try to make sense of all this crap and unpack for you."

"I'll help." Pekka promised her.

As she was being pulled out of the bedroom Tessa called out, "That scares me!"

"Don't worry, I'll only accidentally throw out half of your shoes." Shea called out after they left the bedroom and Tara let out a loud laugh as Tessa tried to turn back around before they even got to the stairs.

She pulled her enough to make her be facing forward again and Tessa let out a sigh as she yelled out at Shea, "If I come back and anything is missing you're gonna have a serious case of blue balls by the time we get back here in August."

Tara chuckled as she and Tessa left the house and got into her car in the driveway. Once they were headed into downtown Tara asked her, "So how does one not own a bathing suit?"

Tessa shrugged her shoulders, "I never wear them? Honestly, I don't own a lot of things that normal people do."

"Oh?" Tara asked her as she switched lanes and then came to a stop waiting for a green light in the turning lane they were waiting in.

"I can't remember the last time I wore a pair of shorts. Or a bathing suit. Or anything remotely summery that wasn't a dress." Tessa told her, adding in for an explanation, "When I was married what I wore was a really big deal. So... slowly I've been working on deciding for myself what I get to wear now and... I just never got to the whole shorts and bathing suit stuff yet."

"Well all I wear in the summer is shorts and I could live at the beach so you are in good hands." Tara assured her.

They made small talk on the way to the mall, mostly about their summer plans; Shea and Tessa were headed to Kelowna tomorrow and Tara and Pekka had opted to stay in Nashville and try to get used to what was about to come for them.

Once they arrived at the mall Tara linked arms with Tessa again and dragged her inside and to what she deemed her favorite swimwear store. Tessa was overwhelmed the minute they walked in; there was stuff everywhere and she wasn't quite sure what she was even looking for.

As if they were on the same wavelength Tara asked her, "What kind of swimsuits are you looking for anyway?"

Tessa shrugged and told her, "Not a clue... I wasn't even planning on wearing one."

Tara let out a laugh and stated, "Pekka warned me about that."

"What? That I prefer to be naked?" Tessa asked her with a smile and Tara nodded her head and lead her to a section of two pieces.

"He said you were very comfortable with yourself." Tara told her, picking up a black bikini top and holding it up to Tessa. She shook her head to herself and hung it back up before moving onto the next one.

Tessa let out a chuckle at her words and stated, "Glad I have him fooled."

Rolling her eyes Tara told her, "Come on, you look the way that you do and you want to tell me you have body issues?"

With a shrug, Tessa admitted, "We all have body issues... I'm just really good at hiding mine."

"Well, for what's its worth; I think you're crazy to have body issues." Tara stated, motioning up and down to Tessa's body.

Tessa's cheeks flushed and she told Tara, "I want... something plain. I know, given the way I dress normally that's weird but neutral... no patterns or anything."

Tara nodded her head and she held up two bikini's, one was a black strapless top with extra fabric that flowed into a slight point somewhere around the mid stomach was Tessa's guess, and the other was a navy and white high neck top with a keyhole, both with plain bottoms, and a one-piece with cutout sides and asked, "Alright, how many do you need?"

"We're there for like two and a half months." Tessa told her, asking a second later, "How many do you think I need?"

"Well two for sure, but it depends on how often you want to do laundry." Tara stated.

Tara let out a laugh when Tessa grabbed all three, checked the sizes and stated, "All three it is, let's go."

"Are you against shopping or something?" Tara asked her as they moved along with the line toward the checkout counter.

Tessa shook her head and told her, "I love shopping... for things I actually want to be shopping for."

"Fair enough." Tara stated as Tessa set her items on the counter and pulled her wallet from her bag.

Five minutes later they were leaving the store with a bag dangling around Tessa's wrist and they were onto the next store. Thankfully it was real clothing, so Tessa didn't feel too far out of her element.

"Alright... shorts... anything else we need to look for?" Tara asked her as they made their way through aisles to try to find shorts.

"Sandals... I don't own any of those either." Tessa admitted, stopping in front of what seemed like a ten-foot-tall wall of shorts of all kinds.

"How have you lived thirty some years without summer wear?" Tara asked her in amazement.

Tessa shrugged her shoulders and stated, "I never wear it."

"That's just weird." They both laughed at that.

Tessa had to admit that while she wasn't a jean person at all, she didn't even own a single pair of jeans, cut off denim shorts seemed to appeal to her. So she grabbed a handful of different colors and styles and told Tara, "Okay, shorts are done."

"This is impressive... this may be the shortest amount of time I've ever spent in a mall." Tara stated, laughing when Tessa took her pile of shorts and two pairs of sandals that she grabbed while walking by them to the checkout.

They had barely been gone a full hour when they arrived back at the house to find Pekka and Shea in the closet of the master bedroom putting things away. Shea glanced over his shoulder when he heard footsteps on the hardwood and he smiled, asking, "Home already?"

Tessa nodded, tossed her two bags onto the bed and stated, "Hopefully everything fits because I was so not trying them on there."

"And if they don't?" Shea asked her in amusement as he hung up a handful of blazers.

"Then I'll just wear your clothes all summer." She stated.

She paused, Pekka met her eyes and they both said at the same time, "Or be naked."

Shea grinned at her and said, "I wouldn't mind that."

"That's gross." Pekka stated.

Tessa simply grinned and said, "I'll walk around naked as long as you do too."

"Seriously guys, ew." Pekka said, making Tara and Tessa laugh.

Tessa glanced around the closet, and in surprise, she asked Shea, "Are you organizing?"

He shrugged, "Makes sense to put all like items together. That way you always know where your blazers are, and where your pants are and where fancy or casual shirts are."

"Aww... you're nesting, how cute." Pekka said with a wide grin on his face.

Shea rolled his eyes and he exclaimed, "She needs organization in her life when it comes to clothes. You should have seen her closet before now... shit was just everywhere. She didn't use hangers half the time."

Tessa grinned and asked, "Why bother? Nothing fit in there anyway."

"Yes, so now you have all this nice space for your things so you know... organize it." Shea told her, hanging up the last few hangers he needed to before he stepped back and took a good look at their handy work and used his hands to motion to the clean, organized closet as he asked, "See? Isn't this just so much better than what you had before?"

Tessa shrugged and stated with a smirk, "A closet is a closet babe."

Shea sighed dramatically and stated, "The thanks I get for all of my hard work around here."

Tessa, Tara and Pekka all laughed and Tessa wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her. She whispered in his ear, "I'll show you just how thankful I am once we're alone... there are plenty of new places that need to be broken in around here."

"Again... ew." Pekka stated, adding in, "You're a terrible whisperer."

"I wasn't trying to hide anything." Tessa told him, sticking her tongue out as she looked at him over Shea's shoulder.

Shea laughed and grabbed her, pulling her into him before he said, "Enough out of you two, I'm starving let's eat."

"You're always hungry, you don't count." Tessa told him with a grin.

She laughed when Tara stated, "I'm hungry too."

Tessa told her, "You're pregnant, you don't count either."

- - -

"Tess." Shea spoke softly, giving her a shake for good measure.

"Mm?" She mumbled, still mostly asleep. When he didn't stop shaking her she muttered, "Go away you jackass."

Shea stifled his laughter and asked her, "We're here doofus... or would you rather I leave you on the plane?"

"Depends where it's headed next." She said as she opened her eyes and stretched, covering her mouth as she yawned. She glanced around at their emptying plane and then turned to Shea and asked, "Did I really sleep the whole way here?"

"Snoring and everything." He told her with a grin.

She reached out and hit him in the stomach as she said, "I do not snore!"

She climbed out of her seat and followed him out of the plane, and as they walked through the terminal Tessa slipped behind him and dug through the backpack he had strapped to his shoulders for her cell phone and the bottle of water she was sure she had stuffed in there before take off. Once she finally located both items she zipped the backpack up again and stepped into the spot beside him again until they reached the baggage carousel marked for their flight.

Exhausted, Tessa leaned against Shea's side while they stood and waited, and Shea dug through his backpack for keys to the car his dad had dropped off the night before, Shea didn't want him driving all the way out here for them so early. Once he located the keys he zipped the backpack up again and rested his cheek on Tessa's head as they waited, watching for their luggage.

He spotted Tessa's bright green suitcase first and reached out to lazily pull it off of the carousel and to their feet while they waited for his black suitcase, which came down and around to them two minutes later.

Tessa was having none of Shea's plan to drag both suitcases behind them, she grabbed hers from him the minute he went to drag it. He rolled his eyes but lead her out to where the car was parked. He had to hit the panic button once they were on the right floor of the parkade to find it, but they located it quickly after that and made their way toward it.

Shea tossed both suitcases plus his backpack in the trunk before he got in the driver's side and Tessa slipped into the passenger side. Curiously she asked him, "How long of a drive is it to your house?"

She couldn't remember.

"Half an hour, maybe forty minutes if the traffic is bad." Shea informed her.

He laughed when she asked, "Is there anything I absolutely have to see between now and then?"

He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze before he put both hands on the wheel and came to a stop to pay for their parking. He told her, "I'll wake you when we get there."

She let out a content sigh as she got comfortable and then she told him softly, "You're the best, I love you."

Thirty-six minutes later Shea pulled the car into the driveway of his summer home, put it in park and then he glanced at Tessa. She was still asleep, seat leaned back, his baseball cap pulled over her eyes. He should have woken her up gently like any nice boyfriend would do, but he simply couldn't resist blaring the car horn.

She woke up with a start, tossing his baseball cap at the dash before turning to him in confusion. He was laughing so she glanced around, realizing they were in park in a driveway and she picked up his hat and proceeded to him with it repeatedly.

"That was so not nice!" She exclaimed, and when he paused and then started laughing again she hit him three more times with his hat while saying, "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"God that was worth it." Shea stated, still laughing as he pulled the keys from the engine and got out of the car.

Tessa followed suit, closing the car door and then lifting her arms up over her head as she stretched. Then, finally, she looked over the large, white house he called home during the summer and smiled. This time Shea wasn't having any of her arguments about him bringing both bags in, he simply walked right by her rolling both behind him, and unlocked the front door.

Tessa waited in the porch while he disarmed the alarm, and then he showed her how to arm it, and the code to disarm it so that she knew as well. He pointed to a key ring on the hook behind the door and told her, "Those are yours. Keys to the car, I usually drive the truck so you can use that if you want. There's also keys to the front and back doors, plus the garage, and the shed in the back."

She smiled and motioned him forward, telling him, "I need food."

Shea laughed and told her, "You're lucky my dad brought some groceries over yesterday."

"I'll thank him next time I see him." Tessa stated, ditching Shea to find the kitchen, which made him laugh.

She had lunch made by the time he came back downstairs from unpacking their things in the bedroom and bathroom so they ate in relative silence before he dragged her outside.

"We'll do the fun stuff tomorrow, but I just wanted to show you how beautiful it is here first." Shea told her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, pulling her back into his chest as they stood on the deck.

The backyard wasn't huge, and it was empty minus the shed by the dock that went right to the lake where the boat sat waiting for them. Tessa tilted her head and pressed a kiss to his jaw before she asked him, "And what are we gonna do today?"

"Hmm... I was thinking we could have a nap, maybe put the hot tub to use..." Shea stated and Tessa pulled out of his grasp and made her way inside without him.

He laughed when she turned to face him, standing in the living room, and she asked, "I don't know what sounds better; a nap or the hot tub."

"Either way I get you practically naked, so I'm good with either." He told her with a wicked grin that made her laugh.

Reaching out Shea clasped his hands around hers and yanked her into his chest, holding her tightly as she smiled up at him and said, "I think I quite like the effect I've had on you."

"I think I do too."