Previously: Noah came to visit and Hardin crashed their Netflix and Chill.
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Samantha: The chapter opens with Noah remarking that Hardin was pretty pleasant and not so bad, because Noah has never interacted with people, ever. Tessa starts thinking about the time she cheated on her boyfriend and crawls into said boyfriend’s lap to find the fire again. He tries to push her off and asks what she’s doing. Tessa gets embarrassed and says she wants to make out and Noah responds “Okay?” question mark included, so I’m feeling unsure about consent here. I continue to feel uncomfortable when Tessa starts to rock her hips against his and Noah stops her and she moves his hands and keeps doing it. Nope. Not okay. Not cool, Tessa.
Marines: If this is supposed to make us sympathetic to Tessa, it isn’t working.
Samantha: She finally stops and Noah says that was nice. Sure. She falls asleep and dreams of Hardin, before Noah wakes her up to say he’s going to a hotel. How can he afford a hotel? Was I just very poor in high school? Plus, at least in Ohio, you have to be 21 to rent a room. Whatever. He goes to his Inconceivable Hotel.
The next morning Tessa is getting ready and wonders what there is to do besides go to frat parties at the one frat house. She also gets dressed and hears Hardin’s voice in her head saying that the outfit is ugly. Uh. That’s… not the thing you want to imagine your love interest telling you. Noah tells her she looks lovely, but he’s the loser, I guess. There’s some talk about what to do that day and how college suits Tessa, blah blah whatever.
They go to a park and come to a stream, and Tessa has Orgasm Flashbacks. She asks Noah if he wants to swim but of course he doesn’t.
They get pizza and sit down to watch “Meg Ryan falling in love with Tom Hanks through a radio show“. Uh. Okay. Can you not just say Sleepless in Seattle? Was this a mini detective game? I cracked the case! (M: There is no prize; you just have to keep reading this.)
Landon calls because something is wrong with Hardin! AND THEN HE DIES?!?!?!?!
Tessa panics and throws on her shoes and asks if Hardin is trying to hurt him. Lol, also not the best thing to be your first suspicion. She grabs the keys from Noah and LEAVES HIM BEHIND to go tend to her mister. (Is that the male form on mistress?)
Mari: IDK, but this wasn’t a chapter; it was a joke.
Next time on After: Maybe Hardin dies?!?!?! But probs not in Chapter 29.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.