Eruption - Chapter 15
Tuesday
I grabbed the handle as soon as the door buzzed.
Tyler had done well for himself in New York.
He had aced his first interview and landed the job he had wanted as a business reporter.
And he had already gotten a few promotions.
Him moving here after he graduated had been wonderful.
I think the time we spent apart allowed James to move on from everything that had happened between me and Tyler.
They were actually friends now. And I guess it had been good for Tyler and me too.
We still talked on the phone every now and then while he was still in Delaware, but we weren't very close anymore.
As soon as he moved here, though, it was like we were best friends again.
Our friendship had picked up right where it had left off, minus the sexual tension.
I stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
Transferring to NYCU had been hard. Everyone had already made friends freshman year, which left me pretty much on my own.
Luckily Mason had started dating Bee. She was pretty much the only friend I had made in New York besides for James' friends.
And they didn't really count because I couldn't really talk to them about anything personal, despite how inappropriate Rob was all the time.
Bee was so great because even though I hadn't known her in Delaware, we could easily talk about home.
We even knew a lot of the same people. And the fact that our dating situations were similar made it even easier to confide in her.
I stopped outside of Tyler's apartment. Josh had broken up with Melissa after he graduated.
He didn't even want to try to attempt a long distance relationship.
Melissa had been devastated. She started coming up and visiting a lot more afterwards.
But now I was wondering if she was more interested in seeing Tyler than she had been in spending time with me.
How long had this really been going on? How could I have not realized it?
And why were they hiding it from me? I knew that Melissa thought Tyler was hot.
She had repeatedly talked about his abs and thought I was crazy for not jumping at the opportunity to be with him. Had she liked him that whole time?
And Tyler hadn't dated anyone since moving to New York.
At least, not that he told me about. I felt like I could talk to Tyler about anything.
It hurt to realize that he didn't feel he could do the same with me.
It hurt even more that Melissa wouldn't tell me about their relationship.
But I had kept James a secret from both of them for a long time.
Maybe I deserved to be kept out of the loop.
This whole thing was so weird. I knocked on the door.
I didn't want to force them to tell me about their relationship.
But if I didn't bring it up, I was worried they never would.
When Tyler opened the door he had a huge smile on his face.
He was still wearing a suit from work. For some reason I always expected him to be wearing jeans and a polo like he had in class.
But I was the only one that seemed to be having a hard time transitioning into the real world.
"Hey, Penny. It's nice getting to hang out with you on a night that isn't Friday. "
Tyler and I always watched Shark Tank together on Fridays. It was our thing. James never wanted to watch it with us. We had concluded that he was just bitter that he hadn't been asked to be one of the sharks. And he didn't deny it.
"I thought it would be fun for the three of us to hang out," I said.
"Yeah." He didn't sound quite as convinced, but it could have been my imagination. "I just have to go change. I'll be right back."
I walked into his apartment and sat down on the couch.
I hadn't been there since Melissa had moved in.
Despite the fact that she claimed it was only temporary, her stuff was everywhere.
There was only one bedroom and the couch I was sitting on hadn't been made up with a sheet or pillow or anything. They were definitely sleeping together.
Tyler came out, pulling a t-shirt over his head, and collapsed beside me on the couch. He looked exactly like he did in college when he wasn't in his work clothes. "How's the new job going?"
"It's good, I'm still getting used to..."
"Geez, what happened to your face?"
"Nothing. I'm still getting used to the dynamic at work," I continued. "I just told all my co-workers that I was marrying the boss." I laughed and kept my face turned away from him.
"If you aren't going to tell me, at least let me get you some ice or something."
"No, it's fine. I can't even feel it anymore."
"I guess you've had worse."
"Please don't tell me you still feel bad about that? That was so long ago. And it wasn't your fault."
He scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, well..." He let his voice trail off. "You're really not going to tell me what happened?"
"I'd rather talk about something else. How's living with Melissa going?
" I kicked my shoes off and tucked my legs underneath of me on the couch.
I wished I had gone home and changed out of my skirt and blouse before coming over.
Maybe Melissa would let me borrow something more comfortable to change into when she got here.
"Do you want a drink?" He stood up and walked toward the kitchen.
I laughed. "That good?"
"I just needed a drink."
"Okay. I'll have whatever you're having."
He grabbed two beers out of the fridge and popped the tops off before handing me one. He sat back down beside me. "No one ever told me how hard it was to live with the opposite sex."
I laughed. "It is kind of an adjustment."
He smiled at me.
"But it's just temporary?"
"I don't know." He took a huge sip of his beer. "It's nice not living alone, I mean."
"I thought you liked having your own place after living in the frat house? You went on and on about it when you moved here."
He shrugged. "People change, Penny."
"I know." I hadn't realized he was lonely. It made sense. He came home every night to an empty apartment. I don't know why I hadn't realized it sooner. If I had made any good friends in New York that were single, I would have tried to set them up with him.
"James' parents' place was really nice," he said. He adjusted himself on the couch so that his back was against the armrest and his feet were resting next to my legs.
"Yeah, I think that was the first and last time I'll ever be invited there."
"I was kind of wondering about that. Was James' ex wife really there? Isabella, right?"
"Yeah."
"Kind of strange to invite their son's ex to celebrate his new relationship."
"They were trying to scare me away. And when that didn't work they tried to pay me off."
"Seriously?" Tyler laughed. "What dicks."
I laughed. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
"And the black eye happened sometime between that night and today. I would have remembered seeing it at the party."
I knew better than to think Tyler would drop it. And it wasn't like Zach prying. Tyler cared about me. "Actually, it was Isabella. She decided to confront me after his parents' bribe, and I was upset and I called her a bitch. So she slapped me."
Tyler laughed.
"It's not funny." I pushed on his foot and he playfully kicked my thigh back.
"It's kind of funny. James sure comes with a lot of baggage."
"Well, he's tossed it all away. His parents aren't even invited to the wedding anymore."
"He's okay with that?"
"I think it's what he wanted the whole time. I was just too stubborn to see it." I bit the inside of my lip. "It was stupid, I just really wanted them to like me."
"That's not too much to ask from your future in laws."
"Apparently in this case it was."
"Are you sure you're okay?" His eyes had gravitated back to my cheek.
"Honestly the clothes I'm in are more uncomfortable than the super small bruise on my face." I moved my legs again, trying to get comfortable on the couch.
He laughed. "I already put a pair of sweats for you in the bathroom. I was wondering when you'd start complaining."
"You know me so well. I'll be right back.
" I got up and went to the bathroom. Sure enough, there was a pair of sweatpants and one of his University of New Castle t-shirts folded on the shelf.
I quickly changed. I loved Tyler's sweatpants.
They were big and comfortable. And no matter what I was wearing when I came over, I usually found something to complain about so that I'd get to change into a pair.
Eating popcorn in sweats while watching Shark Tank was more accurately our thing.
It was nice to know that just because he was with Melissa now, we could still hang out like this.
I made my way back out into the living room.
"When is Melissa usually done work?" She had found a summer internship at a law firm nearby.
In the fall she'd be going to law school.
She was still waiting to hear back from where, but I was hoping it would be in the city.
"She'll be here any minute."
I wasn't sure if it was better to ask him about it now, or wait until they were together. I just wanted to get it over with. "Are you and Melissa dating?" I blurted out, before I could change my mind.
He choked on his sip of beer. "No." He cleared his throat. "I mean, why would you ask that?"
"James thought he saw something going on between you two."
"And that bothered you?" He didn't deny it this time. He wanted to know how I felt about it. That probably meant it was true.
I laughed. "No. I just...I want you both to be happy. You know that."
He didn't say anything, he just took another sip of his beer.
"But you two are my best friends. I guess if you dated...I don't know. I don't want to lose you."