Chapter 17 Naomi [The Past] #2
He shrugged. "Yeah. You know what else my old man promised?"
I shook my head.
"He promised he’d convert the garage into a studio so I can practice whenever I want." Tyler’s entire face was suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. He’d been talking about living in the garage for a year now. Sometimes, so much that I got tired of hearing it.
"Really?" I felt excited for him.
He nodded.
I loved seeing him like this, full of energy and fire. His whole face changed when he talked about music.
"It’s gonna be the best show yet," Ty mused quietly with a smile. "If we pull it off, who knows what’s next? Maybe an actual tour. Maybe…" He trailed off, and I knew what he wanted to say.
"LA?" I said it for him.
There was a bit of silence, then he added, "If I can convince you to leave this boring town."
My heartbeat was out of control, but I didn’t want him to see how much this meant to me, that he wanted us together. "Someone has to save your band from all the groupies," I joked.
"I guess I’m lucky it’s you."
He was so passionate, so alive, it made me giddy just being near him. But he still seemed distracted. His leg bounced up and down like it had a mind of its own.
I inched a bit closer, my knee brushing his. I knew him better than anyone, and I knew something was up.
"Ty," I said softly. "Are you okay?"
He gave a short laugh, rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. I just…" He turned to me, his face serious. "There’s something I want to do. Something I’ve wanted to do for a while."
Before I could ask what he meant, he leaned in. His lips were warm and tentative against mine, and my heart forgot how to beat altogether.
It was the best kind of surprise, the kind that made me dizzy and happy and everything in between.
When he pulled back, I stared at him, speechless for once in my life. "What was that?" I finally managed to say, breathless.
He smiled, a little shy. "You didn’t like it?"
"I didn’t say that," I replied quickly.
Ty took my hand, his fingers lacing through mine. "I don’t want to just be friends anymore. Do you?"
I thought my head might explode. "I don’t want to be just friends either," I whispered. In that moment, it felt right, the same kind of right you feel when you finally find the last piece of the puzzle. "But Ty…"
He waited, watching me carefully. "But?"
"Adri will freak if he finds out." I sighed, torn between happiness and worry. "He already thinks we’re…"
"Let him think what he wants." Ty squeezed my hand. "I don’t care. Do you?"
"I care about you," I said softly.
"Then it’s settled."
We sat there holding hands, like the rest of the world didn’t matter. It felt like a dream I never wanted to wake up from. He was here, really here, and I believed that it could last. That I could have this, have him, and not have to give up anything in return.
"I meant what I said," I told him after a while. "About LA."
"Yeah?" He looked hopeful. "You’d go with me?"
"In a heartbeat," I said, my voice sure. "If you want me to."
"Always."
I leaned my head on his shoulder, content and more than a little scared. I had Tyler. Tyler had me. But there was Adri, and there was…well, whatever was going on with Adri. I needed to know, needed to understand why things were weird between them.
"Ty," I began, trying to keep my voice light. "Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," he said, his thumb stroking my knuckles.
"What happened with you and Adri?" I felt him tense beside me, knew I was hitting a nerve. "I mean, you guys were so close during your freshman year. Did you fight?"
He didn’t answer right away. I held my breath, hoping he’d tell me. But he only shrugged, too casual. "He’s just being Adri. You know how he gets."
"So nothing happened?" I pressed gently.
"Not really," he said, his voice changing the subject. "Besides, I’m more interested in what’s happening with us."
"Nice dodge," I teased but let it drop.
"Maybe," he admitted, his grin returning.
We stayed there, making plans and dreaming dreams, the desert night wrapping us in its warm, starry embrace. It felt like anything was possible, like we were on the brink of something huge and amazing. I held on to that feeling, praying it wouldn’t slip away.
I could tell Ty didn't know a lot about kissing or making out. Neither did I. And it was exciting—trying to figure it all out together. Exciting and scary.
Two weeks after he’d confessed he wanted to be more than friends, Tyler and I were sitting on the same bench in the park.
It was Saturday night, and he was happy because his gig last weekend went well.
He’d met some promoter who worked with various venues across Nevada.
Now he and the boys planned to introduce a couple more original songs into their set.
The one they played in Palm Springs did well.
People were dancing and clapping and cheering, and not all of them were classmates and parents. Which meant a lot.
It felt like things were happening, maybe even too fast.
"You’re sure you’re down with being my girlfriend when I’m famous?" Ty asked. It sounded like a joke, but his face was serious.
"Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?"
"You’re not the jealous type, are you?"
"Do you plan on cheating on me with your groupies?"
"No." He threw his arm over my shoulder to draw me closer. "I’d never do that. I value my life."
"Haha. Very funny."
"I’ll never forget how you took down Lachlan Pratt at the beginning of our freshman year. I think that’s when I fell in love with you."
The word "love" slipped from his lips so effortlessly that it startled me. We’d never really expressed our feelings like this before. I didn’t think we needed to, but hearing him say it was on another level.
"Lachlan is a bully," I replied because I was too confused to latch onto the idea that Ty was talking about his emotions. It was all new and strange, and I guess my mind did the exact opposite of what I wanted.
Ty took out his pocketknife, flicked it open, and dug it into the wood like he was really carving our future.
I watched him quietly as he scraped our initials onto the bench.
"Still wanna go?" he asked like he was making sure.
"Yeah."
"And don’t forget you promised not to kill me because of my fans."
"I’ll be too busy with my own restaurant to be jealous."
"Your own restaurant?"
"Yes." I nodded. "You think you’re the only one with ambitions?"
"Never."
"You’ll see."
"Cool. Let’s make it official," Ty said, carving a rough heart around our initials. The wood flaked off, and the letters slowly took shape.
I stared at them, my own heart flipping in my chest. I couldn’t stop smiling. "I can’t believe you’re doing this. Vandalizing city property."
"It’s better than"—he pointed at a faded carving off to the side that had been there for what seemed like forever—"Tommy sucks cock."
I snorted out a laugh. "Well, love is love. If that’s what Tommy likes."
"Sure, whatever." Ty just shook his head. "In any case, Tommy’s history. We own this bench now."
Then he put the knife away and kissed me. When he pulled back, there was a sparkle in his eyes, a sparkle and a bit of nervousness.
"What is it now?" I asked.
"Do you want to go to the movies this weekend?"
"Like a date?"
"Yes."
"I’d love to."