31. Tyler
THIRTY-ONE
TYLER
As soon as the door opens, my mom pulls me into her arms for a hug. She just saw me last week at Christmas, but apparently, that wasn’t enough.
“Mom, this is Kylie’s friend McKenzie. She’s also a student at La Vista. She came down to watch the game today.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, McKenzie. Kylie has told us so much about you,” my mother says. She’s always so welcoming. My mom has a huge heart. I wish I could be introducing McKenzie as my girl instead of Kylie’s friend because I know she would accept her with open arms. Everyone else? Not so much.
“Congrats on the game, Son,” my father says, coming to the front entrance and clapping a hand on my shoulder. “That was a hell of a win.”
“Thanks, Pops. This is Kylie’s friend McKenzie.” My dad nods in her direction. He’s not quite as welcoming as my mom.
“Well, come on in. Shae and Kylie are in the kitchen,” my mom says, motioning us to follow her back. McKenzie looks at all the pictures hanging on the wall as we pass, smiling as she takes in all my childhood pictures and then more recent pictures with me and Kylie. I want to stop and tell her about every one of them because I want her to know everything about me. But it might look weird if I do that, so we keep walking in silence until we’re in the kitchen.
My ex is sitting next to Kylie at the kitchen island. Kylie’s face lights up when she sees us. I barely got to see her after the game, so she runs up to me and gives me a hug to congratulate me on the win. That’s new for her. She usually doesn’t say anything about the games afterward.
Then she hugs McKenzie and takes her away to meet Shae.
“Mom, this is McKenzie.”
“It’s so nice to meet you in person,” McKenzie says, holding her hand out.
Shae stands and pulls her into a hug instead. “I’ve heard so much about you. It feels like we’re family already, and families give hugs.”
McKenzie awkwardly hugs Shae back. I can tell how uncomfortable she is just by the way her shoulders go rigid. I know she would rather not be anywhere near Shae, but she’s doing her best to be polite.
“It’s so nice that you got to fly down here for the game,” Shae says.
“It was. I spent all semester with the team for my journalism class, so getting to see them get to this point was so great. They’re all incredibly talented.”
“Are you big into football?” Shae was always more interested in dating a player than actually watching football. I’m not even sure she could tell you what offsides means and she went to a ton of my games when we were younger.
“Yeah, I am. It was something I always watched with my dad and brothers growing up. It’s always been my dream to be a sports journalist.”
“Kylie told us about your father. I’m so sorry for your loss.” I stiffen at Shae’s words. McKenzie has been a lot better recently, but she definitely has moments when grief overcomes her. I’m not sure how comfortable she is talking about her dad yet. I usually let her bring him up when she wants to.
She nods and puts her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “It’s been tough. My family has always been really close. But thankfully, I had Kylie and Coach Danvers to help me through some tough times.”
She looks at me over her shoulder and smiles. I smile back like I always do. But when she turns back around, I notice Shae staring at me with a questioning look in her eye. There’s no way she could suspect something with just one look. . . could she?
“Alright, y’all. Dinner is ready,” Mom calls out. “Let’s sit at the dining room table.”
I’m grateful for the change to hopefully distract Shae. The last thing I want right now is her to ruin this night.
My dad and I take the ends of the table. McKenzie and Shae sit on either side of me. Kylie is next to McKenzie and my mother sits next to Shae.
It’s all a little too close for comfort if you ask me, but I can get through this.
We all take in the spread of pork, black-eyes peas, collard greens, and cornbread. The same meal I’ve had every New Year’s Day since I was a kid.
“McKenzie, does your family have New Year’s Day dinner?” my mother asks.
“Oh, um, no. Not like this.”
“Really? Well, we’ll have to explain it all before we dig in,” Mom says.
“The food comes with an explanation?” McKenzie asks.
I chuckle. “The pork symbolizes prosperity, and the black-eyed peas are for wealth. Collard greens are for good fortune, and the cornbread symbolizes gold,” I explain.
She looks over at me, and I can tell she wants to laugh, but she holds it back. “Oh. Ok then.”
“Yes. Eating this meal starts your year off strong,” Mom adds. She’s made us eat the exact same thing every year since I can remember. She’s adamant about it. Even when I couldn’t make it home for New Year’s, she’d find me a place where I could order it on the road. She’s very superstitious like that. As an athlete, I can understand that, so I’ve never questioned her. I’ve probably rolled my eyes a few times, but I always eat it.
“Thank you for sharing this with me,” McKenzie says to my mom, and Mom gives her a warm smile.
“Let’s eat!” Dad says as he starts helping himself.
I reach under the table and squeeze McKenzie’s leg. She looks over at me, and I can see that she’s a lot more relaxed now than she was in the car. She fits right in here, just like I knew she would. Kylie passes her the cornbread, so she looks away from me. I turn to find Shae staring at me again.
Fuck.
I am not doing very well at this tonight.
I mouth the word, “What?” to Shae.
Her eyes dart to McKenzie and then back to me. She shakes her head and scoops some peas onto her plate, but I have a feeling this isn’t going to be the end of this conversation.
After dinner, McKenzie asks where the bathroom is. I stand from the table and offer to take her, but Kylie grabs her hand. “I got it, Dad.”
The two of them walk off, and before I can sit back down, Shae grabs my arm. “Let’s talk.”
I sigh, knowing this was coming, and follow her out to the back deck.
“What’s up?” I ask once the door is closed behind us.
She raises her eyebrows. “What’s up? Uh, how ’bout you tell me.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask, attempting to play this off. Unfortunately for me, Shae knows me a little better than most people, especially when I’m hiding something.
“Are you fucking that girl?” She comes right out and says it.
“What?” Fuck, am I sweating right now? McKenzie and I have been in our own little world. I hadn’t even thought about what I’d say if someone questioned me. I certainly didn’t expect it to happen tonight.
She crosses her arms over her chest. “You heard me, Ty. Answer the question.”
“It’s none of your business who I’m fucking.”
“It is if it’s my daughter’s friend.”
I swallow but don’t say anything. Kylie is the biggest reason McKenzie and I have kept this thing between us a secret. Neither one of us wants to hurt her.
“Oh, God, Tyler. It’s true, isn’t it? You’re sleeping with that girl. She’s our daughter’s age!”
“She’s older than Kylie,” I add, which seems silly, but I just needed to put it out there.
“She’s a student! You could get fired for that. And she could get expelled. Kylie would be so fucking embarrassed.”
I rub my hands down my face. She’s not saying anything I haven’t thought about, but it sucks hearing someone else confirm what I was already worried about. “You don’t think I know that, Shae? I know everything that’s at risk here. I’m not an idiot.”
“You sure about that? Because from what I’m seeing, you’re sticking your dick in a twenty-something-year-old when there are plenty of other women out there your own age that would gladly fuck you.”
I shake my head. “It’s not just about sex.”
She freezes and starts to laugh. A hysterical, creepy kind of laugh. One she used to do all the time when we were younger to try to make me feel stupid. “Please don’t tell me you’re in love with her.”
I look away from her, not wanting to tell her anything about my feelings. She’s never cared about what I felt. It was always about her. She doesn’t get to take this from me.
“Tyler. She’s a kid. She’s got daddy issues, and you’re probably filling a void for her. You know this isn’t going anywhere, right? I mean, what’s your plan? You’re going to marry your daughter’s friend?”
“Yeah. Maybe I am. And like I said before, it’s none of your goddamn business.” I can’t deny that I haven’t thought about what our life would be like if McKenzie and I got married. I’d love to have my ring on her finger. I’ve often questioned if I’m slightly obsessed with her, but I don’t think it’s that. I fell fast and hard for McKenzie, but I think it’s because she’s always seen me as just a man. She doesn’t want my money or my status. She listens to me when I talk, and we have similar interests. She values my opinion just like I do hers. She makes me feel like I matter at something besides football. I didn’t realize how badly I needed that until I met her.
Shae shakes her head again in disbelief. “You have to tell Kylie.”
“I’m going to. I just need to find the right time,” I tell her.
“Well, you better find it and soon. Kylie is going to be so pissed, so you better think long and hard about this and make sure this is something you actually want to do.”
“I think about it all the time, Shae!” I whisper-shout at her so no one can overhear us. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. It just did.”
“You’re a fucking idiot. You could have any woman in the world, and you went for the only one you shouldn’t have?”
I sigh. Another thing that I beat myself up about. Why did it have to be McKenzie that I fell in love with? I’ve dated plenty of women in the past, but none of them were anything like her. None of them made me feel like I needed them by my side like she does. Case in point, I was dating someone last year when we made it to a bowl game. I didn’t buy a ticket for her to come to the game. I don’t even think I asked if she wanted to come. I didn’t care.
This year, I bought the tickets because I knew I wanted McKenzie with me. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, but it did, and now I’m dealing with it as best as I can.
“Shae, I don’t need this shit from you, alright? I know what I’m doing.” I don’t really, but I’m not admitting that to her. “All I ask is that you give me time to tell Kylie. I will tell her. I just need time.”
“I seriously can’t believe you right now. You’re willing to throw away your whole life for her ?”
“She’s worth it.” Fuck, I am so far gone.
She rolls her eyes, and it’s like we’re teenagers arguing all over again. “Fine. I’ll keep your dirty little secret for now, but you better tell Kylie. And soon.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.” She walks past me and purposely bumps my shoulder before going inside. I know she’s pissed at me, but I really don’t care. I’ve done everything I could for her, and I’m not giving up my happiness again. Not anymore.
I take a deep inhale of the crisp air before I turn and head back inside. McKenzie is standing next to Kylie in the kitchen, but she’s staring at me with a questioning look. I mouth the word “later” to her, and thankfully, she seems to understand.
The rest of the night goes by pretty smoothly, other than several side glances from Shae every time I stand anywhere near McKenzie.
I’m more than ready to get out of the house by the time we’re giving hugs and saying our goodbyes. Kylie has a few more days in Georgia before she flies back, but McKenzie and I have to get back to work.
“Is everything ok?” McKenzie asks once we’re on the way back to our hotel.
“Um, yeah. All good. It seems I wasn’t as subtle as I thought I was about my feelings for you.”
She inhales sharply. “What?”
“Kylie’s mom figured out that something was going on.”
“Oh my God,” McKenzie groans.
“It’s fine, baby. She’s not going to say anything to Kylie yet. We’ve just got to come up with a plan.”
“Tyler, I really don’t want to come between you and Kylie.”
“You won’t. We’ll figure this out, ok?” I reach over and give her leg a reassuring squeeze.
I’m not sure I believe what I’m telling her, though. I can’t think of a single scenario where I don’t lose something. I knew I was never going to be able to have it all, no matter how hard I worked for it.
But for now, all I want is to hold McKenzie close and that’s exactly what we do when we get back to her hotel room. I’ll deal with everything else later.